V 2 N. 16 A Blast from the Past about Old Cinder Tracks

 Once we put something onto a blog, we never know what to expect in comments, reactions, and delay time.   The following letter came today from Robert Swisher who attended Southwest High School in Kansas City, MO in the 1970's.   He was referred to an old post we had in 2022 about cinder tracks that still exist.  His old track at Southwest HS is still there.  I'll let Robert tell you about that track.

Also here is the link to the piece we published a few years back.   

Cinder Tracks That Are Still Around

George Brose

Here is Robert Swisher's letter.


Good morning,

A friend sent me the link to your June 2022 article about cinder tracks.

I graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City, MO in 1975.  The school was opened in the fall of 1925, and a cinder track was installed sometime around 1927 as far as we know.  The Kansas City School District faced severe financial and enrollment issues during the mid 1970s that continued well past that.  Many of the schools in the district, including Southwest, have been closed.  Voters in the school district passed a bond issue about 18 months ago that would allow Southwest to re-open as a middle school in fall 2029 after a fairly massive renovation to the inside of the building.  The building itself has been vacant since about 2016.

Due to the enrollment and financial issues the district faced, it never got around to replacing the 440-yard cinder track at Southwest with a 400-meter artificial surface, so the old 440-yard cinder track remains and I work out there regularly.  I was a distance runner at Southwest for 4 years and competed in distances ranging from 880 yards to 2 miles, but I primarily was a  miler/2-miler.

Currently, the track is still used by runners like myself who like the softer surface, but the primary use of the field at this time is by neighborhood dog owners who use the football field, partly for their dogs to run around, and partly as a social gathering location.  See attached article here that I wrote for my class of 1975 reunion that we held last year:


Photos of the track can be found here and in other blog posts I wrote:


You will note a small stone monument in one of the photos in the April evening post.  The monument was built to honor Louis House, the first football coach at Southwest from 1925 to 1954.  The stones for the monument were from the White House and were donated to the school by President Truman, who had several friends that lived in the Southwest district.  The stones were part of the foundation of the original White House, and were uncovered during the large renovation of the White House that occurred during the Truman administration.  The existence of the monument is also noted on a flagpole at the NW corner of the track (see attached flagpole photo)

One interesting feature of the track is a 220-yard straightaway on the west side of the track.

The track can easily be found on Google Maps by typing in 6500 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO.  That is the street corner near the NW corner of the track.

I look forward to hearing from you and would enjoy sharing more details about this 440-yard cinder track.  

Sincerely,
Bob Swisher
Southwest High School Class of 1975
Southwest High School Cross Country 1971-1974 seasons
Southwest Track 1972-1975 seasons


The old White House Pillar

Another Angle the White House Pillar

Plaque on the Pillar

The Long Straight  Southwest HS Kansas City, MO

Googlemaps View of the Track and SW High School


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