I suspect there are those of you who do not realize that the National Archives is not solely located in Washington, D.C., but has regional depositories that can be accessed by the public.  In Kansas City, the National Archives branch can be found just west of Union Station at 400 W. Pershing Road.

NARA-Kansas City puts out a monthly newsletter which concludes with a column, “Hidden Treasures from the Stacks.”  Beginning this past January, this feature has included items focusing on World War I.

We include links to the monthly newsletter here.  It will be necessary to scroll down to the World War I material when you access the newsletters, but then, you may find something else of interest.

January—Highlights material of the American Expeditionary Force.  “’N.P. is My Fighting Name:’  The Strange Story of an English Tommy.”  https://www.archives.gov/files/kansas-city/press/newsletter/2017-january.pdf

February—Highlights material from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  https://www.archives.gov/files/kansas-city/press/newsletter/2017-february.pdf

March—Highlights the Woman’s Land Army of America in WWI.  https://www.archives.gov/files/kansas-city/press/newsletter/2017-march.pdf

April—The Propaganda Paper Distributor.  https://www.archives.gov/files/kansas-city/press/newsletter/2017-april.pdf

Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.