One of our favorite wedding photos is of Loula Long Combs, who became Mrs. Robert Pryor Combs in July 1917. Loula was a renown horsewoman, constantly surrounded by grooms, but only the kind who carry currycombs, not diamond rings. The Independent had desperately wanted her to get married for years – there were constant asides […]

(Continued from the April 28, 2018 issue) In March 1968, our scribe wrote: “The McGreevy home at No. 6410 Wenonga Road seethes with sociable confusion. Phones keep ringing, friends drop by, houseguests come to stay, and children come and go.” By then, Molly and Tom were the parents of three daughters. Our scribe made a […]

Both Molly McGreevy and her former husband, Tom, were interviewed for the book Edie, a biography of Edie Sedgwick, the Warhol Superstar, by Jean Stein, which she edited with George Plimpton. The book, which was published in 1982, is a compilation of oral interviews. At the end, participants comment on the changes in their lives. […]

Dr. Kip Robinson introduced Sally Sheffield Ingalls, who recently had accepted a position in the advertising department at Harzfeld’s, to Edward Keith, who worked in his father’s business, the Robert Keith Furniture and Carpet Company. On April 4, 1931, their engagement was announced in The Independent.  Sally was born in Atchison, Kansas, on October 10, […]

Earl Altaire (rhymes with Astaire, as in Fred) began life as Earl Altare, (he later added the “i”), in Our Town on December 27, 1901. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Georgia Brown Dramatic School. In his first job, Earl displayed a great deal of talent, but not of the theatrical variety […]

Continued from the December 16, 2017 issue A previous article discussed the jet-set lives of Ruth Minor Koppang and Henry Koppang, whose passports must have brought new meaning to the term stamp collection. Ruth was a portrait painter, and Henry was vice president of the Federal Reserve’s Kansas City branch for many years. They were […]

Ruth and Henry Koppang were among the most glamorous of the jet-setters whose activities were of interest to the readers of The Independent more than 50 years ago. At that time, international air travel was, in a word, romantic – and the Koppangs made the most of their adventures.  Henry was born in 1899 in […]

The first time she graced our pages, we didn’t even know her name: “Mr. and Mrs. Burnham Hockaday of St. Louis announce the birth of a daughter, June 25.” That was Laura Rollins Hockaday, and the date on the cover of The Independent was July 9, 1938. Not quite 80 years later, we count ourselves […]

When The Independent celebrated its 100th birthday in March 1999, Martha Belle Aikins Smith was there – and, at 97, she was as much a part of the social history of Kansas City as the magazine itself. Martha Belle was born on September 30, 1901. Her parents were Clara Jackman Aikins and John Aikins, who […]