St. Louis Memories

St. Louis Memories (Chapter Five - 2007)

David A. Lossos

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Note: If your name and/or e-mail address appears WITHIN the body of your E-Mail, I will include them in your posting. If not, the post will be attributed to "Anonymous".

This website has gotten so big I've had to divide it into pieces. Submissions that I received from 2001 through 2003 are posted at Memories Chapter One (2001-2003) , those I received in 2004 are posted at Memories Chapter Two (2004) , those I received in 2005 are posted at Memories Chapter Three (2005) , those I received in 2006 are posted at Memories Chapter Four (2006), those I received in 2007 are posted at Memories Chapter Five (2007) and current memories are being posted at Memories

For all you former "Altar Boys": "Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam."

(Missouri Sales Tax Tokens, commonly referred to as "mils". Red ones were worth 1/10 of a penny, green ones worth 1/2 a penny)(Images courtesy of Bob Doerr)

This twenty-five cents would get you a double feature and a bunch of cartoons to boot.

On April 4, 2001, I posted a few memories I had of growing up in St. Louis. I received so many great replies that I thought I'd post some of them here.

Original Post from Dave Lossos

I remember when my phone number was Mohawk 2343
I remember going to see a double feature at the Ritz Theater for 25 cents.
I remember coming into the movie in the middle and eventually saying to the person I was with "This is where we came in".
I remember the way to get your friend to come out to play was to stand in front of their house and yell their name (was this a St. Louis thing?).
I remember the first time I had the nerve to wear "bermuda shorts".
I remember getting all the news I needed from a St. Louis publication called "Prom Magazine".
I remember (as a ten year old) being sent to the corner tavern to get my grandma a pail of draft beer.
I remember riding the Grand Avenue electric street cars.
I remember riding my bike in Tower Grove Park (even after dark!).

Post from ~V.A. from IL.~ (1/1/2007)

In response to Rebecca (Boyce) Carty, (4/26/2006). Regarding a hospital that was at Utah and Demenil Place. My mother worked at a hospital that could be what you are inquiring about.The name of it was Marion Hospital. It was a private medical/surgical hospital (2 stories) and up to 25 beds. Owned by a man names Dr. O.S. Jones. It had been a mansion at one time. It was next door to the Lemp Mansion (which is still there). There was a park nearby. (Don't remember name). Also, Benton Park was a few blocks away. Seems to her it was I-44 that was put through there and the hospital subsequently torn down. Arsenal St. was a few blocks away. My mother was a nurse there in the mid-1940's. I hope this information is of help to you.

Post from Bob Juengst (1/1/2007)

Great Site!!!

I talk about "mills" back here in Ohio and everyone thinks I am nuts. So glad to see pictures of them.

I was born in '51 and grew up in North St Louis. I went to Holy Trinity, St. Augustine, DeAndreis, and graduated from Central High School in 1969.

I remember a lot of the things people write about;

I remember Crown's,Pete's Pool Hall on Grand, Velvet Freeze, Phil's, Bono's, Vitale's, Clancy's, Jones Bakery, Ring's Market. Eating Tamales from the push wagons and buying pretzels from the guys standing at the intersections. How about Falstaff beer and playing corkball, bottle caps, horseshoes, and Khoury league baseball. I played for Supreme Express and remember winning the 3 (MO, ILL, & KY)state championship when I was 11.

I worked at the IGA on Natural Bridge by Fairgrounds Park and played a lot of soccer games in Fairgrounds Park. We use to play soccer on the concrete basketball courts at Penrose park across from the 5th precint police station almost every night during the summer. Got married at Holy Trinity and had the reception at Club Imperial.

How many people had to be home when the street lights came on? It must have been everyone in the city!! It sure has been intersting having people recalling all the things that we experienced as kids while growing up in St. Louis.

Thanks Dave for creating this site.

