Motion Picture MP2002-316
Administrative Information
Mary Jane Truman, sister of Harry S. Truman, responds to questions from Merle Miller. She discusses visits to the Grandview farm, how she and her brothers visited their grandmother often. She describes her Grandmother Young’s farm being raided by union troops, the damage they did, the effect of General Order #11. Mary Jane discusses running the farm while Harry was in World War I. She traces Mr. Truman’s entry into politics and the farm land being rented. Both brothers, she said, were as good as a sister could want. Sound only.
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Shot List
Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice says "Stand by please . . . quiet . . . 132 take 1, sound 95, Mary Jane Truman . . . sound 96." | |
| Mary Jane Truman, sister of Harry S. Truman, responds to questions from Merle Miller. | ||
| 1:35 | Mary Jane Truman discusses the Grandview farm. "It was home [since 1957]." The farm of her childhood had a maple grove, rose bushes, an orchard, a pretty blue grass yard. Although the family was living in Independence, they visited their grandmother often on the 600 acre farm. She and her brothers climbed the trees in the orchard. | |
| 3:50 | Ms. Truman states that the Young's were the first in the family to come to the area. Her Grandmother Young's farm was raided 3 times during the Civil War. Her uncle Harrison Young was hanged 3 times but survived as union troops tried to confirm that his father was with the southern army. He was actually on a freight trip west. After General Order # 11 took effect, the grandmother's family stayed in Kansas City until the war ended. | |
| 8:12 | Ms. Truman discusses Federal troops coming to the Young Farm, and demanding food. The grandmother made biscuits until her wrists were blistered. The troops killed their hogs, taking only the hams. They played cards on a family quilt spread on the muddy barn floor. | |
| 9:36 | Miss Truman states horseback riding was a favorite pastime for her and her brothers. A favorite horse was "old Bill." She bought her first car in 1919, while Harry was in World War I, she ran the farm and Vivian ran another farm nearby. She recalls having a good hired man on the farm, but she cooked for the workers and hired hands. "It worked out just fine." She never worked in the fields. | |
| 12:21 | Miss Truman discusses Harry S. Truman leaving his bank job in Kansas City to return to the farm. After Vivian married and moved away, Harry and his father continued to farm. Harry's plans to be a farmer changed when he returned from World War I and became Eastern Judge of Jackson County. After Harry entered politics, the farm land was rented and Mary Jane and her mother lived in the farmhouse until they moved in 1940 to a house in Grandview. | |
| 14:00 | Miss Truman describes her mother as being independent, fair, outspoken, matter of fact. She had high ideals, loved people, and had a fine sense of humor. Ms. Truman believes her mother was misunderstood at times when she was intending to be humorous. They visited the White House for Mother’s Day 1945 and were assigned the Rose Suite. She did not refuse the Lincoln bedroom as reported. Mary Jane tells a story of her mother's comments when they arrived in Washington. Martha Ellen Truman said "My goodness, if I had known this was going to happen I wouldn't have come." Mary Jane explains that her mother was teasing. | |
| 18:32 | Ms. Truman describe Harry as a very good farmer, and as a young boy he was very studious, always reading. Both of her brothers were as good as a sister could want. Ms. Truman states he had originally wanted his library to be built in Grandview, but facilities were better in Independence. | |