Manage the local collections, our Research Room and archives are headquartered just across the hall from this auditorium. In the Missouri Valley room, youll find books, articles, and newspaper clippings documenting the history of organized crime in kansas city, from black hand era violence, to syndicate bootlegs through the 26year reign of the crime boss nick subella, associated with skimming casinos in las vegas and bombing businesses in the river key. Whether we like it or not, organized crime is a part of our history. Moreover, it continues to capture our fascination as well as generate interest in new scholarship. Last year, the special Collections Department acquired a piece of our mafia past when the organized crime files of the Kansas City Star were donated by former star reporter mike mcgraw. These files contained photos, notes, and reports on local mafia members, and provide a glimpse of how reporters investigated the mob during its heyday. A story about the collection by Jona
Crime family. Next on American History tv, the former fbi agent discusses the citys gangster past and newly discovered archives of mug shots from the Kansas City Star newspaper. Held by the kansas city public library. This is a little more than an hour. Welcome everyone. Our Research Room and archives are headquartered just across the hall from this auditorium. In the Missouri Valley room, you will find books, articles and newspaper clippings documenting the hus ri of organized crime in kansas city from backhand era to bootlegging with ties to the pendergast machine through the 26reign of crime box dick civella, and bombing businesses in the river kiev. Whether we like it or not, organized crime is part of our history. It continues to capture or fascination as well as generate interest in new scholarship. Last year the special Collections Department acquired a piece of our mafia past with the organized crime files of the Kansas City Star were donated by former star reporter mike mcgraw
With the help of our spectrum Cable Partners well explore the citys history and literary community, beginning with author pat oneill on the history of irish immigrants and how they helped build kansas city in what it is today. One of my Favorite Places in the whole cold is browns market run by john and john mcclain and cary brown. And they start the business in the late 1880s. Irish style. The oldest continual Retail Operation in west of the mississippi, maybe in the whole world. But browns is kind of our community center. One of those great Little Corner Neighborhood Grocery stores where people are extended credit in the neighborhood, people came here for generations, and its now kind of the same thing. People come here just to gossip and compare notes notes and head kids. So, its a much like a small town Crossroads Store in ireland. The title of the book, from the bottom up, its in the sense that in kansas city, were along the rivers, and the Missouri River in the kansas river and it
Brother, johner pendergrast who came to kansas city in the 1880s and got started establishing this machine in the first ward of kansas city which was in the Industrial City by the river. There were many, there was an irish community, Africanamerican Community it was diverse. There were a lot of workingclass people. Andpendergast had saloons he went and built this machine that was based on favors that helped people get jobs in exchange for fouts, helping people through giving them loans that you did not have to get a formal rank loan and jim would loan the money, settle gambling debts, given money off the top of a legal activities, such as gambling and prostitution. And so on and so forth. That she wasergast getting older, his health was failing. His younger brother got started in the machine around the 1900s. Alderman andd city was in charge of streets for a few years in the early 1900s. Thendergast really was in position to take over the machine by the time that jim died in 1911. The
Viewers. The political machine boss of 1925 to 1939. Om the political machine got its start from toms older brother, jim pendergast, who came to kansas city in the 1880s and got started establishing this machine in the first ward of kansas city, which was in the industrial west bottoms down by the river. An irish committee, africanamerican community. Very diverse. Lots of workingclass people, saloon. Pendergast had a this machine that was based on favors, basically helping people get jobs in exchange for votes, helping people through giving them loans that they did not have to get a jim wouldk loan, and loan the money settling gambling debts, skimming money off of the top of illegal activity such as gambling money and prostitution and so on and so forth. Was gettingdergast older, his health was failing, his younger brother Tom Pendergast got started in the s. Hine around the 1900 he was elected city alderman and was in charge of streets for the early years of the 1900s. Tom pendergast