Post from Anonymous (1/4/2007)

Does anyone remember the old Mullanphy Flats at 1541 N 8th St or firehouse next door at 8th and Mullanphy? Also the Robbins Paint Factory was on the other side. How about the old St Casmir's school & church or Mullanphy Park & Bath House. I was born at Mullanphy Flats (midwife 1936 ) and moved away in 1944 to Bevo Mill area. Does anyone remember the big fires in this area , the Goodwill property where i remember the fire chief or ass't chief perished ? It was a few blocks from the Flats. I did your 5 Google searches on this with no results. I was transferred with the old Wabash RR to Roanoke Va in 1966 where I now reside.

Post from jar (1/7/2007)

Great web site.

I was a small child when my father owned a neighborhood grocery story at the corner of 22nd and Newhouse. It was Rapp's Tomboy Market. Does anyone remember my father Bud and my mother Irene? I remember starting Kindergarten at Holy Name, my teacher's name was Miss Ida. Then we moved to the county (Dellwood). I attended St. Sebastian and Good Shephard. I remember taking the bus from dellwood downtown. I remember Jackson Park and Bob Cuban. I remember cruizing through steak n shake on West Florissant. I remember when the Walgreens at Northland had a diner. My friends and I would order onion rings there.

Thanks, Dave for sharing all the memories.

Post from Charles (1/9/2007)

Great site. I have many of the same memories of growing up in St. Louis that others who have written here have. Before we moved to St. Louis we often visited my father's parents there, and for the first half of my second grade year we lived with them and my sister and I went to St. Roch's.

Grandma and Grandpa lived on DeGiverville Avenue in the West End. It was St. Louis 12 before zip codes were invented, and their phone number was PArkview 7-1916. My uncle kept that phone number until he died two years ago. Their house was a couple of blocks from DeBaliviere, and I always used to get a secret thrill whenever I walked by the Stardust Club, home of "Evelyn West and her $50,000 Treasure Chest." There was an ad for the Stardust and Evelyn West every morning in the Globe-Democrat, on the funnies page next to the horoscope. The horoscope had a big list of words with numbers attached to them, and the horoscope for the day was a list of numbers after the name of each sign. You looked up the words that corresponded to the numbers to see what your horoscope was.

The Wabash railroad went through a cut right behind my grandparents' house (the passenger station was up on Delmar, a few blocks away) and I used to stand up there in the alley and wave to the engineers as the trains went by. I would pump my arm up and down like I was pulling the whistle cord, and every once in a while the engineer would respond by blowing the engine's air horn, which always made my day.

The street was lined with big sycamore trees (anyone else remember that St. Louis used to be called Sycamore City sometimes?). Some of the squirrels who lived in the tree in front of Grandpa's were tame enough to eat out of his hand.

We moved to St. Louis Hills (St. Raphael's) in 1963 when my father retired from the army. (Phone number was VErnon 2-xxxx) It was the first time I'd ever been around a bunch of kids who had all known each other since they were little and it was hard being the new kid with a totally different background. In those days St. Louis was one of the few places in the U.S. where anyone played soccer and I'd never played at all before. My total lack of soccer skills didn't help me fit in.

Stan Musial lived two or three blocks up on the same street. In those days ballplayers didn't get the kind of money they do now, and his house was nice but not all that big--it was certainly no mansion. He was still playing then, but it was his last season or maybe the next to last. Anyway, if you went and rang the doorbell Mrs. Musial would answer the door, and when you asked for "Stan Musial's autograph" she'd hand you an 8 x 10 glossy with his signature already on it. I guess they kept a bunch of them next to the door, because kids were always going there.

Red Schoendienst lived a block or so away from Musial, and his three kids (Colleen, Kathy, and Kevin) were schoolmates of mine at St. Raphael's. The teachers at St. Raphael's were almost all nuns who still wore the full habit. They lived in a convent next to the school and I lived in terror of them.

I was an altar boy, and for some reason the nun in charge of the altar boys put me on her list (you know which list I mean), which meant I always had to serve 6:00 mass. Naturally the younger of the two assistant pastors got stuck saying that mass every morning, and he didn't like to get up, so there were many mornings that I was standing around outside the church freezing, waiting for him to come and unlock the door. Finally I'd have to go bang on the rectory door and wake him up.

