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A publication of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association Volume 40, Issue 1
The Hyde Parker January 2013
Six months of progress
Our most endangered places revisited
In the six months since The Hyde
Parker identified our neighbor-
hood's 12 most endangered proper-
ties, many of the buildings have
either had some rehabilitation
work or face the prospect of
ownership changes. More on page 5
Inside
Walter Buffington reflects on his diamond jubilee in
and around Hyde Park
Janssen Place dedicates time capsule
Developers postpone
revised Westport High and Middle School plans
Joe Denes, shown volunteering as balloon crafter with his wife, Lori, at this past year’s Easter Egg
Hunt, travelled to Lower Manhattan following Hurricane Sandy to assist in business
disaster recovery efforts. Buildings the North Hyde Parker worked on included One State Street
Plaza, the short, darker office tower to the left of the Staten Island Ferry terminal shown above.
A volunteer for all seasons
A Hyde Parker makes a difference after Sandy
On Nov. 2, a few days after Hurricane Sandy struck New York, North Hyde
Parker Joe Denes got a call from his partners at PSD Tracking & Security
asking if he'd like to manage a storm recovery team. Joe did not hesitate at
the opportunity to help.
"Lori (his wife) and I talked it over and we agreed it was a no-brainer ," Joe
said. So he drove out to New Jersey that day to begin a month-long journey. It
would take the business consultant from oceanfront Freeport, Long Island to
the blue collar New Jersey towns of Union City and North Bergen to the heart
of Wall Street.
The task was unglamorous yet essential: hire and organize teams of dozens of
temporary workers and as many as 15 vans and trucks to clean out the muck,
debris and damage that Sandy inflicted on businesses. Joe also had to keep
trucks gassed amid rationing and keep employees safe in unheated, unpow-
ered, wet and unsanitary conditions.
"It seemed like just when New Jersey stopped gasoline rationing, New York
City started" said Joe. Upon arriving, his first task was another nine-hour
round trip drive to Rhode Island to shepherd a convoy of cleanup vehicles back
to the City. "Most nights we only got four hours sleep."
________________________________________________________________________
“Most nights we only got four hours sleep.” ________________________________________________________________________
The Oct. 29 superstorm hit companies large and small, and Joe's work allowed
him to participate in both the first wave of cleanup as well as initial restora-
tion efforts. Organizations his teams assisted ranged from an Amish-owned
overhead garage door business in New Jersey, to small retailers, to tenants at
One State Street Plaza, a 33-story, glass curtain office tower near Battery
Park that got the brunt of Sandy's 74-mph winds and 14-foot tidal surge.
Continued on pg. 4
MOST IMPROVED. New siding,
windows and a clean yard now
grace 3401 Kenwood Ave., which
this past summer was a neglected
shell. In the foreground is
Academie Lafayette’s playground.
Volume 40, Issue 1 THE HYDE PARKER Page 3
Meet Walter Buffington, 97
A Hyde Parker since Harry Truman’s time
In 1975, with retirement looming after a more than two-decade career as a
letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Walter Buffington had purchased
a home on Lake Tapawingo in Eastern Jackson County and was all ready
to leave Hyde Park.
However, from his front porch at 3622 Holmes, he saw the beginnings of a
neighborhood revival. New people were moving into the area he had called
home since first coming to Kansas City in 1938. While his peers moved,
Walter changed his plans and joined a band as a piano player. He gave the
lake home to a relative and volunteered at the Hyde Park Festival.
Today, at age 97, with nearly 75 years of tenure in Central and Old Hyde
Park, and 65 years as owner of his three-story Thomas Wight-designed
brick colonial home, Walter enjoys his block more than ever. On a crisp
sunny autumn afternoon, in a blue cardigan and his Buffington University
ballcap, Walter shared three centuries of family history, and stories about
our neighborhood.
"I like to spent a lot of time here." Walter said amid the songs of cardinals
and sparrows. Walter, a lifelong bachelor, attributes his Hyde Park lon-
gevity in part to taking in the outdoors every day, initially as a 3rd floor
tenant at 616 East 36th St., now the home of the Lowdon family. His mail
delivery routes would include South Hyde Park and the streets around
Rockhurst University.
