Kansas City Star

Showing 4 results
2006-2007

Interview with Mary Louise Hinton, resident of the Steptoe neighborhood. Hinton discusses her family and early life in Deer River, Minnesota, moving to Kansas City, briefly attending Penn School, relationships with neighbors and involvement in the church, getting married to her husband Carl in 1938, and having two children. She also discusses attending and later working at Lincoln High School, having to take public transit to get to a school that was much further away than Westport High School due to segregation, and making a deal with St. Luke's Hospital in which she could maintain lifetime occupancy in her home while receiving an annuity. She also shares memories of social clubs and writing letters to the Kansas City Star.

Audio Recording

Interview with June Neal about her life and civilian work for the Army during World War II. She discusses growing up on a farm in Brown County, Kansas, during the Depression, and taking a job with the Army Effects Bureau in Kansas City in 1941, processing personal items for soldiers killed in the war. She also talks about her five brothers surviving their military service, the death of her first husband and life as a widowed young mother during the 1950s and returning to work at the Internal Revenue Service in Kansas City, and about a photograph appearing on the front page of the Kansas City Star of her kissing a serviceman during VJ Day celebrations near 12th and Main. The photograph later appeared in Life magazine, resulting in calls and letters from soldiers.

Interview with retired newspaper proofreader and typesetter Agustin Rocha about his life. Born in 1912, Rocha recalls his early life in Texas and Illinois, his father's railroad work, moving to Iowa to work beet harvests, his education, and working for the Belmond (Iowa) Independent newspaper setting linotype. He also discusses moving to Kansas City circa 1940, working as a linotype operator as a drafted soldier in World War II, suffering a concussion at D-Day, and returning home to work for the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Kansan. He also shares memories of the 1951 Flood, participating in organizations including the American Legion, and his marriage and family.

Audio Recording

Interview with post office employee Felisa Ruiz about her life in Kansas City, Kansas. She discusses her family, the Murilllos, who she says were the earlier Mexican family in their Wyandotte County community, the stress of being the only non-English speaker in her school, and facing segregation and discrimination in churches and movie theaters. She also shares memories of the Great Depression, World War II, and discusses learning typesetting and other skills working for the Kansas City Star and the education and accomplishments of her children. Ruiz received rewards from organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency, Guadalupe Center, and IMAGE, served in roles with Westside organizations, and shares concerns about the lack of Hispanic representation on the boards of Westside organizations.