Monday, September 1, 2008

Guns and Gangsters in Kansas City

The article is titled, "Kansas City's Wholesome Image Belies Mob Past," which kind of puzzles me, because being from there, I had no idea KC had a wholesome image. But, the article is cool, and the actor/tour guide that you hear in it is my friend Tim Phillips! It talks about how KC was a mob town for a long time, well into the 70's. I remember when I was a little kid, my dad showing me the bullet holes in the walls from shootouts at Union Station.

You can read and listen to the article here!

3 comments:

Mark Teel said...

I always gripe about Kansas City's supposed "lack of character." The mafia, a thriving (and historical) art scene, blues and jazz, etc. Hell, Charlie Parker used to play at The Levee. Now it's nothing more than a hangout for frat boys and twenty-year-old girls with fake I.D.'s. For years, the city has been trying to find an "identity" and everybody's missing the point of what an "identity" is built upon: history. This city is super cool, but nobody seems to realize it.

mwt.

PS. I almost forgot...KC is also the birthplace of Mr. Tim Phillips.

Katherine C. Teel said...

I totally agree; it's just when they TRY so hard that is becomes stupid. I'm still bemused by the alien sculptures on top of Bartle Hall. I mean, is THAT what we want to be known for? There's so much other stuff, both good and bad, that gives the city character.

But sadly, being the birthplace of Tim Phillips is not one of those things, since Tim was born in Topeka.

Mark Teel said...

Well, Nirvana was really from Aberdeen. Not Seattle, like everybody thought.