Gift to WWI museum would have been blasts in the past

The Kansas City Star ^ | MATT CAMPBELL

[nickcarraway]

A recent gift to the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial blew officials there away.

Not literally, thank goodness. Because the gift that came in seven very heavy boxes was a collection of 119 vintage — but inert — grenades or parts of grenades from various battlefields and combatants of the war.

These are not all just familiar pineapple-shaped explosives. Many are exotic specimens that will allow the museum to display the evolution of the grenade during the first truly industrial war.

They are among several important acquisitions recently.

There is a crude Austrian grenade devised in the field and filled with shell fragments or rocks. An Italian discus grenade that a soldier would hurl for greater distance to reach enemy trenches. A Russian square, lantern-shaped grenade presumably designed for more efficient shipping. A British rifle-fired grenade with an intact cloth “ballerina skirt” to help guide it aerodynamically.

And there are more than 100 others, all donated — unsolicited — from a collector in California who thought the National World War I Museum in Kansas City was the appropriate place for them.

“We thought we had a great (grenade) collection and we had three dozen,” said museum director Eli Paul. “We don’t have reference books that cover all of these. They could be unique to this collection.”

Curator Doran Cart is only beginning to research the grenades, but officials hope to display most or all of them near the museum’s interactive tables by summer.

[Philgore]

If you have never visited our National WWI museum, it is truly a world class place. Every Freeper should go if they are in Kansas City.

Also our BBQ is not to be missed too!

[hometoroost]

I could not agree more - on both counts. The musuem is great and the BBQ is legendary as are the steaks.

[dianed]

I’ll back the both of you up.

I’ve been there a number of times and the man who started up the museum was there the last time and told me that the last surviving American Vet from WW1 was coming that next week for Veterans day. He was 104 years old. There are only 2 other known survivors in the world.

It is a fabulous interactive museum and a gem of KC.

[Justaham]

I am from Califonia and would like to know some BBQ brands from Kansas. Maybe I can buy them online. Thanks.

[hometoroost]

Well, I'm not the expert some of the KC denizens may be so they can feel free to jump in (and don't flame me if I missed anyone really great because I've only been there twice on business).

Fiorella's Jack Stack, Arthur Bryants, and LC's were the ones that come to mind for me from being there or hearing about them.

I have eaten at the Kansas City Barbeque in San Diego - it's an okay substitute if you don't have time for the trip to KC. I know it burned down last summer and hope it's back up.