Back in 2011, I picked up a Tour of Rush brochure from the Cape Convention Bureau in the H&H building. Using its guidance, I photographed Rush Limbaugh’s house, his church, the hospital where he was born, the chair where he shined shoes and the radio station where he launched his career. Then I forgot all about it.
Before I let Curator Jessica come to Cape ( she wanted to see if ANY of the stories I had told her about the area were true), I sent her a stack of reading material. It included a book on Louis Houck, a book on the Flood of 1927 and some other things. As an afterthought, I stuck in the Tour of Rush brochure.
Where’s Rush?
When I rediscovered the photos, I went digging for my Rush Tour pamphlet and couldn’t find it. Miz Jessica returned my other materials, but she must have been so enamored with Cape’s conservative megaphone that she couldn’t part with it.
So, it looks like I’ll have to make do with running Rush’s house at 412 North Sunset Blvd. until I can replace my reference material.
So far, I think I’ve only posted two Rush Limbaugh stories:
- Rush and Koran-burner Terry Jones were both members of Central High School’s Class of 1969, and
- Wife Lila’s uncle thought Rush was “a horse’s patootie” because he monopolized the CB radio after he got home from school every day.
I see 1969 wasn’t the best year for CHS. And apparently young Rush was as much a blow hard as old Rush. Some things never change.
Sounds like you are jealous and don’t know him.
He’s gracious and very generous unlike you.
Some old advice, if you have nothing nice to say, consider not saying anything.
Unlike Rush, I allow my readers to challenge me. Thanks for your comment.
Did you delete my comment already? I thought you like to be challenged
See my earlier response. How about signing your name if you are going to challenge me. If the Coyote shows up again, he’s gone. Howl away at that from the bushes.
You know nothing. Rush ALWAYS directed his call screener to put disagree-ers to the front of the line, to whom he was unfailingly polite. He asked them questions about their opinions, and asked if they had considered this or that piece of information. And often they ended up realizing they didn’t have both sides of the story. Kind of like you.
Trust me, Susan, I have never appreciated Rush more than I do today.
My wife’s uncle had Rush pegged when the lad was still in high school.
Yes. Everyone who knows him personally says that he is extremely kind and gracious. Also very generous in ways no one knows about because he doesn’t publicize how much money he gives away to people in need and charities. Ms. Ruthie, above, who wrote those disparaging words, clearly knows nothing about him. So many people make judgments about him who know almost nothing about him and who rarely, if ever, listen to his broadcasts.
OH really, Gracious and generious??? spreads hatred and raicism, and he’s considered gracious?? Tlaks for hours about Drug dealers (black Drug dealers) should be locked up and they through away the key. The not more than one year laters “HE”S” arrested for Durg dealing. Then get special traetment and leves to go golfing out-of-the-country with 5 men and gets caught with unprescribed Viagra in his luggage!?!?!?! Again, …. left off and his criminal record sealed. Minuplates the Medal of Freedom from a Party member (Doanld Trump). making him a member along side John Glenn, Chuck Yeager, Stephen Hawking …. Rush Limbaugh is no Chuck Yeager. Limbaugh lived in a gated house. What kind of person has to live behind bars, ……. criminals and Rush Limbaugh. He only gives to charities that are right wing racist and bigotted. Like him!
I approved this, but it was a borderline call. I’m not a Rush fan, but he’s dead, and I’d prefer the topic to be the same.
If it generates any controversy, I’ll delete it, and block further comments.
No one spread racism and hatred like Obama. He created more racism than his democrat predecessors who fought for slavery 160 years ago.
Mr. Jones, it appears that someone has hacked your account and is posting nonsense under your name.
Ned is right on the money! We LOVE Rush!
Love Rush, he was classy , intelligent, inciteful, full of wisdom, big hearted, etc. I could go on and on about how wonderful Rush was and how much I will miss him.
And what are you but a mouthy crybaby who needs a safe space and a cry closet? Go color and let the grownups talk. Five years later you’re still a dumbass.
Thank you for showing how Rush supporters can bring enlightenment to a subject. You are welcome to attack me, but this is strike one of your three strikes before being blocked for attacking another reader.
I’m with Lila’s Uncle!
Most idiots are.Strike Two.
I remember this street and neighborhood as a 78 CHS graduate.
Cape has produced many quite interesting characters and all of the Limbaugh’s I have come in contact with are very, very nice people.
