Musings

January 25, 2022

Statement of Purpose

James N. Meeks – Applicant for Historic Preservation CT Fall 2022

Word Count:  590

I am insatiably curious about where and why we are in place and time. How did geography and technology influence the organization of our cities, states, and region? What economic, political, and religious forces caused people to upend their lives and assume enormous risk to settle new territories? How did rational, “civilized” people justify eradicating Indigenous populations on their way to carving out a life without the comforts and safety of the established areas they migrated from? Where did the names of our rivers, streets, villages, and cities come from? What do those names mean and why did they survive while other once prominent names rose then fell and were forgotten? Everything about how we live and interact with our physical and social structures has a reason – and a story – and uncovering or re-discovering those stories and re-telling them within the context of our current knowledge takes well-rounded, diligent authors to pass those stories and details along for future generations to process and inform their understanding of the world they’ve inherited.

Before I could appreciate the need for historians, I simply wanted to understand how machines worked and how products were made. So, I became a mechanical engineer and spent 34 years in manufacturing plants solving the mysteries of how to combine people power, machines, materials, and methods to make products that improved peoples’ lives. Along the way we created profit and wealth for the companies and communities we served. That was a satisfying contribution to the world and was an enriching means to an end. Although I enjoyed solving problems and leading teams to success, my real passion was reading about and exploring local and regional history…with a healthy dose of broader national and global history for nuance and context.

Now that I am retired at the age of 58, I have the time and energy to equip myself with a more rigorous academic framework to help me research, interpret and then write stories that will help explain what is and what was in the region.  Of particular interest to me is the intertwined history of livestock processing, railroads, and manufacturing in this region. I have written and directed a 30-minute documentary on the history of the Procter and Gamble soap plant in Kansas City, Kansas. It is the story of Kansas City’s emergence at the turn of the 20^th century to become the home of Procter and Gamble’s first factory outside of their world headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. And it was all because we were a “Cowtown” with railroads and abundant immigrant labor.

Another story line I am intimately familiar with is the relatively rapid rise and then fall of farming communities on the High Plains of North Central Kansas.  Within the time span of only four generations family names and farms appeared, prospered (or didn’t), and then faded from history while the associated hamlets, villages, and towns have now faded or, in some cases, become rural ghettos.  My essay about a family that epitomizes the character it takes to survive as farmers was published in a regional farming publication. There are stories of families and a way of life that deserve to be remembered… and I’d like to help write some of those stories in a responsible manner.

A Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Missouri Kansas City will put me on the right path to be a responsible steward of helping to tell the story of our time and place for future generations to enjoy. Thank you for your consideration of a place for me in this program.