Mildred Kittell was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 22, 1895 to Dr. George Kittell and Kate Fisher Kittell. The attending physican was Dr. Arthur Hertzler, author of "A Horse and Buggy Doctor". She attended Westport High in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from Cañon City High School in Colorado. The family lived in Cañon City, Co from 1907 to 1914 (Mildred was 13 to 19 years of age). After earning a teaching degree from the Kansas State Teacher's College in Emporia, she taught in Kansas City Schools. She married Sam Ray in 1918, and had three children. She lived in the Kansas City area most of her adult life and many of those years in Liberty, Missouri on a beautiful farm they named Three Oaks. She lived independently on the farm after the death of her husband Sam Ray, only moving in the last few years of her life.
At the age of 72, Mrs. Ray began writing a column in the Kansas City Times and Kansas City Star entitled "A Postcard from Old Kansas City" using postcards that she inherited and she collected through the years. Drawing upon her own knowledge, that of her ancestors, and careful research, she authored the popular series for 23 years in a very personal prose. Two books were drawn from the columns. Mrs. Ray died at the age of 100 on April 10, 1996.
The Kansas City Public Library was given her postcard and other collections. Within the collection are letters written by John Taylor, Mrs. Ray's great grandfather, and his brother, James Taylor, to their parents in Oldham, England, about their experiences in Kansas City, 1857-1863, as well as letters from Mrs. Ray's mother and grandmother. It also includes research notes and writings by Mrs. Ray concerning the Taylor and Fisher families, including notes on diaries kept by Abel Fisher concerning his trip to California and his early days in Kansas City, 1855-1858.
In addition to her writing about the history of Kansas City through her postcard collection, she was an avid collector of antique buttons and competed at the national level through the National Button Society, winning many awards.
At the age of 72, Mrs. Ray began writing a column in the Kansas City Times and Kansas City Star entitled "A Postcard from Old Kansas City" using postcards that she inherited and she collected through the years. Drawing upon her own knowledge, that of her ancestors, and careful research, she authored the popular series for 23 years in a very personal prose. Two books were drawn from the columns. Mrs. Ray died at the age of 100 on April 10, 1996.
The Kansas City Public Library was given her postcard and other collections. Within the collection are letters written by John Taylor, Mrs. Ray's great grandfather, and his brother, James Taylor, to their parents in Oldham, England, about their experiences in Kansas City, 1857-1863, as well as letters from Mrs. Ray's mother and grandmother. It also includes research notes and writings by Mrs. Ray concerning the Taylor and Fisher families, including notes on diaries kept by Abel Fisher concerning his trip to California and his early days in Kansas City, 1855-1858.
In addition to her writing about the history of Kansas City through her postcard collection, she was an avid collector of antique buttons and competed at the national level through the National Button Society, winning many awards.
Mildred Kittell was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 22, 1895 to Dr. George Kittell and Kate Fisher Kittell. The attending physican was Dr. Arthur Hertzler, author of "A Horse and Buggy Doctor". She attended Westport High in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from Cañon City High School in Colorado. The family lived in Cañon City, Co from 1907 to 1914 (Mildred was 13 to 19 years of age). After earning a teaching degree from the Kansas State Teacher's College in Emporia, she taught in Kansas City Schools. She married Sam Ray in 1918, and had three children. She lived in the Kansas City area most of her adult life and many of those years in Liberty, Missouri on a beautiful farm they named Three Oaks. She lived independently on the farm after the death of her husband Sam Ray, only moving in the last few years of her life.
At the age of 72, Mrs. Ray began writing a column in the Kansas City Times and Kansas City Star entitled "A Postcard from Old Kansas City" using postcards that she inherited and she collected through the years. Drawing upon her own knowledge, that of her ancestors, and careful research, she authored the popular series for 23 years in a very personal prose. Two books were drawn from the columns. Mrs. Ray died at the age of 100 on April 10, 1996.
The Kansas City Public Library was given her postcard and other collections. Within the collection are letters written by John Taylor, Mrs. Ray's great grandfather, and his brother, James Taylor, to their parents in Oldham, England, about their experiences in Kansas City, 1857-1863, as well as letters from Mrs. Ray's mother and grandmother. It also includes research notes and writings by Mrs. Ray concerning the Taylor and Fisher families, including notes on diaries kept by Abel Fisher concerning his trip to California and his early days in Kansas City, 1855-1858.
In addition to her writing about the history of Kansas City through her postcard collection, she was an avid collector of antique buttons and competed at the national level through the National Button Society, winning many awards.
At the age of 72, Mrs. Ray began writing a column in the Kansas City Times and Kansas City Star entitled "A Postcard from Old Kansas City" using postcards that she inherited and she collected through the years. Drawing upon her own knowledge, that of her ancestors, and careful research, she authored the popular series for 23 years in a very personal prose. Two books were drawn from the columns. Mrs. Ray died at the age of 100 on April 10, 1996.
The Kansas City Public Library was given her postcard and other collections. Within the collection are letters written by John Taylor, Mrs. Ray's great grandfather, and his brother, James Taylor, to their parents in Oldham, England, about their experiences in Kansas City, 1857-1863, as well as letters from Mrs. Ray's mother and grandmother. It also includes research notes and writings by Mrs. Ray concerning the Taylor and Fisher families, including notes on diaries kept by Abel Fisher concerning his trip to California and his early days in Kansas City, 1855-1858.
In addition to her writing about the history of Kansas City through her postcard collection, she was an avid collector of antique buttons and competed at the national level through the National Button Society, winning many awards.
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