Jewell receives Truman collection By Carolyn Chapman Mr. and Mrs. Jack Capps Jack Capps and Harry Truman had several things in common: they were both farm boys from Missouri, they both served in the United States Army and they shared a fond association with William Jewell College. Capps attended the college during the 1943-1944 academic year before winning a nomination to attend West Point Military Academy; Truman spoke at the college during commencement ceremonies in 1946 and again at opening convocation in 1964. So when Capps was looking for a repository for some treasured personal mementos from the former president, he decided to donate 43 letters he and his father received from Truman to the place that mattered to them both: William Jewell College. The college is displaying the Truman memorabilia in Curry Library. The collection includes six autographed first or early editions of books authored by Truman. Seeking appointment to West Point, Capps first contacted Truman in 1942 when Truman was a United States senator. To enter the academy, a student had to secure nomination from a senator or congressman or through a military recommendation. In a letter dated January 1944, Truman notified Capps that he was pleased to nominate him to the prestigious military academy. Capps went to West Point in July 1944 and graduated in 1948. He retired from the army as a Brigadier General. Throughout Capps’ military schooling, Truman kept tabs on him by writing Capps’ father, Ernest Capps, a turkey farmer in Clay County. Mo. Capps categorizes those letters as the ‘How’s our boy doing?’ ones. At the time, Ernest Capps was the chairman of the Democratic Party in Clay County. Every Christmas, the Capps family would deliver a holiday turkey to the Truman home in Independence. "When I made the news as a cadet delivering the holiday turkey to the President of the United States, I caught fits about that back at West Point," Capps remembers. He recalls placing the turkey in the kitchen, where Truman’s wife, Bess, was preparing breakfast. "He introduced her as Mrs. Truman," Capps says. "He was always open and outgoing." Also while Truman was in the White House, Capps delivered the West Point yearbook to the Commander in Chief at the Oval Office; the picture is included in the Jewell collection. Capps married in 1953 and hosted a reception south of Liberty; President and Mrs. Truman stopped by to wish them well. After West Point, Capps served worldwide posts in such countries as Ethiopia, Lebanon, England and Germany Truman portrait during the Berlin airlift. Truman kept tabs on his service and his experience during the air lift interested him greatly. At the order of West Point, Capps earned his master’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. From there he returned to West Point for three years to teach English classes to cadets. Next he went to Leavenworth, where he later accepted a tenured position. He remained at Leavenworth for 29 years, eventually chairing the English department. Truman inaugural invitation In addition to the 43 letters from Harry Truman, Capps included 12 letters from Mrs. Truman, which are of great interest because of their rarity. "Her letters always commented on the high quality of our turkeys," Capps says. Capps’ connection to Harry Truman caught the attention of acclaimed biographer David McCullough, who consulted Capps for his book Truman. In addition to the historically significant gift of the Truman memorabilia, Capps and his wife, Marie, have also established the Capps Family Endowed Scholarship at William Jewell. The scholarship will be awarded to a deserving upper-class English or political science major at the college. Capps, now in his 80s, enjoys reflecting on his rich life. "William Jewell has always been a part of my life," he says. "I remember when Barry Road was nothing but gravel and impassable during a heavy rain. But while so much around the college changes, William Jewell remains the same."