The evening of October 13th was cold and blustery, but that didn’t hinder the bidding at the first “Night at the Mission” fundraiser for the Shawnee Indian Mission Historic Site. One popular auction listing was a dinner for eight, hosted by some of Kansas City’s seasoned chefs, set among the historic ambience of the 185-year-old buildings on the 12-acre green space.
Through mutual agreement between bidder and donors, the evening of April 2nd was selected for the event that captured past and present, honoring the long history of the mission with a contemporary twist. Recipes were inspired by the Corn Dance and the Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen cookbooks and by the small-town Kansas lineage of the hosts. Ingredients in the Three Sisters Salad (maize, climbing beans, and squash) might have been harvested by the Kaw tribe on the current site of the Mission. Bison stew and plum jelly cake made with Sand Hill plums, also native to the area, made the menu particularly special.
The large room of the East Building, an 1840 building that is both a National Historic Landmark and Historic Site, was the location for the dinner. Through the decades, the building has housed a chapel for Thomas Johnson (for whom the county is named), a meeting place for the Territorial Government of Bleeding Kansas (under Andrew Reeder), lodging for Union Troops during the Civil War, and a chicken and whiskey restaurant during prohibition.
With a further nod to Kansas history, the wine was from Bourgmont Winery, the cheeses all Kansas made, the Tom’s Town Horse Feather cocktails had Lawrence origins, and the cake recipes had been handed down for generations. Antique Kansas souvenir spoons capped the historic touch.
The décor was kept simple, hinting at pioneer times. Quilts with contemporary colors did duty as tablecloths, and glazed clay containers held both the flowers and the food. Vintage pottery dinner plates were accented with wooden chargers, classic silverware, and handblown Xaquixe glassware.
Some lucky bidder will have a new chance at this experience at the second annual “Night of the Mission” auction on October 11, 2024!