History Timeline
1909 - 1910 Joseph B. Betts builds 825 Buchanan Street. The house was designed by Holland and Squires and cost $20,000 to construct. Betts was a general contractor and Vice-President of the German American State Bank; he also served as a state senator.
1914 Albert and Ellen (Ella) Neese purchase 825 Buchanan Street from Betts estate. Georgia Neese Gray was 14 when she moved into the house with her parents and sister Helen. She graduated from Topeka High School in 1917 and from Washburn University in 1921 with a degree in Economics. After that, she lived in the house off-and-on until the late 1920s.
1952 House is sold several times after Ella's death, first to Robert Freeman, then John Wagner, and then Maurice Burns.
1959 House purchased by Hon. Alfred Schroeder, State Supreme Court Justice, and his wife Katherine.
1974 First Ronald McDonald House founded in Philadelphia.
1980 First feasibility study for Ronald McDonald House conducted.
1985 Stormont-Vail Neonatal Intensive Care Unit opens.
1985 Junior League of Topeka conducts second feasibility study for Ronald McDonald House.
1986 Articles of incorporation filed for Topeka's Love for Children. First Trustees are James and Bonita Garrett, Michelle Rorabaugh, Judy Megibow, Susan Fry and Nancy Stone.
1987 Topeka's Love for Children establishes 22 member board. Kathleen Ruediger was the organization's first President.
May 1987 Topeka's Love for Children purchases 825 SW Buchanan Street for the Ronald McDonald House.
June 1987 Year-long renovation of 825 SW Buchanan begins. Extensive new interior construction, including bathrooms for each of the 8 guest rooms, new mechanical systems, new roof, and an extended rear addition comprise the project. The subdivision is zoned for 20 guest rooms.
January 1988 $500,000 raised, goal of $1.2 million needed to complete the construction and fund house for first year of operation.
June 15, 1988 Ronald McDonald House opens. Carolyn Voth is the first House Manager. The fee is $8/night. There are 112 Ronald McDonald Houses nationwide.
1990 John Hayes, Chairman of KPL Gas Service, chairs capital campaign to raise $1.1 million and establish endowment for operational funding.
1990 Bob Hope benefit concert at Landon Arena.
June 1991 1,500 families served from 100 Kansas communities and foreign countries.
1993 Fee is $10/night. More than 2,900 families served.
June 1993 Joan Kroc donates 10,000 shares of McDonald's stock for endowment and operational expenses to each Ronald McDonald House in the country.
June 1995 Thirty-year $1.2 million mortgage paid off 23 years early. Hosted more than 4,000 families and 15,000 people.
1996 Topeka's Love for Children merges with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas, Inc. One of 127 houses in US and 168 worldwide. Thirty volunteers assist with house operations.
2000 Stormont-Vail West assumes behavioral treatment for adolescents.
2001 - 2003 Menninger Clinic transitions for move to Houston.
2003 Joan Kroc estate leaves $250,000 for operational expenses to each Ronald McDonald House; larger houses receive $500,000.
June 2005 Stormont-Vail Neonatal Intensive Care Unit redesign and expansion of 27-bed facility completed.
January 2008 Extend recruitment efforts to other organizations. Serve families from Stormont-Vail West.
February 2008 Establish overflow plan at Woodward Annex.
April 2008 Utilize overflow plan at Woodward Annex for first time. Seventy volunteers help house this month.
May 2008 Occupancy at 93% representing 36% of the Stormont-Vail NICU population.
June 2008 Twentieth year anniversary. Fee per night is $15/night. Over 20,000 families served from across the state and beyond. There are 161 houses nationally and 277 internationally.
