Harry Truman Returns to Jackson County Missouri as President Arriving at 219 N. Delaware

Text

Truman arrived at 219 N. Delaware a little after 2:00 p.m. after his motorcade had traveled through the Independence square. Well-wishers and on-lookers were there to greet him along the parade route and at 219 N. Delaware, which at the time did not have a fence surrounding the property. According to the Kansas City Call, Vietta Garr, the family's African American cook, and Harrison Young, who the Call described as the "yard and houseman" for the last eight years and the "former representative" of the Call in Independence, were the first two people to greet him. Bess, who was away at a luncheon in Kansas City, arrived shortly thereafter, and joined them.

When Truman arrived he saw the newly installed flag pole in the front yard which Independence residents and members of the American Legion had purchased for installation in anticipation of his first visit. If the flag was flying, it meant that the President was officially in residence in what came to be known as the "Summer White House."

The President had very little time to settle in and he exited his home at 3:50 p.m. for a two block walk to the Memorial Building, where he hosted the first and only press conference in Independence.