The only people who ever showed up for mass at that hour of the morning were the old ladies in black. A lot of them didn't speak English, but in those days there were a lot of old people in St. Louis who'd come from the old country forty years earlier and had never gotten comfortable in English. Their grandchildren (my contemporaries) usually didn't speak much of the old language, but when their grandmothers were yelling at them for something the idea got across all right even if the particular words weren't understandable.

A bunch of the St. Louis Mafia guys lived in the neighborhood, and one time somebody set off a bomb in front of a house (right across from Musial's but after he moved away) where some Mafia guy's mother lived. It wasn't a big bomb and nobody was hurt. I guess it was just meant to send a message.

Francis Park was closer to my house, and I went there sometimes, but Willmore Park where where we all played. There was a playground there, next to the smaller of the two ponds, that had a bunch of ultramodern (circa 1960) playground equipment that would be considered far too dangerous to be put on a playground nowadays. In the winter when the water froze and it snowed we'd sled down a hill and get airborne off the concrete lip around the pond and crash down onto the ice. I don't remember anyone ever falling through. We also spent a lot of time hanging around the River Des Peres and building "forts" in the woods on the other side of the river. Certain forts were supposedly the exclusive property of one or another of the local "tough" kids, and whenever you were in one of those you kept an eye out in case the "owner" came along and beat you up.

We all called our friends by standing outside yelling OOOHHHH JOHNNNNNEEEEEEE! I think that's a St. Louis thing because I never heard anyone do it any of the other places I lived when I was a kid.

I had a paper route for a couple of years. I rode up and down the streets in the evening on my bike yelling "Morning Globe pa-per-er!" There were subscribers, and you delivered the paper to their front door, and the yelling was supposed to drum up additional business. I don't remember anyone ever buying a paper who wasn't already a subscriber but I yelled anyway. We picked up our papers in the evening at a confectionary on Hampton.

I went to high school at Augustinian Academy. We had to wear a coat and tie to school every day which was already an anachronism in the late 1960s. I rode the BiState bus (the Loughborough bus over to Carondolet and then one that went north along Virgina Avenue to Meramec). A lot of the Cleveland High School kids rode the second bus, and they'd sit in the back smoking cigarettes, the girls with teased hair and lots of black eyeliner, eyeing us disdainfully. I don't remember that any words were ever exchanged between any of them and any of us, even though we saw each other every day for years.

Other things I remember:

Velvet Freeze.

Harry Carey calling the Cardinals games on KMOX ("It's a long fly ball deep in left center field! It's waaaay back! It might be! It could be! It IS! A HOME RUN!")

Seeing the last game at Sportsman's Park and the first game at Busch Stadium. As I recall it was a doubleheader, and after the first game, at Sportsman's Park, everyone went downtown to see the second game. I think Steve Carlton pitched one of them.

Seeing Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, and Don Drysdale pitch.

Camping out all night at Busch Stadium with my friends to get bleacher tickets for the World Series against the Tigers.

The Avalon and Granada theaters.

Southtown Famous (nobody ever called it Famous Barr).

Forest Park Highlands.

The zoo before they put the wall up around it.

The seal pond at the zoo.

The Channel 2 TV tower next to the Arena, which was short because most of it was knocked down by a big storm. There was an electronic reader board around the top of it where they'd put up the news headlines and I remember finding out from that reader board that Marilyn Monroe died.

The kids' TV show in the afternoon with the guy (who was also a weatherman) who was a sea captain or something, and the show began with a ship's bell being rung. For some reason I can't remember his name or the name of the show right now.

I guess this is long enough, probably nobody will read it because I went on too long, but what the heck. Thanks for having this site, I've enjoyed reading everyone else's posts.

