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Right. Uh, good afternoon. Wanna thank you on behalf of many people for participating in this, uh, program that we have that's going to, uh, share the story of people who've lived and worked and who knew people who lived and worked in Westport. Well, thank you very

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much. I'm honored. So I'd like to start with some um Personal data and information about you, uh, where you were born, when you may have come to Kansas City or maybe when your family came to Kansas City. Tell me something about, uh, Yourself in that manner.

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Well, thank you. This feels like a job interview, but my name is William Shelby. I'm a native of Kansas City, Missouri. And, of course, I'm here, uh, in regards to the, uh, Uh, Saint Luke's honoring the, uh, Native, uh, was the citizens of, uh, Westport area

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before it was annexed to Kansas City, Missouri, um. My, uh, family, my mother's side was a uh Pioneer family settling in Westport in 1870. My, uh, great grandfather's name was Wallace Smith. He and his brother, Howard, founded the Saint James Baptist Church. I understand that my

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great grandfather moved back to Kentucky. To bring his wife's parents. To Westport also they left. Westport in 1875 and returned in 1885. But before they left, my grandmother was born. In the Westport area. My understanding was she was born in uh The area of the plaza.

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Uh, from there, they relocated back to Kansas, excuse me, Westport area. In 1885. And lived there until they died. My great grandmother died in 1925. My great grandfather died in 1930. They had, Three other children that lived, and they were all boys. One was born in

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Kentucky in 1870. His name was Cale Emmett. He had taught At Penn School, which is in the background. Back during the late 1890s. The other son was named Luke. He worked for a capitalist named Thomas Maston. And the last boy was named Lonnie. And he got

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into real estate and insurance. With a gentleman called LC Stewart. During the 1910s. They moved to Canada and did some home building, but then they did return to the Kansas City area in 1920s. Now Joe, I've said a whole lot. Do you have any other questions?

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Uh, yes, um. The uh connection to Penn School is uh is very relevant to what we're doing now. Uh, but let's go on, um, you, uh, were not Born in Westport, No, Kansas City, Missouri. OK, uh, where, what street or hospital? The hospital was named Queen

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of the World. It was on East 23rd Street. OK. And, and where did your family, uh, your father live at that time? Uh, lived on Tracy around the 2700. And uh what was your uh education like uh when you were growing up? Education, public schools. Equally,

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I did attend Westport High School. Went to college, I went to Penn Valley Community College in Northwest Missouri State. And uh now we go back to uh the early history of your family coming from uh Kentucky to uh Kansas City uh and we also understand that

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your father was one of the principals of Penn School. Yes, that's what I found out and uh he taught uh between 1940 and 1943. He was a principal and also acted as a teaching principal. That's what they referred to him. I found some correspondence from the

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Kansas City, Missouri Public schools that indicated his uh tenure and also his salary for that uh position. Now this was back in the uh uh Penn school was, was, was all black segregated. Was this the time when segregation was uh one of the uh Um, Ways

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of life in Kansas City in the 40s. 0, yes. It appears to be that Kansas City was a very segregated town. Westport did have a very Um, viable. Um, community for African Americans. Uh, of course, my grandfather was a broker of real estate in the Westport

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area. I understand that he had brokered real estate with JC Nichols. Well, uh, did your father ever mention, um, Uh, why he, uh, chose to, uh, uh, teach at uh Penn School. Again, I don't have any idea other than seeing that he was commissioned to that

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school or appointed, shall I say to that school. He was a, uh, school, school teacher in the Kansas City, Missouri Public schools. I understand he previously had taught at Sumner's elementary school. Now, the uh history of Saint James. Um. mentions. Yeah. That you, Uh, great grandfather

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and his brother had founded that, uh, church. It's been well documented through books and also, uh, material at the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library, Missouri Valley Room that they did, uh, see a need for African African-Americans, uh, to worship and of course they started the Baptist

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Church, uh, in the Westport community. Now, after, um, Uh, you say you gave me the time your, uh, father taught there. Uh, did, uh, was that his last job, or? No, he continued his career with the, uh, Kansas City, Missouri Public schools. He, uh, taught at

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RT Coles, uh, junior high. And then that became Lincoln Junior. How's school? Retired from the Kansas City, Missouri Public school in 1969 after 35 years of teaching. So, uh, education has been something, uh, well, education and church has been a part of, uh, your family's, uh,

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history and life's work. Yes, it has been for a number of years. And you mentioned that uh now how many children do you have? 22 and uh when were you married and where thanks. I was married in 1975 to Michelle Brown. Uh we uh um were

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wed at uh First A&E AM&E in Kansas City, Kansas. And again, I have two children, ages 27 and 23. Well, we're doing the interview with um with you, but do you know where anything about her family? Oh yes, we've been interested in genealogy for the last

