Randall Junior High School

On July 4, 1926, Harry S Truman, a World War I veteran, county judge for eastern Jackson County, & chairman of the dedication committee, oversaw the dedication of the Soldiers' & Sailors' Memorial Building. The building served as Harry & Bess Truman's polling place for more than thirty years, & notably in the 1948 presidential election, which Truman won. The Memorial Hall was also the only place that Truman ever held a press conference (on June 27, 1945) in Independence. Truman initiated a war bond sale at the building during World War II, & he dedicated a liberty bell, given by a French city, there, which was later moved to the Truman Presidential Museum & Library [Feature 139]. A large quantity of Truman's presidential papers was stored in the Memorial Building between 1954, after Truman returned to civilian life, & 1957 when the Truman Presidential Museum & Library was completed. On January 16, 1925, the Independence Examiner announced that workmen were tearing down the old J.C. Pendleton home in preparation for the construction of the new Memorial Building, built by the American War Mothers in memory of soldiers & sailors who fought in World War I. The building, intended to be a center of civic life in the community, was to be used for public meetings of all kinds & athletic events. It would also serve as the headquarters for the American Legion, of which Truman was a member, the Independence Chamber of Commerce, & other civic organizations. The Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, & other city clubs contributed special features to the building. City government leaders selected Independence architect Alonzo H. Gentry to design the building. Interior spaces included a gymnasium-theatre, meeting & projection rooms, room for the heating system, & even a "janitor's suite," according to the May 28, 1925, issue of the Independence Examiner. On June 25, 1925, M.T. Colgan was awarded the contract to construct the building for around $105,000. Grading began ten days later, under the supervision of H.R. Foley. On August 16th, the cornerstone was laid. The Randall family, long-time Independence masonry contractors (William R. & Adrian), reportedly completed the brickwork on the building. Over the years, the building served as a gathering place for hundreds of community events, including fraternal & charitable club meetings, concerts & sports events, political & cultural gatherings, & funeral services for notable Independence civic leaders. In the late twentieth century, the building fell into disrepair. In 2001-2002, the Independence Parks & Recreation Department, the property owner, restored, enlarged, & updated the building.