Additional post from Dave Lossos (the originator of these "Memories" - 1/12/2007)

I remember Saturday mornings after a couple got married they would ride around their neighborhoods, with their wedding party trailing behind, honking the horns on their cars. Young kids on the sidewalks would yell out "Sucker" (presumably implying the groom had just made a terrible mistake). And the newlyweds would toss lollipops out the window at us.

I remember putting a penny on the tracks of the street cars, and seeing how flat they could get.

I remember the only civilized way to settle an argument with your sibling or best friends was to wrestle in the back yard, and the ultimate winner declared only after one's opponent "cried Uncle".

Post from Anonymous (1/12/2007)

"Over 6000 Friendly People Welcome You to Woodson Terrace." Omphalos of my Universe. Harrison 87561, zone 30. Bataan Drive. Next door was Corregidor. I too could see the rivets on the aircraft that seemed to pass right over our house, big Constellations with their curved noses, finally giving way to those 707s. Saturdays at the Gem Theater, 50 cents a show. The cattle farm between my neighborhood and Natural Bridge Road that became a public park with a swimming pool. Charles C. Kratz Elementary. I was a patrol boy with my brother at a crossing on Edmundson Road, right in front of the school. Holiday Hills amusement park. Steve Mizerany commercials: "Don't be confused!" My first Cardinals baseball game viewed at Sportsman's Park. Wrestling at the Chase on channel 11, hosted by Joe Garagiola. Fritz Von Erich's fearsome Iron Claw. Mayor Alfonso Cervantes. Big A Burger across St. Charles Rock Road from Ritenour Senior High, from which I graduated in 1971. Tom Boy's Supermarket, later Del Monte's. And Christmas shopping downtown, years before malls.

Post from Anonymous (1/12/2007)

just wanted Charles of 1-9-07 to know that I gladly read his memories of St. Louis and while he and I grew up in different areas of the City, we share many of the same memories. I too, recall when the Channel 2 tower came down in that awful storm. What a storm that was! Charles and I must have been looking at the tower at the same time because I also got the news that Marilyn Monroe had died from the tower. My Mom, Dad, sister and I had been going somewhere in the car and it had broke down somewhere in the vicinity of the tower. We got out and started walking. I do remember it was dark outside. I loved watching the letters change on the board. It just seemed magical to a little kid. All of a sudden my Mother gave a small gasp. Dad asked what was wrong and she pointed to the tower. I looked up and read "Marilyn Monroe Dead" It just kept making it's way round and round the board. Mom couldn't wait to get home, turn on the TV and find out what had happened. So�Charles, not only did you and I grow up in the same city..we were also watching the Channel 2 Tower at the same time!

I have written to this board several times and I check it every few days to see if there are any new memories. It never ceases to astonish me how us St. Louis "Kids" share so many of the same memories. Even if there is a great difference in our ages, many of the memories remain the same. That City had such an affect on those of us blessed to grow up there. I have such wonderful memories of that wonderful City and growing up there during the exciting 60's. It seems the older I get, the more I think of those wonderful, carefree days. I cherish my St. Louis memories. Do any of you other St. Louis kids of the 60's remember�

Drag racing on Hall Street

Johnny Rabbitt broadcasting from Famous Barr or Stix, Baer & Fuller. I can't recall which now. Oh, those were glorious days to be Downtown! We went every Saturday to see Johnny and Steven B. Stevens. Great Giveaways!

The wonderful fashions of the 60's..Carnaby Square, Yeardley, mini skirts, bell bottoms and hip huggers. We girls of the 60's sure looked better in our hip huggers than these hideous low riser jeans the girls are wearing today. We never let our flabby bellies hang over our pants!

The incredible music. The Rascals, The Turtles, Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, The Mamas & The Poppas, The Shangri Las�our very own Bob Cuban and The In Men!

The cars�..No other generation can lay claim to the incredible Muscle Cars of the 60's.

Walking Grand Ave. We'd walk that Ave. for hours. Depending on much money we had, we'd eat at Tillman's (if we had money) or Kingsway (if we didn't) Both were on opposite corners of Grand & Arsenal. We'd stop at Kingsway every morning before going to school at Roosevelt. Many a decision to cut school was made on a stool at Kingsway!

