[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 104 (Friday, June 17, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E641-E642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING MR. JAY B. DILLINGHAM'S LASTING LEGACY IN THE GREATER 
                            KANSAS CITY AREA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 17, 2022

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to rise on behalf 
of Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, Kansas City, Missouri, and 
more specifically the Northland, to celebrate the lasting legacy of Jay 
B. Dillingham. A true local icon, one cannot tell the story of Kansas 
City without telling the story of Mr. Dillingham. Born on March 8, 
1910, Mr. Dillingham served the Greater Kansas City area and the States 
of Missouri and Kansas until his passing on August 13, 2007.
  In 1935, Mr. Dillingham received his master's degree from the Kansas 
City School of Law, which would later become the University of 
Missouri-Kansas City. Nevertheless, soon after graduating, he was 
recruited to work at the Kansas City Stockyards and never practiced 
law. From 1948 through 1975, Mr. Dillingham served as president of the 
stockyards, one of Kansas City's greatest industries, where thousands 
of cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, and mules were auctioned in the West 
Bottoms each year. As president of the famed Kansas City Stockyards, a 
role he took on while only 38 years old, Mr. Dillingham helped turn the 
American Royal Livestock Show into a national institution. He once said 
about the stockyards: ``There's nothing around here I haven't done . . 
. from shoveling manure to cleaning the sewers.'' In 1949, Mr. 
Dillingham founded the Golden Ox Steakhouse in the Kansas City 
Livestock Exchange Building, making it the city's oldest steakhouse and 
the birthplace of the Kansas City strip.
  As part of his family's farming activities, Mr. Dillingham worked on 
2,500 acres of beautiful Missouri River bottomland. He was also deeply 
engaged in developing lakes in the Kansas River basin along with Clay 
County's Smithville Lake. Following the Great Flood of 1951, he oversaw 
the cleanup and assisted in getting the town back to work. He was a 
member of the Missouri State Water Resource Board and assisted the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers in the construction of massive reservoirs 
throughout Missouri and Kansas. In Genesis 2:15, one of the first 
things God asked of us was to be good stewards of the land: ``The LORD 
God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to 
cultivate and care for it.'' It is indisputable that Mr. Dillingham was 
a great steward of the land and gave most of his time on this earth 
looking after it.
  Mr. Dillingham was the only person to ever serve as president of the 
Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas Chambers of Commerce. 
It's because of Mr. Dillingham's impactful work and public service that 
Governor Joe Teasdale and Governor Kit Bond appointed him as Chairman 
of the Missouri Department of Transportation's Missouri Highways and 
Transportation Commission from 1978 to 1983. It was in this position 
that he would be given the nickname of ``Father of I-435''. Interstate 
670, running through both Missouri and Kansas, carries his name today. 
Indeed, Mr. Dillingham was a driving force behind Kansas City's growth, 
including the decision to locate the Kansas City International Airport 
in the Northland.
  Mr. Dillingham, in addition to being a successful businessman and 
public servant, was also a generous philanthropist who donated land 
from the stockyards for worthy causes like the American Royal and the 
construction of Kemper Arena, now known as the Hy-Vee Arena. Many 
universities and organizations across Missouri and Kansas also bear 
awards in his name due to his astounding leadership.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring the life and legacy of Mr. 
Jay B. Dillingham. Though he may be gone, his impacts on agriculture 
and infrastructure will not be forgotten.

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