A few of the homes on the block between 51st and Rockhurst from Forest to Tracy, including one where an early crusader for the blind lived, have been replaced by buildings associated with Rockhurst University. However, most of the bungalows and other single-family residences stand as they have since the early 1920s, a decade after Rockhurst was established. This block just to its south began attracting families.
As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is examining each block in Midtown. A set of 1940 tax assessment photos is available for many blocks.
Today, the block between 51st and Rockhurst from Forest to Tracy.
A recent Google map view of the block.
“The Ministering Angel to Kansas City’s Blind”
In the 1930s and 40s, the James Hale family lived at the corner of Rockhurst and Tracy. Mr. Hale was known as a superintendent of the Cudahy packing plant, and his son Richard was recognized as a Rockhurst and University of Kansas basketball player. But it was Mrs. Hale, Catherine, who left the greatest mark on the city.
Catherine Hale, the daughter of a Nebraska pioneer, had a blind brother. She taught him to play bridge and to dance as well as anyone, but she saw the problems he and others had finding year-round employment. In 1911, Mrs. Hale helped found the Kansas City Workers for the Blind, which maintained the Catherine Hale Home for Blind Women at 2718 Tracy.
The group also operated a broom factory downtown. A Kansas City Star article on Oct. 4, 1925, praised her dedication to the cause.
A blind man who lived with his family in Kansas City, Kansas, in very humble circumstances, told Mrs. Hale how much he would love to work in the factory and become self-supporting, if there only were some way to get there each day. Mrs. Hale found an empty home next to the factory building, which could be obtained for a pittance. She arranged to have the blind man move his family there, but the place had to be cleaned first.
She called a worker from the Helping Hand. He arrived, took one look around, and walked straight out the front door.
“Where are you going?” Mrs. Hale demanded.
“Back on the streets, he answered. “This place is so dirty I won’t touch it.”
Mrs. Hale’s friends were appealed to, but they likewise refused to try to attempt such a cleaning job.
“Very well,“ Mrs. Hales said at last. “I’ll clean it myself.”
And she did – the blind man moved in the next day, and since has got firmly on his feet and is one of the most outstanding workers for the cause of the blind in Kansas City.
Other Residents of this Troostwood Neighborhood
The Edward D. Hanley family lived on the northwest corner of Tracy and Rockhurst in the 1920s and 30s. In 1939, the family deeded its home to expanding Rockhurst University. For a while, it became a dormitory for the school’s football players.
Other residents included The Louis Becker family at 5100 Forest, who lived there for two decades. Mr. Becker was a fish dealer.
The photos below show the rest of the homes on the block as they looked in 1940.
Historic photos courtesy Kansas City Public Library/Missouri Valley Special Collections.
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