The Ritz and Shenandoah Theaters. The Pool Hall across from the Shenandoah.

Hanging out in Tower Grove Park. We practically lived in that Park in the Summer and never had one bad experience. We felt as safe there as in our Mother's arms.

Roller Skating at Tower Grove Baptist Church�.So many cute boys hung out there. I got my very first kiss in that parking lot and ended up getting married at that church years later.

My very best St. Louis memories always include a cute boy, a fast car and Johnny Rabbitt playing the BEST music ever played on the radio. I wouldn't trade where or when I grew up for anything in the world.

Post from Tom Caulley, FL. (1/12/2007)

This is in reply to Charles's post (1/9/2007): "Cookie and the Captain" showed on KMOX-TV --Channel 4 (now KMOV-TV), starred Jim Bolen as Cookie/the 1st mate (the station's Weatherman) and Dave Allen as The Captain.

Post from Linda in Manassas, VA (1/12/2007)

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!

I was born in �58 but I too remember standing outside my friend�s homes and calling �Ohhhhhh, Carol!� or �Ohhhhhh, Barbie!� I think it was a St. Louis thing that grew less prevalent as you moved further out into the suburbs. When we moved from the Glasgow Village area to the Black Jack area in �68 I asked a neighborhood kid how they asked each other to come out and play (I had noticed that on TV shows kids didn�t necessarily yell at their friend�s doors and windows). She looked at me incredulously and said, �We knock on the door and ask.� Like duh.

I remember my first phone number � Underhill 8-0146.

I remember driving to Grandma and Grandpa�s on a Sunday afternoon and Dad pulling over to buy us kids soft, long pretzels in brown paper bags from the street corner vendors.

I remember Grandma and Grandpa�s street, Genevieve Ave., when it was still paved with cobblestones.

I remember playing in the alley behind their home.

I remember taking the bus with Grandma to Katz drug store.

I remember walking to the �confectionery� to spend my allowance on Luden�s cherry cough drops.

I remember attending the Shrine circus every year at the old ballpark.

I can�t remember the radio ever being tuned to anything other than KMOX for all the Cardinals baseball games (Mom�s radio is still tuned to it.)

I remember going to the old Chain of Rocks amusement park and the Mad Mouse Rollercoaster.

I remember attending St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic School and marching in a school-wide parade all the way from the school to Chain of Rocks Amusement Park for our annual school picnic. I�ll bet the nuns were hot in those black habits.

I remember spending many a Saturday afternoon watching Charlie Chan, Bowery Boys, and Abbot and Costello movies on channel 11.

I remember playing pick-up games of kickball in the street in front of our house. No one paid money to participate in sports. We just grabbed a few friends and a ball and had fun.

I remember spending most summer evenings outside. Mom and Dad sat on the porch nursing their diet colas while we kids played in the yard. Neighbors walked by or came over to visit and we�d have impromptu games of spud or hide and seek till the mosquitoes got too bad and everyone went inside.

I remember having too many kids on our street to count. There was almost always a playmate to be had. No one was in day care and all of our mom�s were home.

I remember Dad coming home from work with sacks full of Hostess treats from the day old or what we called, the �Used Bread � store.

I remember earning Cardinals tickets for a straight-A report card.

I remember all the sonic booms and shaking walls from the jets at McDonnell Douglas.

I can�t remember the radio ever being tuned to anything other than KMOX for all the Cardinals baseball games (Mom�s radio is still tuned to it.)

I remember watching Max Robey on channel 4 to get the local news.

I remember getting sick from drinking too much Vess grape and orange �sodie�.

I remember ice cream floats made with Vess Red Cream �sodie� and later �soda�.

In 1980 I traveled out west on a short vacation with friends. We stopped somewhere to get some soft drinks and one of my friends asked for some �soda� meaning a coke. The clerk looked at her really weird and went and got her a glass of plain seltzer water.

