Jacob Loose Statue

Before there were Oreos, Americans enjoyed the Sunshine Cracker Company's Hydrox cookie, which, in 1908, became the nation's first cream-filled chocolate cookie. The cookie, and overall success of the cracker business, allowed Jacob Loose and his family to amass a fortune. Jacob and his wife Ella used their wealth to launch several philanthropic initiatives, which Ella continued after Jacob died. One of those donations included Ella buying and donating seventy-five acres of the old Country Club Golf Course in 1927 to build a park in memory of her husband. In 1941, she presented the city with the statue of her husband to honor him and his dedication to philanthropy; it adorns the entrance to Loose Park. 

Jacob Leander Loose and Ella Anne Clark (Loose) founded the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in 1902, producing Sunshine Crackers. In 1946, the company officially changed its name to Sunshine Biscuit, Inc. Although some sources note the Sunshine name stemmed from Jacob's pet name for Ella (Sunshine), an alternative argument notes the connection between the Sunshine name and the factory's design that allowed for abundant sunlight. The alternative view is supported by the company's construction in 1912 of another sunlight-laden factory in New York referred to as the "Thousand Window" bakery. By the time Jacob died, the Sunshine Biscuit company had done an annual business of $40 million (more than $600 million in today's economy).

Jacob, a noted philanthropist, started the Children's Mercy Hospital's endowment fund with $25,000 in 1913 (equal to more than $680,000 in 2021). Ella, meanwhile, supported several causes, especially those advocating children's welfare (Ella lost two children as infants). For example, for more than thirty years, she purchased shoes for kids at her favorite orphanage. 

In 1929, Ella sold the couple's mansion. She gained a reputation as a wealthy widow who regularly hosted parties and donated to various causes; she routinely visited the White House and hosted government dignitaries at her parties. In 1927, four years after Jacob's death, Ella donated a life-size statue of Jacob and donated seventy-five acres of the old Country Club Golf Course for a park in memory of her husband. The park property once existed as a significant Civil War battleground where nearly 30,000 Confederate and Union soldiers clashed; the Union forces wound the battle soundly. In 1941, she presented the City with this statue to honor her husband; it was placed at the entrance to Loose Park so that he could look out over the park.

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Inflation Calculator. https://www.in2013dollars.com/.

"Jacob L Loose dies." Joplin Globe (Joplin, MO). newspapers.com. September 19, 1923. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18656032/jacob-l-loose-dies/.

Loose Mansion Website. https://www.loosemansion.com/.

"Jacob Loose Statue." Kansas City Parks & Recreation. KCParks.com. Accessed August 26, 2022. https://kcparks.org/places/loose-jacob-l-memorial/.

Magerl, Barbara. "The Pendergast Years, Kansas City in the Jazz Age & Great Depression: Jacob L. And Ella C. Loose." The Kansas City Public Library. pendergastkc.org. Accessed August 9, 2021. https://pendergastkc.org/article/biography/jacob-l-and-ella-c-loose. 

Uguccioni, Ellen J . "Nomination Form: Jacob Loose Mansion." National Register of Historic Places. archives.gov. 1983. https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/63817549/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MO/83001008.pdf.