Category Archives: Favorites

by JoCoLibrary | April 25, 2014 · 9:25 am

White Haven Motor Lodge

The White Haven Motor Lodge was a landmark on Metcalf Avenue from 1957 until 2010. The White family who built it and owned it until 2008 has a long history in Overland Park. Hugh White brought his wife Mary and their four children to Johnson County in 1941 and bought Wolverine Dairy at 85th and Metcalf, which he operated until 1952.

Delivery truck for Wolverine Farm Dairy, 1948 (Hugh and Mary White).
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/15007

Vehicles parked at the Wolverine Dairy farm for livestock sale, 1952.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/15042

Hugh closed the dairy and he and his sons began developing the farmland into the White Haven subdivision, which stretches from Metcalf Ave east to Lamar Ave and south from 83rd St to 87th St. Hugh’s son Bob and Bob’s wife Esther owned the first house in the new subdivision, and both helped to run the Lodge through 2008.

House construction in White Haven subdivision, 1953.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/15050

White Haven Subdivision.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/ophs/id/190

White Haven motel excavation site (Mary, Sheila and Esther White), 1957.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/ophs/id/179

White Haven Motor Lodge, 1965.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/15099

White Haven Motor Lodge sign.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/11599

White Haven Motor Lodge postcard, 1965.
Original: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/15217

Want to learn more?

Johnson County’s The Best Times has a great article with further details about the Whites and their contributions to Johnson County and eastern Kansas: http://www.thebesttimes.org/joco/local_history/0911_whites_of_white_haven.shtml

Johnson County Museum wrote about the White Haven Motor Lodge and its place as a gem for tourists and locals alike: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/alb/id/312

The Pitch describes the auction after the White Haven Motor Lodge closed its doors for good: http://www.pitch.com/FastPitch/archives/2010/07/08/white-haven-motor-lodge-going-going-gone-updated

Did you ever stay at White Haven Motor Lodge? We’d love to hear from you!

6 Comments

Filed under Business, Favorites, People, Research

Tagged as Bob White, Esther White, Hugh White, Overland Park, Sheila White Berry, White Haven, White Haven Motor Lodge

by JoCoHistory | March 28, 2014 · 8:54 am

Read the (old) news at JoCoHistory

We’ve been adding substantially to JoCoHistory’s online collections, particularly in the Johnson County Museum collection. Our newest additions are newspapers from Shawnee and Merriam, dating back as early as 1955.

Newspapers available at JoCoHistory
http://bit.ly/1hi0E5j

The Shawnee Crier was a short-lived newspaper first published in February 1977. We’ve added two digitized issues which feature election coverage and announcements of an upcoming Old Shawnee Days celebration.

The Shawnee Crier – June 1, 1977. Vol 1, No 5
http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/12666

The Johnson County Leader was primarily a Merriam newspaper and had a considerable focus on local political issues. There are currently 20 issues available to browse online, covering July 1955 to May 1958.

Johnson County Leader – Nov 1, 1956. Vol 2, No 11
http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/12753

Johnson County Leader – Aug 5, 1955. Vol 1, No 4
http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/12686

The newspapers were scanned and uploaded at full resolution, so even the tiniest newsprint can be read online.

Johnson County Leader – July 1, 1955. Vol 1, No 2
http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/12671

Take a look at all of the new/old news at http://bit.ly/1hi0E5j.

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Filed under Favorites, Government, Research

Tagged as election, Johnson County, Merriam, news, newspapers, shawnee

by JoCoLibrary | January 31, 2014 · 1:54 pm

The Squire: Local Politics, Events, Fashion & Advertising in the 60s & 70s

Did you know that JoCoHistory has several years’ worth of digitized local newspapers? The Squire, also published as The Village Squire and The Country Squire, covered stories of interest to residents of “new southwest Kansas City”, including Johnson County. It’s a wonderful glimpse into local politics, community events, fashion and advertising in the 1960s and 1970s.

Some of our favorite images from various issues of The Squire:

“What the Experts Think About This Leash Law Thing”, front page of The Country Squire, Aug. 24, 1961

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/5528

“Happiness is going to kindergarten…” front page of The Country Squire, Oct. 7, 1965

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/1399

“It’s Football Time at Center High” front page of The Country Squire, Sept. 9, 1965

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/1279

Montgomery Ward’s Department Store Father’s Day advertisement, The Village Squire, page 11, June 13, 1963

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/7969

“Improbable Predictions” page 8 of The Country Squire, Jan. 23, 1969

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/3763

Movie advertisements in The Country Squire, page 38, Oct. 31, 1968

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/3364

Movie advertisements in The Country Squire, page 9, Sept. 9, 1971

Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/squire/id/6245

We’d love to hear if you’ve ever come across an article or image that’s caught your eye in The Squire! All of the issues can be found at http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/search/collection/squire.

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Filed under Favorites, Government, Research, Sports Teams

Tagged as advertising, newspaper, The Squire

by JoCoLibrary | December 31, 2013 · 1:02 pm

Heartwarming Holiday Greeting Cards

Sending greeting cards to loved ones during the holidays is a long tradition, and JoCoHistory is fortunate to have some wonderful examples in our collections. Our favorites are the series of family photos that provide a time lapse view, offering us a glimpse at how these families were growing and changing over the years. We can also imagine Loretta Ensor’s mother smiling and admiring the handmade card from her daughter, or the nostalgia triggered by the watercolor image of the Harkey House in Gardner, Kansas circa 1900. We hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

This card was handmade by 5^th grader Loretta Ensor in 1910, and is inscribed on the back “To mamma, A Mary Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Handmade card by Loretta Ensor, 5th grade
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/2150

This card was sent by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Alexander in 1927.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Alexander, 1927
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/jcm/id/3051

We have three cards from the Case family in the 1950s. Jerry, Terry and Cheryl, children of Robert and Ruth Case, lived in Lenexa, Kansas at the time these photos were taken.

Case children
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/658

Case children
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/656

Case children
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/657

This series is from the Bartsch family of Lenexa, Kansas. Gerald, Susan, Betty, Pat and Mary (L-R) all sit in the same order in each photo. The cards are from 1950, 1953 and 1957.

Bartsch Family, 1950
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/595

Bartsch Family, 1953
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/593

Bartsch Family, 1957
Original image: http://www.jocohistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/lhs/id/594

This 1988 Christmas greeting card is a color reproduction of a watercolor of the Harkey house originally painted by Charles Goslin. William C. Harkey (1872-1935) graduated from University Medical College in Kansas City in 1900. He was a Gardner native and would reside and practice medicine at the site of 224 East Main from 1902-1910. He married Marie Elizabeth Meng of Gardner September 12, 1899.