Tuesday, September 4, 1934

Went to school today. Walked home with the girls. Didn't get books. Went to the library downtown.

Central High School
3611 East Linwood Boulevard
Kansas City, Missouri

The school was termed the first million dollar school. It was founded in 1924 and cost about $900,000 to build, a considerable sum of money then. The architect was Charles A. Smith who designed it in the Neo-Classical style. A reconstruction took place in 1984.

It is the only school building in the Kansas City, Missouri School District to have a ramp that winds back and forth from the first floor to the third floor. It includes two gymnasiums and an auditorium that seats 1700. There is a swimming pool which has now fallen into disuse.

The school closed in 2010.

Wednesday, September 6, 1933

I went to school today with Pauline. Went over to Aunt Katie's this evening. I got my lessons all done for tomorrow.

Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989)
American composer and critic
Born in Kansas City, Missouri
Died in New York, New York

Virgil Thomson was an award-winning composer and critic who was
instrumental in the development of the American Sound movement in
classical music in the 1930s and 1940s. He was born in Kansas City, attended
 Central High School and then left to attend Harvard.

His most famous works are two opera collaborations. Four Saints in Three Acts
featured a libretto by Gertrude Stein and used an all-black cast in the 1930s.
Thomson also composed incidental music for an Orson Welles production of
Macbeth. Later in his career, he was a mentor for tonal composers such as
 Paul Bowles and Leonard Berstein.

Thomson won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1949 as well as the National
Medal for the Arts in 1988. He is buried in Saline County, Missouri, about
125 miles northeast of Kansas City.

Tuesday, September 5, 1933

School started today and Pauline came by for me. I am a sophomore now (at Central High School). Daddy got my books. Had chicken for supper.

William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984)
American actor
Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: Palm Springs, California

1912 graduate of Central High School, Kansas City, Missouri

An only child, Powell showed an early aptitude for performing. In 1907, he moved
 with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated from Central High School
 in 1912. His motion picture career began in 1922 in silent pictures. Powell's voice served
him well when the "talkies" arrived in the late 1920s and he went on to make 95 pictures.
 Among them were "The Thin Man" series with Myrna Loy, “Life With Father” in 1947,
“How to Marry a Millionaire” in 1953 and “Mr. Roberts,” his last film, in 1955. After
 that he retired to Palm Springs, California.

In Kansas City, the Powells lived a few blocks away from the Carpenters, whose daughter
Harlean evolved into Jean Harlow, although Powell would not meet her until both were
 established stars. Powell fell in love with Harlow but, after two divorces (from Eileen
Wilson and Carole Lombard), he wasn't ready to marry again. Harlow's sudden death
in 1937 plunged Powell into remorse. Powell's third marriage to Diana Palmer lasted
44 years, until his own death at the age of 91.

Wednesday, April 26, 1933

Had the Civics test. I made 75 per cent on it. Took enrollment slips home for next year in Senior High (Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri).

April 26, 1933: The Gestapo was founded by Hermann Göring. 
A decree was issued creating the Secret Police Office (Geheime Polizei Amt)
which quickly became known as the GPA. But this abbreviation was far too
similar to the GPU abbreviation used by the Soviet Political Police in Russia. Thus,
the name was changed to Secret State Police (Geheime Staats Polizei). The actual
term 'Gestapo' was supposedly created by a Berlin postal official who wanted a name
 that would fit on a regulation-sized postal rubber stamp. Gestapo was derived from
seven letters within the full name Geheime Staats Polizei. Unknowingly, the postal
 official had invented one of the most notorious names in history.