"Ace and I met right after I graduated from Westport High School. I was with a group of my Westport friends at The Kangaroo, at 51st and Brookside. Now it's a dry cleaner's, but it used to be a jukebox place. They served Cokes and everybody just came and danced. There were booths and a small dance floor. On Sunday afternoons, Jay McShann and his combo would play.

I was with a bunch from Westport, and I was dancing. Ace came in with a bunch of boys and for some reason, he just cut in. We danced, and that was it.

Our first date was to Fairyland Park, at 75th and Prospect. They had a big ballroom that brought in big-name bands. I think we danced to Clyde McCoy and his orchestra. We didn't go on any of the rides, just straight to the dance floor that Fairyland provided. Fairyland was an entertainment center—a big one for Kansas City!"

—Molly Bean, 89. Molly and Ace Bean now live in an apartment on The Country Club Plaza, but were longtime residents of Prairie Village and Mission Hills.

Molly and Ace Bean