In his earlier years, B. K. Hersey owned and operated a small farm near Ritchey, Missouri. He was an ordained deacon and Sunday School Director & Superintendent at Ritchey Baptist Church, where he had attended as a child. During World War II he was Fire Chief at Camp Crowder Missouri.
After moving to Kansas City, Missouri, B. K. Hersey worked with his brother-in-law Logan Largen as co-owner and general superintendent of Largen Construction Company. Later B.K. formed his own company, Empire Construction Company, located in Raytown, Missouri.
B. K. Hersey was instrumental in the building of numerous churches in the Kansas City, Missouri and surrounding area. The "Mission Churches" he built were, Sterling Acres -- mission church of Beaumont Baptist, Loma Vista Baptist -- mission church of Bethany Baptist, Red Bridge Baptist -- mission church of Bethany Baptist, Central Baptist -- mission church of Bethany Baptist, Cedar Rapids Baptist -- mission church of Bethany Baptist. Cedar Rapids Baptist Church is now the largest Southern Baptist Church in Iowa. He was chairman of the building committee of all the mission churches but Loma Vista but he was the builder of it. All church buildings included both sanctuary and educational buildings.
In total, B. K. Hersey built about 65 churches, 7 schools and 1 hospital in the Kansas City area and a total of about 170 in the Eastern, Central and Western areas of Missouri and extreme Eastern Kansas.
All church buildings included both sanctuary and educational buildings. He also built several large commercial buildings for Butler Manufacturing in Kansas City, Missouri, Utica, New York and Puerto Rico.
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