Public servant's mementos return to city

Independence lost an outstanding public servant and renowned public official four years ago when W. Wayne Stepp retired to Sherman, Texas, to be closer to his family.
When the quiet, soft-spoken man, who wore many hats during his 40-plus years here, left for Texas on May 5, 2005, he took with him a large footlocker containing his most prized possessions – his past achievements in the fields of public health, civil defense, emergency preparedness and mental health, as well as his voluntary action activities and military achievements.
Now the trunk filled with plaques, awards, trophies, certificates, newspaper clippings, photographs, copies of speeches, civil defense plans for Independence, diplomas, letters of commendation, military records and more is back in Independence where Stepp believes they rightfully belong.
“I could not stand the thought of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren taking all those awards to a landfill 30 or 40 years from now,” Stepp wrote in a recent letter explaining the memorabilia was part of Independence’s history and belonged there for safekeeping.
But where to preserve this part of Stepp’s life was his dilemma.
Unable to return to Independence to search for a permanent home for his  personal “treasurers,” Wayne did the next best thing.
He telephoned his longtime friend Ron Yale, retired Independence firefighter and longtime president of LAGERS, an organization of Independence city employees run by the state of Missouri.
“He wanted to know if I could find a place for them,” Yale said, recalling Stepp wanted his historical collection kept together at one site.
“That was his first instructions,” he said.
Before a permanent home could be found, though, Yale needed the trunk and its contents in his possession.
Coming to the rescue was LAGERS member Kenny Blackmore of Alma, Mo., a former district fire chief, who stopped at Sherman and picked up the trunk while returning home from a trip to south Texas to retrieve a trailer he had left there.
When Stepp’s trunk arrived in Independence, Yale invited the LAGERS executive board to his home to examine the trunk contents.
What was inside was overwhelming. In letters, certificates, awards and other papers, Stepp’s life unfolded before them, beginning with his nearly five years of service in the U.S. Medical Corps during World War II.
His life continued in the field of public health. Stepp worked 14 years in the city health department and became its second director in 1976. He retired on Jan. 31, 1979.
Stepp also wore the hat of civil defense/emergency preparedness coordinator and was responsible for helping to develop and implement the city’s official community shelter plan, which included fallout shelter space at the Independence Shopping Center.
Another hat Stepp proudly donned was that of helping establish the Independence Mental Health Center in 1968. The name was later changed to Northeastern Jackson County Mental Health Center. In 1981 it was renamed Comprehensive Mental Health Service Inc.
Stepp also wore the hat of founder of Seeing Help, an organization established in 1994 as a support group serving the visually impaired of Eastern Jackson County. The organization merged two years later with The Salvation Army of Independence and was renamed Salvation Army Seeking Help.
With so many papers to examine, including speeches, statistics and certificates, the documents were assigned to different members of the LAGERS board.
It soon became evident that Stepp’s wish of keeping all the trunk contents in a central place wasn’t going to happen. The Jackson County Historical Society turned down the contents saying they were too broad in scope.
Since Independence doesn’t have a city museum, “There is just no place to put this kind of stuff,” Yale says
But, thankfully, the trunk won’t be returned to Stepp full of unwanted artifacts.
“Nothing is going to be thrown away,” Yale says.
The Midwest Genealogy Center has accepted two books that Stepp has written and other documents on the Stepp family, along with a few other genealogy-related things.
The Salvation Army has agreed to take several plaques and trophies presented to Stepp over the years, Yale says.
An emergency preparedness plaque bearing Stepp’s name now hangs on the office wall of Mark Wager, emergency preparedness director.
Stepp’s military documents will be displayed in Veterans Hall at the historic Truman Memorial Building in Independence.
As for all the other items, the Harry S. Truman Independence 76 Fire Company has agreed to store them in its spacious garage. The 76ers is a non-profit historical society, whose goal is to preserve local fire history.
Calling Stepp a good man who deserves all the recognition he can get, Yale says he was a “real benefit” to the city of Independence.
“He was probably the only college-educated man working for the city at one time. He was put on all these committees because he did a good job and got citations for his performances.”
Some day, Stepp’s artifacts may wind up in a city museum, if one is ever constructed. But until then, Yale says, “I don’t know what else we can do for him.”
Thanks for sharing your past with us, Wayne. You have left a great legacy that will be with us forever.