The Buffington family story begins in pre-revolutionary America, when
Walter’s Quaker ancestors moved to the Philadelphia area (Chester
County) from England. As the United States grew, Joel Buffington moved
west in 1797 to the Ohio–Virginia border on the Ohio River, buying a 150-
acre river island for five shillings.
In 1835, Joel’s son Joseph Buffington sold the island for $2,300 and much
of the family moved west. However, the land would retain the name
Buffington Island, and would become involved in the only Civil War battle
in Ohio, a cavalry conflict whose 150th anniversary is July 19th. Today the
island is home to blue herons, rare freshwater shellfish and is part of the
Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
——————————————————————————————————-
Main Street’s streetcars were a nickel a ride when Walter came to town. ____________________________________________________________________
For more than 100 years, the Buffingtons called rural southwest Missouri and
Iowa home. Walter said his family knew the Earp boys, including Wyatt, as
children growing up in Iowa as “a bunch of liars” well before the future lawmen
would move to Kansas and later, Tombstone, Arizona.
In the 20th century, the Dust Bowl took a toll, and following a string of torna-
does in 1938, the Buffingtons arrived in Kansas City from Golden City, Mo.
Walter’s Dad moved to an apartment at 3517 Main St. in the hopes of network-
ing to find work. Yet, when his Dad got a job offer from a lumber executive on
Janssen Place to relocate to Washington State, he turned it down, Walter says.
The then 24-year-old Walter found employment at the Famous Bungalow Ham-
burger chain downtown, where 25 cents bought six sliders.
“We could make 12 hamburgers out of one pound of meat,” he says.
In a few years, Walter and his twin brother, Fred, were on the move again, as
draftees during World War II. Walter served in the U.S. Army in North Africa
and Salerno, Italy, earning a Purple Heart after being wounded by enemy gun-
fire while operating a radio transmitter. Continued on pg. 5
Walter Buffington’s first job in Kansas City was a fast-food worker at 9th and Holmes at the Famous Bungalow Hamburger chain in 1938 (branded mug above). At 24, he flipped burgers for 15 cents an hour some two years before the first McDonald’s opened in the U.S.
Gas street lights like the one shown
in the left foreground of the above
winter photo were still on Holmes
St. when the Buffington family
purchased their home in 1948.
Page 2 THE HYDE PARKER Volume 40, Issue 1
HPNA Member Honor Roll We periodically recognize Hyde Park Neighborhood Asso-ciation members. For membership questions, contact Clara Keller, Treasurer at 816.960.4669.
Households Kit & Carolyn Kubis,
Brian Atherton, Anne Jenkins, Kathleen & John
Brandt, Dan Mugg, Jamie Landis, Kris Keller,
Carol Bradstreet, Kathleen Lee, RL & Mary Kuhnlein, Chris Harper & Amanda Loflin, Phil &
Robbie Levi, Susan Henry & Russ Bradley, Lorrie
Robison & Sandy Turner
Patron Angie Splittgerber
Commercial/Non-Profit Academie Lafayette, Kansas City Athenaeum
A festival of holiday lights
Restored Janssen Place gate
now has a Hyde Park time capsule
To mark the $250,000 restoration of the 115-year-old limestone gate erected by rail magnate Arthur Stillwell in 1897, Janssen Place homeowners contributed doz-ens of items that were entombed within one of the pil-lars at noon on Dec. 12.
"We wanted to capture a moment in time and preserve a unique example of urban design that symbolizes the spirit of Kansas City during its golden age of growth," said Stephen Mitchell, owner of 2 Janssen Place. “Over the years, this gate has endured as a resolute, yet welcoming, portal to a great neighborhood."
Items in the time capsule included a sealed letter to the future from Lynsey Lowdon, 12; a CD of a 1920s silent film about Janssen Place; a copy of Kansas City Historic Hyde Park, past issues of The Hyde Parker, a 2012 Homes Tour booklet and tickets and a miniature pink flamingo. See hydeparkkc.org for a full list.
Here’s a small sampling of Hyde Park home holiday light
displays. Vote for your seasonal favorite with an-email or text
message to [email protected], or a
Facebook message to us at our Hyde Park, Kansas City page.
