The Armourdale Christmas Adoption program applications will end December 16th. Many of our families and senior citizens are in need for the holidays. Armourdale takes pride in “taking care of our own.” We try our hardest to help those in actual dire need. The program only applies to the community of Armourdale.

Armourdale has a wonderful past full of warm Christmas memories. We are not able to revive those days, but we try to give our low-income families and children some good memories to carry through their adult life.

The Armourdale of old was full of people teeming up and down the streets during the holidays. The street lights were decorated as well as Shawnee Park. All the dads had a job. Armourdale employed not only Armourdale families, but families all over Wyandotte County.

After all, we had 5 packing, houses 2 soap factories, and several railroad offices. Seventh and Kansas Avenue held a complete retail shopping district. The streetcar went up and down Kansas Avenue all day long. People jumped off and on, shopping at each stop.

As children our pleasures were simple. Christmas Eve held tons of excitement. Midnight Mass at St. Thomas Church was the place we saw everyone. Our Christmas dinner was the highlight of the season.

The smell of turkeys roasting in every oven floated over the homes and out into the streets like a mist of heavenly clouds. I remember my favorite Christmas Eve when my father came home from the Army.

My grandfather (Walter Scott and my Uncle (Richard Scott) had come to St. John’s orphanage and told us we did not have to go back. We had been there for three years, an eternity to a 7 and 8 year old. They told us there was a big Christmas surprise waiting at home. We went running in to see Grandma Scott and she said”look in the kitchen.”  There stood my dad in his army uniform!  We were so happy to see him, we could not speak. He said “What do you kids want for Christmas?”

Well I had been dying for a set of ball and jacks and my brother Bob wanted some marbles. Dad took us into the front room and pulled two small boxes from under the Christmas tree. They held  my jacks and Bob’s marbles. I was in heaven. Dad took Bob back to the back porch while I was playing jacks. They returned with a big blue bicycle. I jumped up and down with delight and quickly returned to my jacks.

My father had this puzzling look on his face and said “Don’t you want another present?” I said “I got my jacks.” I kept bouncing the ball and playing jacks as if there were no tomorrow. Finally Dad grabbed my hand and said “follow me.”  He took me to the back porch and there stood a big red bicycle with a carrier on the back.

I was overcome with shock, I cried, I laughed and said “is it really mine to keep?” I rode that bicycle until I was 16 years old. We kept our bicycles stored in Grandma’s shed. After the 1951 flood waters receded. I ran out in the back yard. The shed was gone and so was Bob’s bike. 

My red bicycle stood there mired deep in flood mud. It looked like it was standing there looking at me as if to say. “It’s about time, get me out of here.” Bob’s bike and parts of the shed ended up at the end of the alley.

Years later when I was 16 I was riding my bike down Osage with Donna White on the back when she fell off and landed in the street. The bicycle had cracked right in half.

That ended my bike riding days in 1954. And so this ends of my Christmas Story that I tell every year at the Armourdale Optimist Christmas program. Do you have a Christmas Story?

Come to the Optimist Christmas luncheon on December 22nd and tell us your favorite Christmas story.

The Armourdale Renewal Association will hold its 15th annual Christmas Open House Business Luncheon on December 11th 2009 at the Armourdale Recreation Center, 7:30 Osage Avenue in Kansas City, Kan. from noon-1:30 p.m. 

Mayor Joe Reardon will present the following awards: Armourdale Business of the Year: William Koehler, Construction Co and former Armourdale Butcher; Armourdale Citizen of the Year: Wilma Allen.

Table Sponsorships are now available at $25 each.

Your business/family name will be on a dinner table. Proceeds go toward food costs & the Armourdale Christmas Adoption Program

A huge buffet is served for a cost of $10 per person and $5 for senior citizens (65 & Over). Luncheon and raffle tickets are on sale now and can be purchased ahead of time by calling 913.371-5696. 

Raffle ticket prizes include two $100, prizes, & two $50 dollar prizes and numerous Armourdale merchant and restaurant gift certificates.
 

EDITOR's NOTE: The following commentary of support for Mark Holland is from Patty Dysart. Earlier today, The Kansan published a letter supporting Ann Murguia and her case.

I just found a copy of a paper titled “The Truth about Commissioner Holland’s proposed ordinance”.

This paper also says it comes from the people of Argentine.

This paper accuses an honorable, honest man with high morals of the following, discrimination against their community; wasting public dollars, halting NSP dollars which are stimulus dollars designated for building of housing.

What a crock?

The ordinance merely asks that commissioners not be allowed to be NBR directors.
All of these so called facts in that paper contain untruthful material.

This letter also lays claim to a high poverty Hispanic community long ignored by the Unified Government. If they are high poverty how do they afford to pay their NBR director $60,000.00 a year which is then supplemented by the NBR salary of $27,000.00 a year, plus the monthly commission salary?

Let me see does that not amount to around $90,000.00 a year? These facts were glaring to Commissioner Holland as to most of us who are NBRS. They fly in the face of ethical behavior.  Did you ever see any other commissioner or the Mayor attempt to become an NBR?

The rest of us are paid only the $27,000 per year and we are required to raise half of that salary. We are paid in quarters after submitting proof of raising $5,500 per quarter or we would not get paid.

When I founded the NBR for Armourdale, it took me three years of hard work with absolutely no salary. The rest of us are required to serve all entities, the residents, the businesses, the churches and agencies.

All of those entities work with Armourdale Renewal to improve out community and help our inner-city lower income residents that contains just as many Hispanic families as Argentine.

We just do not go around using that as a crutch, we try to serve the families with the community resources available to us. It also took Wilma Allen and the residents of the 1200 block of Osage 3 years to obtain sidewalks for one block of one side of the street.

Mr.Boykin applied for his sidewalk block on Miami over 5 years ago. No one has stepped forward to help us.

Don’t get me wrong Argentine deserves all the improvements they are getting and any other benefits they receive in the future. I love Argentine and its people. I am thrilled to see Wolf Burgers opened up again. I have missed Mac’s Little Banquet every week since the day it closed. My Aunt, Buetta Meyers moved right behind the pharmacy after the 51 flood until the day she died. She raised me in Armourdale along with her own children and gave me a wonderful childhood. (CLICK READ MORE)