May 20, 2023

On Tuesday, May 30th at 10:30 a.m. The Native Sons and Daughters of Greater Kansas City (NSDKC) is conducting a dedication of its newest historical marker placed in the greater Kansas City area, and its second since 2018 at Lake Lotawana in southeast Jackson County.

The theme of the new marker at Highland Park Elementary School features the heritage of the historic and renown Highland Farms of Lee’s Summit, the namesake for the school, which is located at 400 SE Millstone Ave. in Lee’s Summit. The Lee’s Summit Historical Society, Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, and staff at Highland Park Elementary School have been partners in this project with NSDKC and the Hicks,’ which has been in process for nearly five years.

The marker is funded by Gary and Louise (Willig) Hicks of Overland Park, Kansas. Mr. Hicks is a past-president of NSDKC and the author for the text of the historical marker. Mrs. Hicks is the niece of Louise Willig Rehn (deceased) who, in 1929, was employed by Milton and Maud Thompson to clerk livestock sales, and do accounting for Highland Farms, which was the World’s Largest Registered Hereford Breeding Farm. In addition, Ms. Rehn was engaged in Thompson’s Lake Lotawana project, and for nearly seven decades was the Matriarch of the Lake.