Book excerpt: From guerilla warfare and martial law to the elegant dresses of the Harzfeld Parisian Cloak Company, discover how everything became up-to-date in Kansas City (including the phrase "up-to-date"? itself, which predates the song in Oklahoma!). Watch as the Jackson County Poor Farm became the state-of-the-art Truman Medical Center and learn why Old Westport is the real McCoy. Meet the resident mouse of the Laugh-O-Gram studio on Thirteenth and Forest, which took food from Walt Disney's hand as Mortimer before taking shape on Disney's drawing board as Mickey. In this collection of his best historical columns, David Jackson delivers a vivid portrait of the people, places and events that continue to shape this fascinating town.