After the inauguration of President Eisenhower, former President Harry S. Truman and his wife Bess headed to the train station to go home to Independence, MO. He had no job, no pension and no secret service detail. He was now on his own, a private citizen. Upon their departure, unexpectedly to the Trumans, a huge crowd had gathered at the train station to say thank you and goodbye. At stops along the way, crowds showed up to pay their respects. Upon arriving in Independence a crowd of 10,000 gathered at the depot to welcome them home. Going to their home at 219 Delaware Street, thousands more tried to catch a glimpse of the couple. What was next for them?
Harry thought it would be unseemly to use his former position as President to make money personally. So product endorsements and lucrative speaking fees were out. Though famous for being a man of the people with the most of humble origins, he had married well with his nine-year courtship of Bess Wallace. They had adequate resources, though not rich.
His predecessor, FDR, had established the first presidential library in 1941, well before FDR's term was up. So the tradition of presidential libraries was still being formed. Truman believed he was the president of all Americans. As such, his papers and artifacts of his time in office belonged to all Americans. Much of his post-presidency was devoted to preserving those items and to making them available for study at the Truman Presidential Library. Through Truman's effort, private money was raised to build it. He had an office at the library to work and meet dignitaries.
Home was reserved for the family. His home was about a 20 minute walk away, a walk he made frequently greeting well-wishers along the way. The bronze statue in front of the library today depicts those walks.
One of the most striking elements of the library is the Thomas Hart Benton mural "Independence and the Opening of the West" located in the original lobby. At first Harry was cool to the idea of Benton. Truman was born in 1874 and was rather slow to adapt to newfangled styles in art, which Benton represented. However, they had lots in common. They were both longtime small town rural Missouri Democrats. They both loved and played music. Truman started the day with a shot of bourbon. Benton enjoyed his image as a hard drinker, whisky being his favorite. Both went to France: Truman in an artillery regiment during WW I and Benton a decade earlier to study painting. They both read a lot of history. Benton was born in 1875, so they were very much contemporaries and both famous. As discussions about the mural proceeded, they became good friends. A price of $60,000 was agreed upon for the mural. Benton spent more than a year and a half researching, travelling to see the scenery he was to depict and find models for the people he was to paint, creating the design and building clay models from which he would paint. After all the preparation work, the actual painting took about 5 months. Truman was impressed with his dedication and effort. As Benton was painting the blue sky, Harry asked if he could paint a few brushstrokes. Benton allowed it and from then on Truman would point out to visitors how he had helped paint the mural.
After the assasination of JFK, Secret Service protection was afforded former Presidents. As a result a security fence around the Truman home was installed and the security detail was based in a house across the street. The Trumans had buttons handy which they could push if trouble ever arose. Upon the Trumans' passing, the home and all its contents were donated to the United States.
The home is run by the National Park Service and tours are available. It is a wonderful experience to see the simplicity of how they lived and what their actual furniture and momentos were. To the left of the fireplace, you can see a small oil painting Thomas Hart Benton gave to Truman as a Christmas present. The painting is of a Wyoming lake in the mountains, possibly painted as part of his travels researching their mural. The 219 Delaware home is in one of the nicer older neighborhoods of Independence. It is a pleasant place to walk around and take in the history of it all.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
"Children nowadays have too many gadgets to fool with and not enough chores." —Harry S. Truman