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couple of years. Uh, we've researched her family and found out that her family was actually in Jackson County, Missouri in 1850. They were as freemen. Um, now, when we think about the history of, uh, African-Americans in, um, And, uh, Westport. Do you have any, Uh, relatives

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now, uh, living, uh, that's connected to, uh, your family tree? Yes, I do. I have a cousin, Luke Smith from Chicago, Illinois. He was born in Westport in 1925. And is there other people in the Kansas City area connected to you, connected to the to the

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brothers coming from, uh, Kentucky to Westport? Uh, yes, there are. Uh, there was another brother called, uh, named Scott Smith. And his descendants are Ali Gates and family. And, um, After Uh, high school and college, uh, your life has been what as a, uh, career? I

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have worked in the, uh, financial field, in the mortgage banking. Uh, industry Now, when we think about uh history and education. Uh, there's a lot that goes back to Penn school. And what are some of the views on, uh, that you have, uh, pertaining to, uh,

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Westport and the other about Steptoe? Did you ever hear the word steptoe been mentioned? Yes, I'm knowledgeable about the name of the street before the city then changed the name to West Forty-third Street Terrace. Did you ever hear your father, uh, mention it as to some

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of his students living on the street or? No, I don't have any knowledge of that. I do through my, uh, genealogy research find that, uh, a cousin of my grandmother lived on that street along with Scott Smith, living at uh 510 Steptoe and 602 Steptoe. No

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The in doing your research, um, you know, uh, quite a bit about the community, uh, where people worked and some of the things that they, you know, were involved in. Yes, I've seen that through, of course, census records again, uh, you found day laborers, servants, chauffeurs.

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Again, the African-American community serve the white uh community. Uh, also, I can just say that my grandmother was a hairdresser to a, uh, Woman that his husband was a uh Uh, very high up in the Kansas City community. Uh, with Saint Luke's that we mentioned in,

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in the research that you've, uh, was able to, um, uh, Review. Yes, I've reviewed the information on Saint Luke's saying that they uh built the facility that they're in in 1925. Again, they have, uh, been a good partner to that area, but due to their expansion

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plans, the neighborhood is not what it was. Of course, with that being a Kurt Marshall Enterprise, uh, the single-family property. Has been torn down for Saint Luke's expansion. Uh, and when we think about expansion today and uh uh what's going on in the community, uh, many

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people, you know, helping each other, uh. Who has been an inspiration in your life to, to, to want to, uh, become a good family man, business person, and love history? Well, of course, my parents. And of course, uh, their parents. I mean, you know, we feel

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that we want to be part of the community. And provide for one another and share our experiences with the community and friends that we live with. Now, what would you, uh, like to say about, uh, maybe, uh, the accomplishments of, uh, uh, other members of your

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family and children? Well, uh, I guess we'll talk about the present. I'm very proud of both of my boys. One is an architect and the other one is a public school teacher. And without my wife's help and my help to steer them in the right. Way

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of learning about education, helping people, uh, you know, that's what the world needs more, more involvement by the parents to provide a focus. Uh, and goals for their. Children. Uh, uh, Saint Luke's and Penn School. Uh, or institutions and when we think about, uh, what they're

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doing in the community, what is some of your thoughts on education in Kansas City as, um, Penn School, I've heard a lot of people was an outstanding place. Teachers loved, uh, children and the children love to learn. I believe uh I would uh echo those sentiments

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as far as the educational uh process at Penn School. As far as the current condition and state of the Kansas City, Miss Missouri public schools, I'm not qualified to answer that. Um, Of course, um, Your father was principal at, at Penn School and, uh, you kind

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of mentioned that, uh, He was very proud to be a teacher there and, Uh, so what did the family kind of think about Penn school? That you might recall? Well, again, my, uh, Ancestors that attended that, that school. Uh, for their primary education. From there, of

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course, they moved to Lincoln High School to complete the secondary education. Again, um, I can't relate to any more than that. There's too big, there's too great a time frame. Uh, in regards to when they, uh, went through those schools. Now, as, as we, uh, the

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address, uh, that you, uh, uh, lived at when you were young, that address again was what? You want to know the address that I was born when I came home from the hospital. Yes. 2635 Tracy, Kansas City, Missouri. Well, uh, back at that time, uh, did

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your parents ever, uh, talk about the, the boundaries of, of segregation and maybe, you know, not pass 27th Street or? Well, yes, I've heard that and equally I've heard a boundary of 12th Street. But of course, that was many years prior to the boundary of Twenty-seventh

