Santa Fe Trail Association

Transcription

1 OUTFITTERS JOURNAL January Officers & Board Members: President Larry Short Vice President Mary Conrad Treasurer John Atkinson Secretary Anne Mallinson Historian Sandy Slusher Richard Lawson Dick Nelson Ross Marshall Wes Huskisson Contact Information: MRO President Larry Short 3930 S. Jackson Dr #106 Independence, MO Home Cell National Frontier Trails Museum 318 W. Pacific Independence, MO Phone: Santa Fe Trail Association Santa Fe Trail Center 1349 K-156 Hwy Larned, KS Phone: SFTA Website: JOINT MEETING MRO-TRAILS HEAD-KCAHTA SATURDAY MARCH 26, am 12 noon AT THE OFFICES OF LOU AUSTIN 5904 BANNISTER RD KANSAS CITY, MO WALK THE BRIDGE Join us on a private tour of the newly constructed Powder Mill Bridge. MRO will hold a brief membership/board meeting following the program. The public is invited to all of our events! Follow MRO on Facebook 1

2 New Trail Dedicated at Avila University On Wednesday, December 2, 2015 a ribbon cutting was held at Avila University for the newly completed pedestrian trail which runs along Wornall Road on the west side of Avila University. Speaking at the ribbon cutting were: Dr. Ron Slepitza, President of Avila University; Councilman Scott Taylor, KCMO 6th District; Councilman Keven McManus, KCMO 6th District; Stacy Johnson Cosby, PIAC 6th District; John Sharp, PIAC 6th District; Mark McHenry, Director of KCMO Parks & Recreation; Lou Austin, Chairman/District Manager of 3-Trails CID; Larry Marsh, President of Red Bridge Homes Association; Gary Hicks, President of Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association and Larry Short, President of Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of SFTA and Vice President of the National Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA). This new segment of the trail is a continuation of the commitment made by Avila over the past few years to promote the Santa Fe Trail and its ties to the University. Dr. Ron Slepitza, President of Avila University Additional pedestrian trails will encircle the entire campus and north along Wornall Road to create a retracement trail along the Westport Route of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. We are proud to have Avila as a strong partner and stakeholder along the 3-Trails Corridor. John Sharp, PIAC 6th District Lou Austin, Chairman/District Manager 3-Trails CID 2

3 MRO Holiday Potluck Dinner The annual MRO Holiday potluck dinner was held on December 6, 2015 at the beautiful historic 1844 home of Sandy Slusher in Lexington, MO. There were 24 members and guests present who brought a wide selection of homemade side dishes which complimented the baked ham, turkey, brisket, and lasagna provided by Sandy. The dinner was topped off by a wide selection of homemade pies, cookies, candies, and cakes. Following the dinner, a brief MRO membership/board meeting was held. Wes Huskisson was elected to the MRO board of directors. Wes will be a welcomed addition to our board and SFTA. After the meeting was adjourned, all of the members retired to the front parlor for a piano duet by Sandy Slusher and Barb Atkinson. They thoroughly entertained the crowd with holiday tunes followed by a session of everyone joining in singing Christmas carols. It was another very enjoyable Holiday event for MRO members and guests! Powder Mill Bridge Dedication The newly completed Powder Mill Bridge over I-435 at Bannister Road in South Kansas City, MO will be officially dedicated during the PNTS Workshop in Independence, MO. The program is scheduled for June 9, 2016 at 10:00 am at a location near the bridge. Many local, state, and federal government officials are anticipated to attend the dedication of the bridge. Watch future newsletters for updates on the event which will be open to the public. The PNTS will hold their annual workshop at Stoney Creek in Independence, MO June 6-10, Watch the next issue of the Outfitters Journal for more details and information. 3

4 Welcome to our new members: Matthew Schulte Gary & Louise Hicks We are very pleased to welcome you to the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS ARE DUE JANUARY 1, 2016 We want to remind all of our members that your annual memberships are due on January 1 of each year. We hope you will renew and join us again in 2016 as we move forward with exciting new projects and programs. Please let us know of any event or program that you would like for us to do. We will continue to hold a few joint meetings each year with the Trails Head Chapter of OCTA and the Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association (KCAHTA). This allows our members to meet each other and learn what the other groups are doing to promote the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California National Historic Trails in the greater Kansas City area. Remember to invite you family and friends to also join. We look forward to seeing you at our many events throughout

