Independence I'll always remember as a beautiful little town with enormous shady trees and lots of fine spacious homes. I'll always remember the celebrations of Halloween and the city park there with its winding drive around the sad old Verdigris River. And the old wives' tale that the Indians had left a curse on the river, that it would take one life a year in vengeance on the white man for having usurped the land. I always remember the fine tennis courts and the swimming pool and the ball park where night games first were played anywhere in the nation. Independence lies in the very heart of our country, and so maybe its people have more heart in human affairs.
Big people come out of small towns.
William Inge's Kansas boyhood is reflected in many of his works. His boyhood home at 514 N. 4 th Street in Independence still stands. His father was a traveling salesman and Inge had a close relationship with his mother. Independence in the 1920's was a wealthy white-collar town and the home of Alf Landon, Harry Sinclair, and Martin Johnson. Until the depression, Independence was said to have had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country.