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Street. Uh, did you, uh, tell me about maybe, um, life in the city, uh, your experiences or visits to the plaza, uh, into maybe 18th and 5. Well, I'll speak about the plaza because my pediatrician, um, his office was there. We would, uh, Sometimes we'd ride

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the streetcar. Or bus to the, uh, doctor's office. Uh that was of course during the late 50s, early 60s. Uh sometimes we'd go to Woolsworth and have lunch there. And what about uh uh fun times? uh. On, on the street where you live? Oh, sure, uh,

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after, well, we moved from, uh, there and, uh, from that address and, uh, moved closer to, uh, to Truce Park at uh 31st and Pasao. Uh, that was great times because again I had a big park and I could play in the park until it was

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dark. So, Pretty much, uh, I guess I felt at that time I had the best of all worlds, play, play, play. Uh, did, did you ever have any, any, uh, friends or acquaintances, uh, back in, uh, Westport that you might recall or that the family might

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have mentioned on occasion? Well, with me attending Westport High School during my uh teenage years, I was able to meet some of the uh young men, young women of the Westport community. Of course, they knew of me through my grandfather, John Cannon. His address was 417

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West 42nd Street Terrace. And of course, I was embraced and had friendship with them. Of course, it was a small community by then. Of African Americans, but again, uh, Uh, we got well, we got along well and Um, studied. Now, uh, You mentioned that you have

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a picture of uh a group, a class picture of West, of, of youngsters at Penn School in Westport. Uh, do you, and you got that from whom? As is, of course, in the family archives. So that came from my great grandparents. Oh, OK. And, and, uh,

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and do you know anything about the people on the picture that one person I can recognize, which would be my grand uncle, Kyle Emmett. Smell. And again, he was a teacher at Penn School. During the late 1890s. Uh, what would you, uh, I'd like to share

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with us, uh, just about, uh, uh, your father as being a principal and teacher at Penn School and, uh, uh, how important, uh, the African-American community was, uh, during the times that he was there and later that you know about. Yeah, I can't speak about that,

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Joe, but I can speak about his uh tenure at Lincoln Junior High School. I went to Lincoln Junior, uh, During that period of time that he was teaching, he was known as a strict disciplinarian, but yet, you know, was able to uh provide uh Educational leadership

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to the students. And so, the experiences, uh, well, him going from Penn school to Lincoln. No, he went to RT Cols. Oh, RT Codes. That's right, correct. OK. Uh, uh, so he, um, uh, I had an opportunity to sort of grow in the Kansas, Missouri school

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district and uh. I guess What, uh, if you heard people say anything about, uh, your father, uh, as a principal, as an individual. Uh, later, just, uh, some of his students. Well, they would remember him for his character and of course his uh As I just

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indicated, disciplinary, um, Values To educate the students at that time. Well, this, this documentary and the celebration that we're going to have in October is uh one way that we are, uh, sort of memorializing, uh, Westport. Uh, what do you think might be a, a couple

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of other ways? Well, I guess you need to give recognition to the People that are still alive. I understand Jeremiah Cameron had a park named after him, uh, just recently by the Kansas City, Missouri Park and Rex. Uh, but again, just to, uh, commemorate the legacies

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of individuals that provided um Wrote to the community. Now you mentioned that Saint Luke's has been over the years a good partner to the community furnishing jobs. Do you think there's uh anything else they can do to help memorialize this, uh, uh. Community Uh, through support,

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of course, they would know how their commitment, uh, would be allocated, but, uh, uh, supporting their community. And what else would you just like to say in expressing uh this, what you know about uh Westport and uh Uh, how important it is to us. At this

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time. Well, that it should not be forgotten. Again, the Westport was here before Kansas City, Missouri, um, actually grew into the town that it is today. And, uh, uh, question, uh, where are your parents, uh, buried in Kansas City? They're buried at Forest Hills Cemetery, Kansas

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City, Missouri. Um, I'm hoping that you might want to say something else about uh Westport since you're doing uh what's your next research uh subject on Westport? Just learning more about my ancestors. Again, um, I'd like to go back further and find out about their lives

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in Kentucky. And then, I share that with my children. Now, you have been using, uh, the Missouri Valley Room library. And Midcontinent Public Library. And what about the Jackson County Historical Society? Um, not much. Not much. And, um, I Think that um I, I would agree

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with you that uh we got to. Do as much as we can to, Keep the community alive with reunions because it is vanishing. Uh, some of the people that, uh, you, uh, happen to know, uh, you recall some of them now that are still living there

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that you come in contact with and see on occasion? No, not at, not at this time. Is there anything else you would like to say? No, I appreciate the opportunity for sharing my uh knowledge. About the Westport community and proud that my ancestors were part of

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that community. But I wanna thank you. Thank you.