I have 2 close friends that graduated with Rush, they have nothing but good memories and funny CHS stories about him as well.
Hi Jennie, my husband, Mike Stevens, has spoken fondly of James Kinder often, over the 42 yrs we’ve been married. They were pretty good friends. Mike’s mom was the guidance counselor at the high school. Mike was in the class of ’69. Says they called Rush, Rusty Limbaugh. Best, Beth
Gary Fisher “66” lived right next door and we all used to play baseball on the empty lot, to the north, which is now a parking lot of Southeast Hospital. Rusty was good kid, he usually played right field in the group.
Ken is exaggerating, as usual. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him that one of his ‘gifts’ ended up in my recycling. I figured Rush would like that.
My father sold Rush Limbaugh his first two way radio. That is when he learned if he held down the button, he could turn it into a monologue device.
Jane,
Rush is the master of the one-way radio. In CB days we called those guys “alligators:” all mouth and no ears.
Funny that someone like you would judge anyone else. Save your breath. You’ll need it later for your inflatable date.
Strike Three. Enjoy the showers. You’re out of here.
Looks like you can dish it out but you surely can’t take it!
Coyote,
Let me explain a few things.
1. I prefer people to post under their real names. If you are too ashamed to stand up for what you post, then I’m not interested in what you have to say. (I do see your email address, so you aren’t completely anonymous.)
2. If you have never posted before, your comment goes into hold for moderation. That’s so I can determine if you are a spammer or not. If I’m away from the computer, it make take several hours before I see your comment.
You posted this message at 12:51 p.m, and you posted your insulting follow-up at 12:55. Four freaking minutes? That sets some kind of record for entitled behavior. On top of that, I don’t see that you posted any but these two comments, unless you fell into the spam bucket with 4,305 comments piled up in the past two weeks.
So, dish it out. I should also point out my two-strike rule: you can say (almost) anything you want about me, but personal attacks against other readers will give you two warnings (if you’re lucky). It’s obvious that you are a Rush listener.
Strike Three. Enjoy the showers, you are out of here.
Thanks Dad!
I used to deliver pizza from Pagliais (forgive the spelling) to Rusty Sharp, aka Rush Limbaugh, when he was the country’s youngest D.J. at KGMO in the late 1960’s. I knew his grandpa (who lived to be 103) from working at Landgraf Lumber on Independence (He came in periodically to talk to Mr. Landgraf). The owner of KGMO, whose name escapes me, had a girlfriend who worked at Landgraf Lumber. Ironically, here name was Marta, the name of one of Rush’s wives. Sounds like a soap opera.
Can ‘t say I would want to boast of their connection to Cape!! All children are born good. Too bad some grow up a bit screwy!!
I, as a faithful listener of Rush’s daily programs, am struck with sadness as I read the negative comments made by his supposed acquaintences from the Cape. If anyone would take the time and have the integrity to listen to Rush, they would be not only impressed but thankful for the gift that Rush has…and continues to be…to our nation. He is a patriot and a Christian. Those who write such vapid comments, intended to demean this wonderful man, are willingly ignorant and arrogantly proud of their ‘opinions’. Rush is a brilliant man and I am deeply grateful for his life and the national treasure that he is. Maybe his ‘naysayers’ would do well to actually listen to him. His analysis, as well as his unfailing prescient gift, prepares us all for the future. Awaken, America. Rush Limbaugh is our 21st century Jeremiah. You ignore him at your peril….Patricia Ashley Oates West, Garland, Texas
I agree with you, Patricia. I’m too busy these days to catch Rush’s radio show, however, I was an avid listener on his late night TV editorial show. I’ve always been interested in politics, primarily because of my association with folks like Bob Swaim, Rush Limbaugh, and his Dad. Rush Jr. was in my brother’s, Kerry Slinkard, class. Kerry says that Rush and his friends would sit at their table during lunch and classify their classmates as Intellectuals, Pseudo-intellectuals, and Ne’er-do-wells. If you agree or disagree with his labels or the labeling process, I think that it’s interesting that he was analyzing that early in his career (KGMO). I can’t believe how many liberals were spawned from such a conservative area as Cape. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that liberals demean the character of an opponent, instead of critiquing the pros or cons of his opinions.
I’ll never forget the 2nd floor of this house, where Rush had written on the plain, green wall in black magic marker “Kennedy won, darn, Nixon lost, shucks.” I assume it was eventually painted over, but how much do you think that piece of drywall would fetch on eBay today if it still existed?
