By David (Paisius) Altschul, Special to The Kansas City Star
Troost Avenue…
My grandfather used to have a fur shop on 46th and Troost called Altschul and Son.
My mother used to take me to Jones Store at 31st and Troost to shop for clothing when I was a boy. Across the street was the President’s Shirt Shop, named after Harry Truman for his friendship with Eddie Jacobson, the owner. From this friendship grew the love for Jewish people that ultimately led to Truman supporting the formation of the State of Israel in 1948.
In 1968, my wife was pulled over at 31st and Troost when she was trying to give a ride to someone after curfew when Martial Law was imposed after the martyrdom of Dr. Martin Luther King in April.
Troost Avenue….
A trail for the Osage Indian Nation to the Missouri River in the 1700’s. A slave plantation between 1833 and 1865. Millionaire’s Row between 1880 and 1910. A city within a city between 1915 and 1960, with 186 businesses within 2 blocks of 31st and Troost. An entertainment hub where young Walt Disney used to first show his animation at the Isis Theater created one block east on 31st and Forest at Laugh-o-Gram’s Studio. A ghost town in the 1980s due to white flight… And now?…
Troost Avenue …
The Jones Store is a custom furniture store. The President’s Shirt shop is St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church and Reconciliation Services. J.C. Penney’s is Operation Breakthrough. Altschul and Son is Walgreen’s. From 18th to 75th Street, Troost Avenue is rivaling a city in the Netherlands for the number of tulips.
Troost Avenue….
The site of the Troost Avenue Festival where neighbors celebrate neighbors and every person matters. The site of Troost Village, Troost Alliance, and Troost Folks – all dedicated to changing Troost from a dividing line to a gathering place. This May 22, 2010 from Noon to 10:00 p.m.
Troost Festival….
To prepare for the Troost Festival on May 22nd, we are having a Troost Fest Canvass on Saturday, April 24th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For the Canvass activity, we are asking that you walk the Troost corridor for at least four blocks with us, in groups of three or four people, to knock on doors to inform others about the Troost Fest and its sponsors.
The Troost Fest sponsors are Reconciliation Services, an agency that provides emergency assistance and therapeutic services to individuals; TYCOR, a non-profit Community Development Corporation that promotes entrepreneurial activity along the Troost Corridor, especially for youth, and a wonderful group of people called “Troost Folks”, who are a collaboration of individuals and persons representing organizations, churches, and businesses in the midtown area. Reconciliation Services is located at 3101 Troost.
Troost Avenue….
In the future, a place where the city gathers in safety and diversity to discover how to be a community, the many working together as one.
David (Paisius) Altschul is executive director of Reconciliation Services, 3101 Troost. For more information, go to www.rs3101.org; for the Troost Festival, go to www.troostvillage.org; and for St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church, go to www.stmaryofegypt.net.
