U.S. Highway 36 in Missouri
Really, one of the most fascinating parts of U.S. history that I never learned about in school or read in the history books. We discovered by mistake why this should be on everyone’s bucket list.
In 2017, we traveled from Arkansas to Yellowstone and decided to take a different route. We stayed at a campground just north of Kansas City in Platte City, Missouri, and Tracy suggested she wanted to visit the Missouri Star Quilt Company (MSQC) in Hamilton, Missouri.
You can imagine how excited I was thinking about spending the day in quilt shops (sarcasm intended). But always striving to please my wife, it was little sacrifice for all the ways she has sacrificed for me. So off we went.
What we found was a small town near the intersection of U.S. 36 and Missouri 13 that had been almost completely taken over by the MSQC. They had purchased a lot of empty downtown buildings and it completely rejuvenated the town. The town is full of quilting schools, supplies, patterns, stores, and just about anything else a quilter might want - basically a Quilter’s Heaven - not to mention the employment this company has created.
But that’s not the whole story…
I discovered while walking the downtown area that Hamilton, Missouri is also the birthplace of J.C. Penney, and his boyhood home is still standing. Now J.C. Penney is not the stellar store it used to be, but the man created an important place in modern American history and a personal testimony of faith and giving.
Then, as I was searching out the area on Google I found the boyhood town of Walt Disney, Marceline, Missouri. Since we are both seasonal cast members at Disney World, we thought this might be interesting to experience and it was only about an hour away. Again, it was far more interesting than we expected.
Marceline is a tribute to the person of Walt Disney, not Disneyland or Disney World. The museum in the old city train station is made up of mostly donations from his sister Ruth, and certainly reveals the more personal side of Disney and his family. But the fascinating part of the journey was going to the farm where they lived and he would spend time dreaming and creating as a boy. Many attribute this time in his life as the origins of his creativity that eventually became his legacy.
The re-created barn on the site where Walt Disney loved to play is now a living tribute to Walt and his legacy from the thousands of visitors.
Our contribution.
The original Dreaming Tree on the farm blew down in a storm in 2015. Walt said later that the Dreaming Tree inspired many of his Silly Symphony and Mickey Mouse cartoons.
A replacement tree was planted in 2004 by a grandson of Walt Disney and three Disney Ambassadors.
And with just a little more discovery, we found that U.S. Highway 36, called The Way of American Genius, and its surrounding area in Missouri is also the home to the invention of Sliced Bread, the birthplace of Mark Twain in Hannibal, the birthplace of Generals Omar Bradley and John Pershing, Coleman Hawkins (father of the Tenor Saxaphone), the birthplace of Walter Cronkite, and the origin of Osteopathic Medicine - as well as many, many other things.
It’s a fascinating 200-mile stretch of highway, and someday we plan to spend more time on U.S. 36.