Page 4 THE HYDE PARKER Volume 40 Issue 1
When I talk with clients about
Hyde Park
I say it is a small town in the middle of a great city,
with friendly neighbors and beautiful historic homes.
808 East 43rd St. Sold
3615 Campbell St. Under Contract
720 East 36th St. Price Reduced
PAM ANDERSON GARD “Knows how to SELL Hyde Park”
Hyde Park Resident
Cell 816.729.1241 Office 816.410.5481
2012 All rights reserved.
Hyde Park to Battery Park:
a volunteer’s story
Continued from pg. 1
"The computers and cubicles we uncovered were just
so water-logged." Joe said. The tower's tenants in-
cluded one of the major bond rating services, a mu-
nicipal bond insurer and the New York State agency
that regulates banks and insurance companies.
Thanks to cleanup crews, tenants at One State Street
resumed operations in the building by late November.
"I rediscovered muscles I had forgotten about," he
added, as his role included not just supervision but
plenty of hands-on work as well. At times, bucket
brigades would load up seawater- soaked drywall,
carpeting and furniture. "It was unique experience. I
got to work with a lot of great people."
The latest damage estimate as of early December for
Hurricane Sandy is $62 billion, according to newswire
reports. That compares with $108 billion for Hurri-
cane Katrina and $3 billion for the Joplin tornado.
Amid the East Coast destruction, Joe also found
gratitude and hope.
"You could see how thankful people were on their
faces, and how we helped those affected by the storm
make a start to put things back together,” he said.
Another good thing to come out of the storm, Joe says,
is that he observed that semi-skilled laborers and
trades workers he had hired, many been out of work
before the storm, were thrilled to have jobs.
________________________________________________
“You could see how thankful people were on their faces.” ________________________________________________
"For some guys, getting the cleanup work meant they
would make the rent, or put food on the table for their
families," Joe said. "One person told me that being on
the team meant he could afford to buy his daughter
Christmas presents."
In New York City, the unemployment rate in October
was 9.3% compared to 6.4% for the Kansas City area.
In Hudson County, N.J. where Joe was, the jobless
rate before the storm was 10.4%
His task completed, on Sunday, Dec. 2, Joe drove 18
hours back to Hyde Park in time for his 51st birthday
that day.
Volunteering comes natural for Joe. In October, he
served as BBQ chef for the reception for homes tour
volunteers following the 2012 Hyde Park Homes
Tour. He’s also been the balloon crafter at Pilgrim
Center Inc.’s annual Hyde Park Easter Egg Hunt.
For the coming year, he is looking forward to a second
term as North Hyde Park representative on the Hyde
Park Neighborhood Association board.
Don’t be left behind:
Attend the Westport schools update meeting
The two finalists in the race to redevelop Westport High and
Middle Schools — KC Sustainable Development Partners and
Foutch Brothers — are expected to unveil revised proposals
on a public hearing in February. Watch your e-mail and Face-
book for details. This is a follow-up hearing to a meeting in
late August that drew about 60 people from Hyde Park,
Southmoreland and Old Hyde Park. Shown above are the two
schools on this past Thanksgiving Day at the start of the Pil-
grim Run 5K and Walk, which drew 965 participants, nearly
double the number in 2011.
Page 5 THE HYDE PARKER Volume 40 Issue 1
Chip the squirrel
says “Dangerous proper-
ties are bad for me, too.
I won’t put my nuts where
I can’t keep them clean
and dry. Unkempt yards
attract stray dogs, cats
and possums. Humans,
please call 311 when you
see this.”
Changes at dangerous buildings:
Slow progress, concerns remain
4007 to 4015 Harrison St.
This past autumn, the City of Kansas City put the
two adjacent three-story South Hyde Park apart-ment buildings shown below on its dangerous build-
ing list. Broken windows, graffiti, large hanging
vegetation in gutters and downspouts mar one while
the other building has a collapsing roof and porch that undermine ornate Corinthian columns.
3918 Charlotte St.
US Bank has replaced the roof and soffits, repainted
and maintained the yard since the summer. How-ever, a section of the front porch has collapsed.
