Press Release: November 18, 2010

National Archives at Kansas City

National Archives to host author Monroe Dodd for a discussion of Kansas City Crime Central

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information: Kimberlee Ried, 816-268-8072

Kansas City, (MO)…The National Archives at Kansas City will host author Monroe Dodd for a discussion and signing of his book Kansas City Crime Central on Thursday, December 2 at 6:30 p.m. Dodd will be available to sign copies of his book after the discussion. A 6:00 p.m. reception will precede the event.

From the bandits of the Wild West to the gangsters of the wide-open town, from whiskey-guzzling kidnappers to gunslinging evangelists, Kansas City has proved to be a hotbed for criminals and a hotspot for crimes. Dodd recounts the highlights and lowlights of a century and a half of local wrongdoing. Kansas City Crime Central covers 150 years of history, past to present ... not only our area's most notorious crimes, such as the Union Station Massacre and the kidnapping of Bobby Greenlease, but also the Hollywood-style gangland shooting of Ferris Anthon in the 1930s, the unsolved murder and mutilation of the well-situated Leila Welch in the 1940s, the 1890s hanging for which the sheriff sent printed invitations, and 30 more stunning breaks with the law. Kansas City Crime Central is a compelling look at the stories behind some of Kansas City's most notable headlines.

Monroe Dodd is the editor or author of several books about the history of Kansas City and its region. He wrote A Splendid Ride about the streetcars of Kansas City, and wrote and took most of the modern-day photographs for Kansas City Then & Now, which has appeared in three volumes. He was editor of Kansas City: An American Story, a history of the city and its metropolitan area published in 1999 and re-issued with updates in 2007; Your Land, Our Land, based on the collections of all the regional branches of the National Archives; Great Plains Originals, which drew from the National Archives at Kansas City; and The Ike Files, sampling the the holdings of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. From 1976 to 2008 Dodd was an editor at The Kansas City Times and The Kansas City Star.

Copies of Kansas City Crime Central will be available for purchase at The Kansas City Store at the National Archives. Following the program the author will be available to sign copies of his book. For more information or to make a reservation for this free event call 816-268-8010 or register by emailing: kansascity.educate@nara.gov.

The National Archives at Kansas City is one of 13 facilities nationwide where the public has access to Federal archival records. It is home to more than 50,000 cubic feet of historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by nearly 100 Federal agencies. Serving the Central Plains Region, the archives holds records from the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The facility is located at 400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO 64108. It is open to the public Tuesday - Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for research, with the exhibits open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 816-268-8000 or visit: www.archives.gov/central-plains.

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NREKA 10-48

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