I remember eating hot fudge �sunduhs�. When we lived in a western state a number of years ago, my husband (who is not a native St. Louisan) overheard a co-worker refer to ice cream �sunduhs� so he asked her if she happened to be from St. Louis. She exclaimed, �How did you know!�

I remember when I used to say �warsh� instead of wash and �fark� instead of fork (Mom still does).

Post from Ed Kotowski (1/14/2007)

To the person enquiring about Mullanphy Flats:

My mom lived in Mullanphy Flats till she was 15 years old (1936) (the Parchomski family, 5 children), (7 people in 3 rooms). Her grandmother's family (the Gromacki's) also lived there (7 children), (9 people in 3 rooms). The late Eddie Gromacki (the youngest) used to be the ring announcer on "Wrestling at the Chase". The oldest Gromacki child was Caroline (my grandmother). Mom also remembers the Tacony family that lived there.

Mom remembers the paint factory very well. She said you could always smell the paint. There was a big wall between the flats and the paint factory. Mom said that during prohibition her parents made home brew. A man named McCormick was the chief at the firehouse, and made the best vegetable soup, and used to trade the soup for the beer. In the back of the Flats was a courtyard where an ash pit was. Mom remembers her father cooking potatoes, and the ashes that were generated from the stove. Mullanphy Flats had 3 stories, 4 flats on each floor, (12 families), 3 rooms to a flat. Mom went to St. Casmir's and played at Mullanphy Park. She won the Net Handball championships in 1935 with her sister and friends. Mom recalls scrubbing the front steps with Bon-Ami to make them as white as possible. Mom doesn't recall the Bath House, they had a tub in their flat, with inside plumbing. I vividly recall visiting great grandma Gromacki in the 1950's (I was around 7 or 8 years old). Mom's Uncle Paul had a spittoon. It was such an adventure to visit there with my parents on a Sunday afternoon, and peer into that spittoon.

Post from Anonymous (1/14/2007)

enjoyed this. friend from stl who lives in boston e-mailed it. live in north carolina and many other places but stl was great. read the entire thing. thanks.

remember:

paper boy with wagon yelling morning globbbbe paper every sunday morning. yes, the service cars on easton and the streetcars everybody rode. i think the transfers were free at first, then they started charging. opening of whol recreation center on kingshighway. grew up in forest phone exchange then evergreen. wish i could remember the numbers. attended clark school on union. remember the square dance and tumbling competitions held every year. mr turner had a candy store on the way to school. always looked forward to attending soldan high school but my parents moved to north side my freshman year. beaumont was the school. track day and trukey day -- great. buying bus passes for $2.00 for the week or making one with color pencils.

Post from Anonymous (1/15/2007)

I don't know if this site is still going or not, but thought I would give it a try. I also went to Scullin and have realized how lucky we were to be a part of that school's history. All the memories people have written about on your site has brought so many back for me too. Talking about the Bridge theatre, but we called it "the bucket". White Castles with a coupon from the Sunday paper. I could go on and on, but until I know this is being kept current I will wait.

Post from Patricia Natkin (Kenny) (1/14/2007)

Post from Anonymous (1/20/2007)

Okay, who remembers the "yo yo" man coming to the Scullin playground to do his tricks and sell his yo yos... with your name printed it no less? The pens and or pencils given by "Santa" at Christmas? The afghans we all crocheted for Ms Michel so she could in turn give them to the red cross. I had no idea, until many years later, what a fantastic program Scullin had in Room 9 (where the disabled studied). THey put on "puppet shows" for all the other rooms at Christmas.

Post from Rita (1/24/2007)

WOW! What a rush of memories so strong I can hear Tony the scissor man�s cart clinging. I grew up in St. Louis in the Carondelet neighborhood on Michigan Ave & Nagel. My family is all still there. I left in 1986 but come home as often as possible.

I remember . . .