3421 Holmes St. The City of Kansas City has removed some yard
debris, including a motor boat, and removed asbes-
tos, siding and windows. The city plans to demolish the long vacant 1902 shirtwaist in 2013.
717 Manheim Rd. Since a North Carolina private equity fund was the
winning bid at the Jackson County sheriff’s tax sale
in August, the long-time owner attempted to sell the property separately but failed. It has been removed
from the area’s multiple listing service. Garbage is in
the front and rear yards.
Gillham Parks & Recreation Building
The grounds have been cleaned, a large fuel tank removed and much old concrete removed. Volun-
teers are assisting Paul Mesner Puppets as the per-
forming arts group raises funds to convert the main building into a theater and workshop.
Marking 75 years as a neighbor Continued from page 3
While in Germany in the months following the war, Walter
got his experience as a letter carrier, as he had a military
mail route that took him past the area where former Nazis
awaited trial for war crimes.
Back at home, the post-war period brought a property
mini-boom for Hyde Park amid high inflation. Walter
and Fred bought 3516 Cherry for $6,500, a house that
Walter said a few years earlier had been listed for
$3,500. The twins moved in with two more siblings and
their mom.
In 1948, the opportunity to trade up to 3622 Holmes for
$13,000 came along, and Walter’s been there ever since.
(Fred died in 2003). A big neighborhood issue in the 40s,
Walter says, was the conversion of single family homes into
apartments. The trend began during the Great Depression,
persisted through the late 1960s, and started to reverse in
the early 1970s. Part of 3622’s attractiveness was that it
was always owner-occupied, Walter says.
From his front porch, Walter has seen many area houses
come full circle, such as 720 East 36th St. two blocks away.
Until recently, the signature 1906 work of architect John
McKecknie was used for institutionalized housing.
When 720 was among a group of Hyde Park homes that
were sold in the 1970s, it was a sign that the area was com-
ing back, Walter says. More recent change for the better on
nearby Armour Boulevard can be seen on how people act
walking down his street — friendly, engaging and relaxed,
Walter added as the morning sun shone brightly. As if on
cue, neighbor Paul Tyler and his two dogs, Blitzen and
Halo, came by for a tail-wagging, puppy-kissing porch hello.
THE HYDE PARKER
The Hyde Parker is a monthly newsletter published
by the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, Inc.
Monthly Meetings —
Central Presbyterian Church, 3501 Campbell HPNA Board: Second Mondays, 6:30 p.m.
General Membership Third Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m.
Crime and Safety The Kansas City Police’s
Central Patrol offices on Linwood Ave has re-sponsibility for Hyde Park. These officers can be
reached at 816.719.8044 daily, Officers meet
with neighbors monthly at 7pm on the last Thursday each month from January to October.
The HP Playgroup: Wednesdays 10am to
noon. Contact Becky Nelson at
Your 2013 HPNA Board Page 6 Volume 40 Issue 1
The Hyde Parker contact information
Editor/Publisher Mark Dillon [email protected]
Photographers Crissy and Justin Dastrup crissydas-
Hyde Park Neighborhood Assoc., Inc. P.O. Box 32551
Kansas City, Mo 64171
Meetings & More President Angela Splittgerber 531.3899 [email protected]
1st Vice President Chris Harper 547.7308 [email protected]
2nd Vice President Catherine Thompson 799.3312 [email protected]
Treasurer Clara Keller 960.4669 [email protected]
Historian Wayne Tomkins 531.7777 [email protected]
Recording
Secretary
Tina Wurth 931.7837 recordingsecretary@
hydeparkkc.org
Corresponding
Secretary
Mark Dillon 960.1492 correspondingsecretary@
hydeparkkc.org
North Area
Directors
Joe Denes
Abigail FitzGerald
853.8557
785.383.
2566
Central Area
Directors
Jill Burton
Ben Nemenoff
522.8535
665.5993
South Area
Directors
William Dowdell
Jessica Hogancamp
703.9340
585.5628
Coming in February 2nd Annual Hyde Parker Winter Bird Photo Contest
in connection with the
Great Backyard Bird Count Last year’s winning Cooper Hawk
was one of only 11 sighted in Kansas City out of more than 8,200 reported birds.
Watch for details.
