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Hometown De Soto’s Tidbits and Thoughts–

De Soto Populations:

226 in 1900

454 in 1940

old. town up . town down. town

adjective; adverb; noun of, in, or characteristic of the central or main area of a town or city.

3,422 in 1950

2,061 in 1960

2,351 in 1990

4,601 in 2000

5,720 in 2010

6,143 in 2020

Area growth occurred from the Sunflower Ammunition Plant which employed 12,000 in 1945. There was also a decline, following the closing of the plant. https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/ de-soto-kansas

Shown above: Downtown De Soto, just after an early evening rain. (2004) rmbprints.com

Depending on where you live, or your age–will determine how you refer to the area along 83rd Street in De Soto that is comprised of a variety of businesses, shops, services, eating establishments, churches/ministry, and municiple services. Downtown is what new people say; Uptown is what the old people say; and Old town is what the city people might say, as I was informed by an area resident.

Regardless of your reference to the area, many reminisce nostalgic times. Though in the recent City Survey, only 25% of the people were satisfied with the current down-town area, many have fond memories. There are actually several clusters of business developments along Lexington Avenue and Commerce Drive, but the downtown (old town/uptown) area remains timeless in the hearts of many.

A year ago as I was scrolling through the In and Around De Soto facebook page, I came upon Ken Stewart’s post, from January 16, 2022. Here are some exerpts:

“I want to say something that I hope isn’t offensive because I don’t mean it to be, I’m a little sad that the original business district or “uptown” as we called it when we were kids is so quiet... I remember being in the Halloween parade when I was going to the old elementary school and all the businesses dropped goodies in our bags as we passed by their stores... Buying candy at The Corner market. The big magazine rack at Coker’s where no one never said a word to me about being in there reading all afternoon and not buying anything but a candy bar while I read comics and detective magazines

There were 139 endearing comments to this facebook post. Following are a sampling, for you to get a glimpse of vintage downtown.

Lana Pingleton McPherson I’m so old I remember when it was Oscar & Virginia Kobler’s actual drug store. It was wonderful that Carpenter’s kept the old soda fountain, the candy counter and the booths. We went there every day before school to get a ‘chocolate 400’ and after school to buy a cherry coke. Sweet memories of the best place in the USA to grow up Tammi Horsager Faulds It sounds so fun. We lived on Shawnee street right behind the businesses when my kids were little. I loved walking them to the post office, library, park, pool, DG, we’d get to talk to Dean sometimes when he was working in the back of his place. Walk to grandmas. I loved the location and it was fun living in a smaller town. Rene Frerking Koehn Just moved here a year ago from Shawnee... looking for small town feel. We live one block off 83rd in an old 1906 home. I agree the downtown is lacking in ambiance...would love to it come to life. Micquelyn Malina This is such a nice trip down memory lane! My parents (Gary and Joyce Pannell) bought Coker’s grocery store with the Gulleys to keep the main street alive. My mom owned the clothing store (Family Affair) across the street, next to Gulley’s Carpet. We loved hanging out as kids, talking to all the business owners, poking around in the shops!

Mary Mesa Hanson Now you can’t go to Cause Coffee when it’s not busy! It’s great! Anabel’s & KJs have brought a lot of life to downtown De Soto with their hard work & dedication. In my opinion, the rebuilding of downtown will happen because of them...With businesses that thrive in the area, it’s just a matter of time. I have met some wonderful, wonderful people since moving here in ‘04. Hundreds of kind, generous and caring people.

View original post on facebook / In and Around De Soto / members Find a member (type in Ken Stewart ) / By search results click on Ken Stewart (view the post without adding friend) scroll down to read January 16, 2022 post.