The two-family flat with our family upstairs and my uncle, aunt and cousins downstairs

The men in my family sitting shirtless in the back yard with a cold Budweiser and the Cards on the radio

Mister Softee trucks on summer nights

Parade from Lyon Elementary School to Carondelet Park; where we had our school picnic. My dad always won parakeets at the game booths.

Field trips to the Lock and Dam, Hostess Plant, and other places to keep kids amazed

Teen Town at Busch School �the last song was always �Hey Jude�

Riding the Carondelet #73 bus to South County to go to the mall

First day as a freshman at the Castle (Cleveland High) and being offered an elevator pass

Ted Drewes frozen custard � doesn�t get any better

Policemen who knew us by name and knew who DIDN�T belong on our block

Being in a play at the Carondelet Branch Library with friends and being terrified

Walking down to Broadway and the Ben Franklin store where we could spend our change

Sled riding at Art Hill in Forest Park and the greatest Zoo

Fireworks at Washington University on the 4th of July

So much more that the mind is swirling

Leaving home the first time and thinking that my heart was going to break in two

There is NO place like home. Thanks for the memories Dave.

Post from Nick Berring (1/24/2007)

Your we site is special. Brings back great memories for a 64 year old man. Some of my memories:

Fire alarm and Police call boxes every couple of blocks.

Live chickens sold at a grocery store at Gravois and Morganford

Batz Baseball Field on Tholozan at Morganford.

The White Wall in Carondelet Park.

The endless baseball, football & soccer games there. (Whatever was in season)

Playing Marbles in the dirt.

Mom and Dads first house at 3823 Dover Pl. in 1945 for $5,000. Phone Plateau 3393. Party Lines.

Visits to Gas Light Square with friend the Original Johnny Rabbitt.

The playing in the Bettendorf Grocery Store at Grand & Iron when it was being built in 1953?

Grocery stores on every corner of Wilmington Ave. (Hobart's, Val's, Holly Hills Mkt. & Tom Boy)

Watching the Hawks play basketball at the old Kiel Auditorium.

Ice Skating on both Boat Lakes & Horseshoe Lake before fountains kept the lake from freezing so the ducks could congregate.

Cleveland High Sorority/Fraternity parties.

Tony the Hot Tamalli/HotDog man. "Hey Tony how's your wife" was yelled from our car. His reply, "Red Hot"

No Gym at St. Stephens grade school. We always had a crummy basketball team. Practiced outside.

Sister Mary Austin's bad mark book. Often stolen to erase marks.

Rubber Hose on rear end when mis-behaving

Getting slapped by Sister Wilma for trying to smoke a lady cigar.

Ether Anesthetic for tonsil removal

Forts & Tree Houses in the vacant lot on Arendes between Dover & Burgen Ave.

Putting pennies and a occasional nickel on the railroad tracks and watch a train flatten them.

Dodge Lancer spinner hub caps.

Grand Ave Street Car rides to old Sportsman park.

Soccer clubs playing heated games for there own nationality at Carondelet Park. The Italians from St. Ambrose, the Polish from St. Hedwig's, The Spanish & Germans from St. Mary and Joseph and St. Boniface.

Bowling at Century Lanes on Michigan Ave.

Sidney the night watchman patrolling our Holly Hills neighborhood.

Hanging out at "The Jungle" confectionary at Morganford and Loughborough or KP on Bowen across from Woerner School..

Cork Ball, bottle caps & Bocce ball games at my dads favorite bars. Fanetti's at Reilly & Stein. Villa's on Davis St. Frego's on So. Broadway.

Walking through the Cemetery on Bates St. from Dover to get to the Granada Theater to sit in the balcony.

Walking to friends homes on Christmas Eve showing off gifts.

Christmas Novenas at St. Stephens.

Swiping Brother Mack's gold fish bowl at St. Mary's HS on Friday night after football. Another bowl would be on his desk Monday with the same fish and not a word being said about the bowl being taken. It drove us crazy.

Rabbit hunting in So. County in the area where I now live.

Drag racing on River Des Per Drive after leaving Steak & Shake.

