How Kansas City remembers and rebuilds community spaces

The articles all show how communities in Missouri and Kansas remember and reshape their shared spaces. Each example involves preservation, new names, restoration, or people coming together around local history.

One story discusses Kansas City International Airport's terminal being named after President Truman, recognizing his ties to the city and the nation. Students from Pendleton Heights rally to save a community orchard, using their voices in local government. A historic church in Leeton suffers fire damage from arson, and investigators and residents work together in response. Starlight Theatre pauses renovation work to seek funding and align with public support for its historic venue. Meanwhile, at Woodyard Bar-B-Que, family members retake control to restore long-running traditions and reconnect with their roots.

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Frankie Schloegel, from left, his father, Frank Schloegel III, and Oscar Scott, grandson, at Woodyard Bar-B-Que, 3001 Merriam Lane, in Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. The family-owned business is back under the family's management and is making some improvements to the restaurant. Scott will be the general manager. By Tammy Ljungblad

NO. 1: LONG-RUNNING KANSAS CITY BARBECUE RESTAURANT IS BACK ‘UNDER OLD MANAGEMENT’

Woodyard Bar-B-Que has gone downhill. | Published October 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Hudnall

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A vintage postcard of Olathe’s Park Street highlights the Park Cherry Building where J.C Nichols once officed, and the tracks of the Strang Line Interurban railroad that ran from KC to Olathe. By Monty Davis

NO. 2: INTERURBAN RAILROAD HELPED SPUR EARLY GROWTH OF THIS KC-AREA COUNTY SEAT

The important role that Olathe played in Johnson County’s history is often overlooked. | Published October 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Monty Davis, Randy Mason

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Pendleton Heights Community School student Jenny Haluck hugs a fig tree at the community orchard on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Kansas City. Students are advocating to preserve the orchard, which could be replaced by a parking lot. By Emily Curiel

NO. 3: STUDENTS PICK PAWPAWS AT THIS ORCHARD IN KC. IT COULD BECOME A PARKING LOT

School kids who walk to their local orchard in Pendleton Heights to pick pears, figs and pawpaws could soon see the community garden get paved over with a fresh parking lot. | Published October 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Chris Higgins

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The Belvoir Winery in Liberty served as an orphanage and a retirement home for members of the Odd Fellows fraternal order. It now conducts paranormal investigations that the public can attend.

NO. 4: WHO NEEDS HAUNTED HOUSES? HERE ARE 5 REAL HAUNTS YOU CAN EXPERIENCE IN KC

If the manufactured scares of the haunted houses in the West Bottoms and elsewhere aren’t your thing, there are ways to experience genuine spookiness in the Kansas City area during the Halloween season. | Published October 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dan Kelly

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A rendering of Starlight Theatre in Kansas City following renovations to add a new production light bridge and canopy over seats.

NO. 5: STARLIGHT THEATRE’S $40 MILLION MAKEOVER FORCED TO PAUSE FOR ONE YEAR

Theaters and drama go together. | Published October 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Eric Adler, Dan Kelly

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After going through security, travelers heading to the gates in the new $1.5 billion single terminal at Kansas City International Airport on opening day Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. By Tammy Ljungblad

NO. 6: WHY DID KANSAS CITY OFFICIALS PUT A NEW NAME ON KCI’S TERMINAL? HERE’S THE TITLE

Kansas City is honoring President Harry Truman by adding his name to the terminal at Kansas City International Airport, city officials have announced. | Published October 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Nathan Pilling

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The 129-year-old Leeton United Methodist Church in southeast Johnson County, Missouri, was heavily damaged by a fire Monday night. Investigators suspect arson.

NO. 7: 129-YEAR-OLD CHURCH IN SMALL MISSOURI CITY RAVAGED BY FIRE: ARSON SUSPECTED

A 129-year-old church in the small community of Leeton in southeast Johnson County, western Missouri, was heavily damaged Monday night in a fire that investigators say was intentionally set, according to the fire department. | Published October 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Robert A. Cronkleton

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.