By Mike Genet
Steve Schreiber has his piano hands ready to entertain visitors.
Officially, the historic Bingham-Waggoner Estate and Vaile Victorian Mansion in Independence open to the public Saturday, following a long pandemic closure.
Volunteers have been sprucing up both of the 19th-century homes, and to some extent have been giving pre-arranged tours in the last couple of months. Schreiber, president of the Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society, often plays the restored Steinway piano in the music room for guests while giving tours – “just like Harry Truman might have when he visited,” Schreiber says.
“We are raring to go,” Schreiber said. “Some of our guides were forced to step back – age, hips and knees and all that type of thing – but I’ve been answering the phone all day.”
KCQ on one of Kansas City s best kept secrets: a Waldorf of homes for unwed mothers Anna Spoerre and Michael Wells, The Kansas City Star
Feb. 19 To this day, it s one of Kansas City s best kept secrets: An apartment complex now sits at 2929 Main Street, sprawled out between a school and a hotel, but decades ago the land on Union Hill served as the birthplace of thousands of children born to unwed mothers.
The Willows Maternity Sanitarium is scarcely known, despite its role helping Kansas City gain notoriety as an adoption hub of America through the mid-20th century. It s the subject of the latest What s Your KCQ?, a partnership with the Kansas City Public Library.