Steve,
I wonder how many of us have scrawled things like that in hidden places? My buddies and I played around a house that was being built in the neighborhood. Just before it was closed up, we went into the attic and wrote on a rafter, “This is a very good house.”
I’ve often wondered if any of the subsequent owners ever saw our message.
If you think young Rusty Limbaugh, during his Central years was a blow hard that tells me you didn’t know him. He was a very quiet, polite and shy fellow in public. When he turned into his alter ego, Rusty Sharpe doing afternoon drive and Sunday afternoons on that 5000 watt AM powerhouse KGMO, that was a different story.
Ken,
I think you have worn out this horse’s patootie theme. It is just starting to sound like envy to me.
Mike ’68
Mike,
I didn’t know him in high school. I can only judge him for and from what he has become.
I always include links to earlier posts when they are relevant. It will be in the next Rush post, along with an added link to his house pic. You are welcome NOT to click on it if you don’t like it.
I gave you an opportunity to paint your high school picture of Rush, the same way I quoted a man who knew him during the same period of time.
I could not begin to say it as eloquently as Patricia above, but I agree about Rush 100%! If many of you who call him a blowhard would actually listen to him daily for a few weeks instead of only when the mainstream media quotes something controversial from him every once in a while, I think you would come away with a very different opinion of him.
I listened to him in his early days even though I rarely agreed with him. Some of his bits were funny, and some of them made me think. In later years, though, he began to BELIEVE that he was God’s gift to the world and became a bigoted, mean-spirited blowhard.
Obviously, we disagree.
I find this all most interesting, the antipodal comments about Rush. Our families have been friends for generations as Mr. Rush was one of my grandfather’s closest friends. He is also the longest practicing lawyer in the United States. Rush, Jr. was a brilliant lawyer who died young at 71. His brother Steve, a successful attorney and retired federal judge did his profession honor as have David Limbaugh (a friend and law school classmate of mine) and cousin Steve Jr. who formerly sat on the Missouri Supreme Court and is now on the federal bench as was his dad before him. I was friends with Rusty from a very young age and echo Mike Bristow’s comments. I have no time to listen to his radio show, FOX News, CNN, CSNBC or the myriad of other shows that offer singular opinions on most subjects. I do, however, hold the view that our populace has lost the ability to process information unless it is delivered in an entertaining format. Whether you subscribe to his political views or find them repugnant, give Rush III credit for perfecting this craft.
I too feel compelled to weigh-in on this one. Rarely have more-true words been spoken than those above by Patricia West, Kathy Slinkard Velvet, Mike Bristow, Stu Bahn and Walter Lamkin. Those who belittle and trash Rush are (I firmly believe) the ones who don’t give him the courtesy and benifit of actually “listening” to his message over a period of time.
Yep, I could see folks saying he’s somewhat a blowhard. I would instead say that’s simply his brand, like any other on-air personality. To establish and maintain popularity and noteriety all these years…he indeed needed to have his own “brand”. However, if one will truly listen to him for just 2 weeks (12-14 days of misery, for the flaming liberals out there), one will quickly realize the intense love and pride he has for our great country. And I would contrast that with the disdain of our country, and lack of pride, held by so many on the left (such as the hollywood crowd who have no clue about the real world).
My compliments to those above who disagree without the usual profanity.
I’ve got a good bunch of readers, and I ride herd on the ones who aren’t. Actually, I’ve deleted less than a handful of comments that crossed the line of good taste since the blog started.
The last owner of Rush’s boyhood home died some months ago and the house went into foreclosure. It was to be sold at the courthouse a week or two ago. I don’t know who bought it or if it sold.
I only “knew” Rush from listening to him every weekday since he started broadcasting in 1988.
We have lost an irreplaceable national treasure and a true patriot. It is a sad time.
I wish comfort and peace to all who will greatly miss him, especially his family and friends.
Rush had the best show on the radio. I remember scanning the radio to find something when he fist got going. I found what he was saying was what I was thinking. I was hooked almost from day 1.
He will go down as the greatest radio man of all time. Most listened to as well.
He was a great entertainer in his early days. I like him much more today, though
I was born in Cape and ended up in the Northwest. Found Rush on the airwaves in the 80s and listened and watched until his demise. I am amused that he and I went to the same grade school. I never met the man in person butI miss him
Jim Pierce