ABSTRACT
In January 1953, Harry and Bess Truman took a long train ride home from Washington to Independence, Missouri. When the Trumans arrived at home, they were shocked to find a throng of citizens gathered at the depot to greet them and even more gathered around their home at 219 North Delaware. Truman remarked, “It is more than I expected. And it is more to the heart than I expected it would be.”1 The city allowed their most famous residents to settle back into their home. In February, Harry and Bess Truman were the featured guests at a dinner held in their honor. Truman thanked the citizens of Independence for their support throughout his political career and reflected back on that January homecoming once more. He said, “[T]hat home town reception was worth all the effort, all the trials. Never has there been anything like it in Independence or any other ex-president’s home town.”2
