Photo by Virginia Bettencourt

Dorri Partain 
Managing Editor 

During a late night storm on July 31, winds roared at 70 to 80 mph. Across Kansas City, reports of trees losing branches and causing damage prevailed as daylight appeared the following morning.

Scarritt Renaissance resident Virginia Bettencourt was not at home the night the storm hit, but said she knew something was wrong when her alarm system went off at 10:45 p.m. — then suddenly stopped. Within minutes, Bettencourt’s network of neighbors shared the news that two trees along the sidewalk had toppled onto her home.

Along with her husband Keith, Bettencourt had purchased their home in 2015. This cut-stone, two-and-one-half-story house at 3401 Gladstone Blvd., came with a long list of necessary repairs and a unique history.

The home originally occupied the opposite corner when built by Herman and Emma Schmelzer in 1901, with the address 3218. The Schmelzers sold their residence in 1907 to Robert A. Long — president of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, who wanted a complete block, which faced downtown Kansas City for his mansion, Corinthian Hall. The structure was lifted and moved to the opposite corner to face Long’s future estate. Two additional homes were purchased and moved to nearby lots.

By 1911, the 15-room dwelling was offered for rent and eventually subdivided into apartments. Over the course of the next 100 years, the home was neglected, pilfered and boarded up.

For the past nine years, the Bettencourt’s have poured muscle and money into the restoration of the home Virginia calls “her baby.” Last fall, this home was featured during the Northeast Kansas City Historical Society’s annual homes tour — as hundreds of tour guests entered to view their progress.

Now some of that work — thanks to those fallen trees — must be redone. Additionally, Bettencourt had to ply the waters of dealing with City departments to get the trees removed.

Two massive silver maples planted in the right-of-way between the curb and sidewalk were planted by the city decades ago. Bettencourt relayed in conversation that it took five days — and a call to Third District-at-Large Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley — before a city removal crew appeared. When she asked they remove tree branches entangled with her gutters and roof tiles carefully, she felt they just wanted to work quickly with no regard to her wishes or home.

A dead elm, which was reported for removal several times previously, finally got removed by city crews four days later.

Once these trees were completely removed, the Bettencourt’s could better assess the damage and begin the process of locating replacement materials. The porch’s stone balustrade must be pieced back together with mortar, and the concrete balusters will be replaced by new and similar copies of the originals. Copper gutters will be replaced or repaired — depending on the damage. A porch roof joist was broken when one tree impacted, so that section must be removed and replaced. Luckily, only one window was broken and has already been repaired.

All in all, Bettencourt has taken the situation in stride, stating she had no intent of suing the city for damages — but she wished they would have someone that reached out to her when it happened. She said she would also like new trees to be planted in the right-of-way — but not silver maples or elms.