5 New Historic Site Directional Signs As a part of the continued additions of National Historic site directional signs to compliment the newly installed local tour signs along the 3-Trails Corridor, the Kansas City Missouri Parks department has installed new directional signs for the Wieduwilt Swales at 85th and Manchester, Schumacher Park, Hart Grove Campground, and the Minor Park Swales. Our gratitude to the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, the Kansas City Missouri Public Works Department, and especially Deb Ridgeway for the installation of the new signs. This completes, for the current phase, the installation of the National Historic Trails directional and local tour route signs from the Upper Independence/Wayne City Landing to the Missouri/Kansas state line at New Santa Fe. We will begin the installation of the signs in Johnson County Kansas in Once these are installed the entire 3-Trails corridor will be complete. Our thanks to the National Park Service for their help in the production of these signs which were part of the SFTA/OCTA sign plan for the greater KCMO area. Today s trails traveler can follow the 3 National Historic Trails from the Upper Independence/Wayne City Landing on the Missouri River across Sugar Creek, Independence, Raytown and South Kansas City to the Missouri/Kansas State Line at New Santa Fe by simply following these signs. During 2016, new local tour route signs will be ordered and installed in Lexington, MO as a continuation of the plan to eventually have signs along the entire route of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail from Franklin, MO to Santa Fe, NM. Future plans call for the placement of local tour route signs in Johnson County Kansas to compliment the trail crossing signs placed by KCAHTA. 5

6 2015: A REVIEW IN PICTURES Left: March joint meeting with the Trails Head Chapter of OCTA at the Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO Right: First meeting of the newly formed 3-Trails Corridor Partnership Left: May joint bus tour to Franklin, MO and back along the Santa Fe Trail to Raytown Right: Cave Spring becomes a National Park Service Certified Site on the Trails 6

7 A Message from your President Another year has come and gone with many new and exciting events along the Santa Fe Trail. A major accomplishment for 2015 was the formation of a group named the 3-Trails Corridor Partnership which was formed by myself and Lou Austin. Our goal was to bring together all of the stakeholders along the 40-mile corridor from the Upper Independence/Wayne City Landing to Gardner, KS. The group consists of representatives from MRO, SFTA, OCTA, KCAHTA, the Trails Head Chapter of OCTA, and representatives of the eight local government entities which make up the corridor. Representatives from the City Councils, Parks Departments, and Public works from Sugar Creek, Independence, Raytown, Kansas City, MO, Leawood, Overland Park, Olathe, and Gardner joined us in several meetings over the past year to develop a comprehensive plan for a retracement trail the entire length of the corridor. The National Park Service will work with MARC (Mid America Regional Council) to develop this plan which will be adopted by each city along the trails. SFTA held a very successful Symposium in Santa Fe, NM in September. They joined with two other trails associations, The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail and the Old Spanish Trail Association to hold a joint Symposium: All Trails Lead to Santa Fe. Over 360 attendees enjoyed informative sessions and bus tours along the 3 trails that met up in Santa Fe. As we move forward into 2016 and beyond, we will continue our commitment to the telling of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail in this region and working with the National Park Service and the Santa Fe Trail Association to promote the trail along its entire length from Franklin, MO to Santa Fe, NM. Plans are moving forward for the Symposium 2017 which MRO will work in partnership with the Douglas County SFTA Chapter in Baldwin City, KS. The theme will be The Santa Fe Trail: America s First Highway of International Commerce and will be held in Olathe, KS at their new community center and the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm. We encourage all of you to save the dates of September 27-30, 2017 and plan on attending this great event. In September, I assumed the office of Vice President of the Santa Fe Trail Association. I look forward to working with the new SFTA President, Larry Justice, the SFTA Board, and SFTA Manager, Joanne VanCoevern as we move forward in the next two years. I wish each of you a very Happy and Successful 2016 and look forward to seeing you at our events throughout the year. Larry Short The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Home of Symposium 2017 Olathe, KS 7

8 UPCOMING EVENTS March 26, 2016 Joint MRO, Trails Head of OCTA and KCAHTA meeting, Kansas City, MO April 6-9, 2016 SFTA Board Meeting/Workshop, Lamar, CO June 6-10, 2016, PNTS Workshop, Independence, MO June 9, 2016, Powder Mill Bridge Dedication, Kansas City, MO September 22-24, 2016, SFTA Rendezvous, Larned, KS September 28-30, 2017, SFTA Symposium, Olathe, KS September 2018, SFTA Rendezvous, Larned, KS September 2019, SFTA Symposium, St. Louis, MO 2021 The 200th Anniversary of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail Missouri River Outfitters c/o Larry Short 3930 S. Jackson Dr #106 Independence, MO