It was 1929, the height of the great depression. Lewis and Mabel Wade were living comfortably in their new home on a three-acre lot just outside Kansas City. They had recently retired from business life with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. The couple invested wisely and lived a quiet, comfortable life until one fateful morning when they were brutally murdered in what is now known as "The Mid America Technology Center Mystery".
This mystery has captivated historians ever since it happened because there are so many unexplained details that beg to be investigated further by any future historian who detects something odd with anything they find. Wade's home was broken into and invaded mid-afternoon on September 14, 1929. The couple was bound and gagged by two young men who wanted them out of the way permanently. If you're wondering why they would want to murder two very wealthy people that could afford anything they needed, well, I've already written a good bit on the subject in my previous article The Five Biggest Unsolved Mysteries of All Time.
What does the "Mid America Technology Center" have to do with this mystery?
The Mid-America Technology Center has nothing to do with the murders at all, but it's the name of an organization that was founded in 1994. Its main purpose is to promote and preserve the history of the Kansas City area. The organization got a building that belonged to a local college and turned it into a sort of museum through which they tell the stories of people who've lived or lived in Kansas City. There is no relation between Wade's murder and this organization.
Who was Lewis Wade?
Lewis Wade was the husband in this case. His wife's name was Mabel Wade. Both were legitimate and both were wealthy socialites who had a circle of friends all their own. They retired to Kansas City in the late 1920s and lived in a very luxurious estate of their design on three acres of land just outside the city limits. I'm going to tell you some more about them as we go along here.
Did they find the murderers?
NO, not only did authorities not find them but no one was ever charged with the crime. This is a true-blue unsolved murder and that's what makes it so fascinating. So let's continue with the story. In 1929, Kansas City was pretty much a middle-of-the-road, average sort of place aside from home to a growing number of rich people like the Wades. This made it very alluring to criminals and this became more apparent as time went on.
What was Mabel Wade like?
She was a fairly large woman who stood at 5'7" and weighed 170 lbs. Her family was one of many wealthy and prominent families in the area who had made their fortune by mining silver in the early days of Kansas City. They had been wealthy enough that they didn't have to work, but they did work hard enough to make money. Mabel Wade was a nice lady and she liked to help people when she could. She would buy something for someone now and then and then pass it along to another person when she could, just to help out a neighbour or stranger in need.
What did Lewis Wade do?
Lewis Wade was a retired businessman. He started his own company in Kansas City about the time the Wades moved there and he continued to run it after they both retired. It was a small company that installed coal stoves and made heaters. The business had grown to such proportions that it eventually became too big for Wade to handle, so he handed it over to his sons until they could take over the company on their own.
What else did they do?
They were also active in other things as well, such as philanthropy and charity work. They cut a fairly impressive figure whenever they appeared in public. They were always dressed nice and well-groomed and they never missed a social event if they could help it. They belonged to several groups in the area and enjoyed their time with them as well.
Conclusion
In this one, let's move on to the events surrounding the murder. The Wades weren't murdered until eleven o'clock that night, but that's not too surprising because they were probably out at a fundraising event of some sort and didn't get back home until about eight o'clock with their driver, who was an African-American man named Silas Fowles. He stayed with them for several hours and then left to go home at about ten-thirty in the evening. This is where things start to get weird.
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