Grinter Place plans holiday celebration

Holiday event and annual meeting to be Saturday

By MARY RUPERT

Kansan news editor

Despite rumors to the contrary, there will be a Christmas celebration at Grinter Place, and it will be this Saturday.

Tracy Grabbe, president of the Grinter Place Friends, said rumors around town that Grinter Place is closed are false. It's been open this past year each Saturday afternoon, from 1 to 5 p.m., she said.

On Dec. 13, the Grinter Place Friends will hold their annual meeting beginning at 10 a.m. at the adjacent Grinter Place Visitors' Center, she said.

"If anyone in the community is interested in helping keep it open, they're welcome to come to the meeting Saturday and get involved," Grabbe said.

The museum is decorated for Christmas in the pre-Victorian and early Victorian style, Grabbe said, and will be open to the public for tours from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. The Visitors' Center also is decorated for the holidays.

A highlight of the Friends' annual meeting will be a presentation on "Life at Delaware Crossing, 1842 to 1858," by William Young, a member of the organization. Young, a professor of religion and department chairman at Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., has written a historical novel about the Isaac Mundy family, who were neighbors of Moses Grinter, Grabbe said.

Young is the great-great-grandson of Isaac Mundy, who served as blacksmith and paymaster on the Delaware Agency land.

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An appearance by Santa Claus also will be part of the Grinter Friends program on Saturday, and will be at the Visitors' Center from 1 to 5 p.m. for photos, she said.

Because the museum is decorated for the late 1800s-era, Santa Claus won't be at the Grinter Place Museum because he wouldn't have been in keeping with Christmas celebrations in that era, Grabbe said. Instead, he'll be nearby at the Visitors' Center.

A hand-stitched quilt will be raffled Saturday, with proceeds going to the Grinter Friends to help pay for utilities on the building, she said.

Also on display Saturday will be the Lewis and Clark quilt made by the Grinter quilters, Grabbe said. Quilters will be on hand to talk about it with visitors.

Admission to the museum will be $3 for adults and $1 for children.

The Grinter historic site, the home of early Wyandotte County resident Moses Grinter, who operated a ferry across the Kansas River, is at Kansas Highway 32 and South 78th Street in Kansas City, Kan.

The museum is owned, operated and staffed by the Kansas State Historical Society. The museum's hours were scaled back about a year ago after the Grinter site administrator took a new job at a different museum, Grabbe said.

"Because of budget cuts, they aren't doing a lot of replacing," Grabbe said.

The full-time site administrator at the Shawnee Indian Mission, Brad Woellhof, was assigned additional duties as part-time administrator at Grinter Place, she said.

"The experience he brings to Grinter is just outstanding," she said.

When contacted, Woellhof said he is not aware of the state's plans for the future for Grinter Place.

"A lot is governed by the budget and what we're going to be able to do about filling vacant positions," he said.

Generally, changes in the state's plans are announced closer to the beginning of the fiscal year in July, according to Woellhof.

Grinter Place currently is not open during the weekdays to the public, except for specially scheduled visits by school or other groups, Grabbe said.

Grabbe said she is excited about three Washington High School students, under the direction of their teacher, Dennis Lawrence, doing a senior research project on Grinter Place.

"One young lady already has her Web site up and going," Grabbe said. "It's really nice to have the public school students involved."

She said people who are interested in volunteering with the Friends may call the organization at (913) 334-2500 or Woellhof at (913) 262-0867.

"This is a good time for people to become involved," Grabbe said. "We're starting over on things and redoing a lot of things because a lot of our mission has changed. We really have a lot of exciting things going on there."