Ice cream sundaes and a massage: Five great ways to enjoy Harry Truman’s legacy

Yes, I know, Presidents Day this Monday commemorates George Washington’s birthday, technically. But here in Kansas City, it seems like a fine excuse to also salute our homegrown president, Harry Truman.

(For the record, his birthday is May 8; wife Bess was born on Feb. 13.)

You could start with the official odes to the Man From Independence, the Truman Library & Museum or his home and national historic site.

But beyond the obvious, here are five other great ways to soak up the legacy of Harry Truman:

1. The scoop: Clinton’s

What Truman did there: A teenage Truman earned $3 a week at his first job, Clinton’s Drugstore, 100 W. Maple on Independence Square. “He opened the store every morning at six thirty, mopped the floor, cleaned away the trash, polished the jugs and bottles, worked at the fountain and clerked,” proclaims the plaque outside.

What you can do there: The drugstore is now Clinton’s Soda Fountain, offering all sorts of ice cream concoctions. Try Harry’s Favorite, a sundae of chocolate ice cream, butterscotch sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. Or order up a phosphate (aka soda) with ice cream in an old-fashioned glass, just because you can. (Except on Sundays, when they’re closed.)

2. Hats off: The haberdashery

What Truman did there: He and Army buddy Eddie Jacobson operated their clothing store, Truman & Jacobson Haberdashery, at 104 W. 12th St. on the ground floor of the old Glennon Hotel. It lasted only a brief time, from 1919 to 1921. Jacobson left to sell shirts on the road, and Truman entered politics, becoming a Jackson County judge. The Glennon was razed to make way for the 20-story Hotel Phillips, the tallest hotel in Kansas City when it opened in 1931.

What you can do there: Luxuriate in the newly renovated Hotel Phillips. Saunter through the swanky lobby to check out the Tavernonna Italian Kitchen, the Kilo Charlie coffee bar or the P.S. Speakeasy cocktail lounge, hidden in the basement behind a “secret” entrance.

3. The towering Muehlebach

What Truman did there: He stayed in the penthouse Presidential Suite so often while he was in office that the Muehlebach came to be known as “White House West.”

What you can do there: The 102-year-old Muehlebach Tower, 1213 Wyandotte, is now part of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown complex. The guest rooms haven’t been used since 1986, but you can look around the restored ground floor spaces, including the old-fashioned lobby, as long as there isn’t some sort of convention or wedding reception going on.

4. Escape to the Elms

What Truman did there: On Election Day 1948, the president escaped the madhouse of his campaign headquarters at the Muehlebach downtown and secretly checked in to this getaway in Excelsior Springs. He enjoyed a salt rub, mineral water tubs and a massage before retiring to his suite, Room 200, to listen to election returns on the radio. (He won.)

What you can do there: At the Elms Hotel & Spa, you can stay in that same hotel room, the Truman Suite, which is now Room 300 because of some renovations. It costs $209 during the week and $229 Fridays and Saturdays; a regular room starts at $149. And you can treat yourself to not only a massage but mud wraps, facials and pedicures.

5. Down on the farm

What Truman did there: In 1906, he gave up his bank job in Kansas City to help on the 600-acre family farm for the next 11 years. The farmhouse had no plumbing or electricity, and he shared a room with his brother and the hired hands.

What you can do there: At the Truman Family Farm, 12301 Blue Ridge Blvd. in Grandview, the house is closed to visitors, but you can stroll the grounds, maintained by the National Parks Service. Most of the farm is now Truman’s Marketplace, a $75 million development that debuted in September. It replaces the old Truman Corners Shopping Center with the likes of Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx and Lutfi’s Fried Fish.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Ice cream sundaes and a massage: Five great ways to enjoy Harry Truman’s legacy."