Our first Brookside house was just a block away from the John Wornall House Museum—yet I never stopped in for a tour. I always admired the all brick, Greek Revival style home with the massive pillars in front, built in 1858. Over the past few months, I noticed heavy bulldozers on the grounds facing Wornall, and decided to find out what was going on.
First, a little background on the house: Richard Wornall purchased the 500 acres of farmland in 1843, stretching from State Line to Main St and 59th to 67th Streets, taking out a loan of $2500. (These days that amount isn’t even a down payment on a Brookside home!) He and his family first lived in a cabin on the homestead until the house was built. They farmed the land, selling grain and animals in Westport. Eventually, Richard and Judith’s sons, John and Thomas, inherited the property. Soldiers took over the house during the Civil War and used it as a field hospital as the Battle of Westport was taking place nearby (in present day Loose Park). Pieces of land were sold off through the years, and finally, John Wornall’s third wife, Roma, sold the remaining 150 acres to JC Nichols. In 1963, the property was purchased by the Jackson County Historical Society and is now a free standing, non profit entity in conjunction with the Alexander Majors House at 8201 State Line Road.
Sarah Bader-King, Curator-The Wornall House
Sarah Bader King, Curator and Director of Public Events and Programming , explained during my recent visit that the grounds are now being prepped for the “Learning Landscape”, an idea that’s been percolating for the past five years. The Learning Landscape will reflect how the grounds outside the house were originally used: there will be native, period accurate plants, a vegetable/herb garden, a firepit, an original cistern that was uncovered, apple trees and a Civil War encampment. Extensive educational signage will be added along the new sidewalks, used for self guiding visitors anytime they want to stop and walk the grounds, learning how the area evolved from open frontier to the suburbs it is today. King says: “We are excited to have the opportunity to bring our mission outdoors and into the landscape that would have been so important to the Wornall family in the nineteenth century. It is not often that a small non-profit such as ours can undertake such an innovative and organization-changing project.”
King hopes the Learning Landscape will be completed in April, as the official Ribbon Cutting ceremony is planned for the first weekend of May. And if you are a fan of the biannual Garden Tour the Wornall House arranges, this year it will involve Brookside homes all within walking distance of the house.
You can tour the Wornall House by making a reservation in advance; all tours last approximately 45 minutes. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10am-4pm, and Sundays 1-4pm.
This long time, locally owned business was what Waldo was all about: area folks who started a business from scratch, grew into a respected institution and earned a well deserved reputation for excellent customer service. Dave and his wife Bette ran the shop at 7432 Wornall for over fifty years. Dave started out with a few lamps and a willingness to learn by doing. Slowly, the business grew and the store expanded, with local guys who liked to tinker with parts helped out the owners. Bette added home decor to the huge inventory of lampshades and bases. Dave could make a lamp out of just about anything –customers came by with sentimental pieces such as an old bottle, toy, a piece of sports equipment or musical instrument and Dave would get to work, fashioning a unique, workable table or floor lamp. If you just needed a part, or a lamp repair–Dave and Bette were there as well, ready to help and tackle the job. Through the years, both were active in the Waldo business association, participating in promotions and neighborhood events. 
Although this can be the most boring time of year……there’s always 
I stopped by this week to take a look –I haven’t eaten there yet and I’m not a food critic anyway! I was impressed the first thing I saw was four employees, including assistant general manager Patricia Allen, conducting a food tasting for quality, taste and appearance before the lunch rush. The other impressive aspect of this place is the amount of food you get for the price–the plate is piled high with all of the fresh ingredients you choose–easily a full pound of food that could feed two, or at least enough for leftovers! The base of your food “bowl” can be rice, green salad or Japanese noodles. Proteins include two types of chicken (one is spicy), steak, and tofu. And there’s a maze of toppings: hot choices are black beans, sprouts, and potatoes, plus ten cold toppings (veggies, etc). There are six sauce options, which you can taste before you order at a station by the soft drinks–that’s so handy for those who aren’t sure which to try and for picky children! All of this food, on one plate, for under $10! Extra options include kimchi, fresh pineapple and miso soup. There are a few seats if you want to dine in.
If you are planning on starting your holiday shopping this weekend…why fight the crowds at the mall? Shop Small in Brookside and Waldo–as this Saturday is Small Business Saturday! 
Baseball and JKF inspired the name of her shop as well: “moonshot” is the term for a really high hit home run, and Kennedy’s speech with the line “we choose to go to the moon in this decade not because it will be easy, but because it will be hard” resonates with Smith. “I wanted a challenge, and am inspired to succeed”. Sharing her passion for this work is Shana Lee, who moved to Kansas City from Los Angeles a year ago—and is so dedicated to her California clients that she flies back once a month to take care of them!
Inside Brookside (And Waldo) 