Rimsie McGoniga
Special to the Citizen
As a small child Betty Soper learned to love history.
She was 5 years old when her father died and from that point on her aunt became her mentor and ensured that the child acquired an appreciation of not only her own family’s history but history in general.
“My hobby is historic preservation,” Soper said.
Her interest in preservation became a lifelong passion that not only enhanced her own life but ended up becoming a valuable asset to the Platte City community.
When Soper became president of the Platte County Historical Society in 1977 she found out that a house built in 1878, a private home that had been empty for many years and was in bad shape, was being sold.
When she learned that three men in Kansas City were intending to buy the historical dwelling, tear it down and use the wood for a bar they planned to open, she decided this would be a great loss for her community and made it her mission to save the home, restore it and open a museum.
She and husband Don had restored an 1837 home in Liberty and she had served on the Missouri State Preservation Commission, but she knew that finding the funds for the purchase and renovation would be challenging.
“Valuing historical sites was in my blood and I couldn’t stand to see something with a history to it torn down,” Soper said.
Ben Ferrel, who was a U.S. Marshal and whose mother founded Ferrelview, had also had an appreciation for local history and when he died he left $38,000 to the Platte County Historical Society and the Platte Purchase Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of which Soper is also a member.
When other members of the organizations asked what they should use the money for, Soper suggested that instead of dividing the inheritance between the two groups, they should work together and bid on the former Krause mansion in Platte City. The members agreed and Soper was voted in as restoration chairman for the project.
They were able to purchase the house for $35,000. It soon became the Ben Ferrel Platte County Museum.
Although the Platte County Historical Society and the Platte Purchase Chapter of the DAR were co-owners of the property, the historical society was responsible for restoration, upkeep and staffing.
Since Soper’s husband and son were builders, she got a lot of good advice from them on the restoration.
Her son suggested checking with Gary Gaw, a young architect, who was just starting his career and sometimes took jobs for free, or for modest amounts to get notoriety. He advised the organizations all the way through the project.
“He said he would work with us,” Soper said. “Others had wanted to charge $5,000. The house was in very bad shape. Water had leaked. He said he would charge $500. He said the first thing we had to do was get the roof to stop leaking. It has a flat roof and the chimneys were decaying and leaking. We had many fundraisers and everything possible to raise money.”
During World War II, the second owner’s daughter had put a sink in every room and rented each of the rooms. “The residents had to sign up during the week for what time they wanted to take a bath on Saturdays,” said Soper.
After repairing the roof, the second major project was taking the sinks out of every room.
Every item and piece of furniture in the house has Platte County history attached to it. “The desks and beds belonged to Dr. Marshall when he came in the 1840-1850s,” said Soper. “We wanted everything to be from the date, or close to when it was built.”
Thousands of dollars of funds have been raised each year for the museum. “Charity balls were really popular,” said Soper. “We raised $4,500 the first year. Everyone had such a great time so we decided to do it annually. Funds were also given to the local high school.”
After 28 years enough funds were raised to finish the work.
After retiring as restoration chairman, Soper became the curator until two years ago when she retired.
She still hopes that a carriage house near the museum that was converted into a private home could someday be purchased by the Historical Society and become a part of the museum to house their genealogy library. The library is now located in the basement of the museum.
The most memorable event in the museum’s history for Soper is that a great-granddaughter of the Krause family, who built the home, got in touch with all the other Krause relatives and they all began sending the museum original items that had occupied the house in the 1880s and that had belonged to the family. Family members have also visited Platte City to view the museum over the years.
Soper’s ancestors came to the U.S. in the 1660s with William Penn who had gone to King Charles II and told him he owed him a lot money and had to pay him. The king told him he would give him a lot of land in the new colony. When Penn told Soper’s ancestor that he would give him land in Bucks County, Penn. if he came along, he readily agreed.
For Soper, the stories of her ancestors reinforced her vision to fund the Ben Ferrel Platte County Museum and to save local history and make it accessible and welcoming to everyone.
Even as a child she made sure that access to learning was a right of everyone she encountered.
“When I was in third-grade in 1942 in Kansas City I lived close to the grade school and library and once a month I got as many books as I wanted,” said Soper. “There was a little black, barefooted boy sitting under a tree and digging in the dirt. He threw a handful of dirt on me and I said, ‘Why did you do that?’ and he said, ‘Because you can go in there and get books to read and I can’t.’ I said, ‘Why can’t you?’ and he said, ‘Because I’m black.’ I said, ‘What?’ I went back in and told the woman in charge and I said there was a little boy sitting under the tree and he said he couldn’t come in and I had asked why and told her what he had said. She told me to go out there and tell him to come in and she would give him books. I often wonder what happened to that little boy.”