Gene Green's 57 Chevy. Fastest car around.

Hot Rod Moore.

Spook Saboka.

Underage drinking at Radisson's over the JB Bridge.

Monte Bello's Pizza.

Helen's Pizza.

DeRenzio's Pizza.

Big Blo's Bar.

Willy Decker

Unfiltered wading pools at Tower Grove and Dakota Parks.

Polio vaccinations.

I could go on but these are some of my favorite's.

Post from Anonymous (1/24/2007)

Born and raised in South St. Louis in the 40's and 50's and wish we could wind the clock back.

I remember jumping on the milkman's truck and grabbing junks of ice, and we'd jump off when he got to the end of our block.

I remember summers when our neighborhood was full of kids to play with outside. This was because moms didn't work so we were all close to home then.

I remember clothes props, and washing hanging in the yard. I remember running out to grab it all down if it started to rain.

I remember lace curtain stretchers.

I remember walking home from school for lunch every day, and getting back in time to play in the school yard before the bell rang.

I remember the Princess Show in the evening, showing the second movie outside in the summer. By then it was dark and cooler than being inside the un-air conditioned theater.

I remember White's bakery truck made neighborhood deliveries and the man blowing his whistle to announce his arrival. My Grandma would go out and buy things from him.

And yes I remember the scissors man, the strawberry man, the hot tomale push carts, the paper boys and how my dad would open the door and whistle real loud and shout out " Post and Globe" to the weekend paper boy. Yes, we had two major newspapers then.

We lived next door to a chicken store and I'd go over to watch them take the chickens out of the crates, chop off their heads, hold them against a turning wheel that knocked off the feathers and they'd be ready to hang up and sell.

I remember Mary-Jane shoes.

I remember hats and white gloves that every well-dressed woman and little girl wore in the summer and especially on Easter Sunday.

I remember going on the Admiral at night when it actually ran up and down the Mississippi.

I remember going to the Casa Loma on Saturdays for the St. Louis Hop.

I remember Cherokee Street being a major shopping center in South St. Louis.

I remember our neighborhood tavern was a family gathering place. And the big juke box that had columns on the front with changing colors of cloud like lights.

I remember playing all day in Benton Park with my friends and it was safe and fun.

I remember taking buses all over by myself or with girlfriends, like to Down's Swimming Pool on South Broadway, to Forest Park, out to the Hampton Loop, the Grand Streetcar to the Fox and St. Louis theaters, and of course downtown to shop with my mom and sister at stores like Famous-Barr, Stix, Cunninghams, Kleins, Sonnenfelds, Boyd's, and on and on. The old downtown with lights, and crowded sidewalks and hundreds of shoppers on a Thurs night when the stores stayed open until 9:00 p.m.

I remember getting my shoes half-soled, and taps on the heals to make them last through the school year.

I remember ash-pits where people dumped their ashes from coal furnaces. Of course other thrown away items got dumped in them as well. A man with a cart and horse used to come through our alley and pick stuff out that he wanted - old clothes, shoes, etc. We called him the rag picker.

I have to stop. I could go on and on and on and on................................. How I miss those days.

Post from Sandra C. (1/25/2007)

I remember Cho-Cho's. They were malt flavored ice cream in a cup with a lid which had a small slot. You stuck the little wooden popsicle stick through the slot to the ice cream, and then rolled the cup in you hands a few times to loosen it up. Yummy. You threw away the cup and ate the Cho-Cho.

I remember fire alarm boxes on every corner and only occasionally some delinquent would pull it and run.

I remember the sign my Grandma had to put in the window so the ice man could leave her ice. It had big black numbers on each side, and whatever number was at the top was how much she wanted. Yes, it was for her Ice Box. It melted into a very large square pan underneath her Ice Box, and pulling that out to empty took practice not to spill the water.

I remember my Grandma's two irons. The handle was separate. She'd heat both irons on her stove, (yes, they were actual large, heavy thick iron triangles) then stick the handle into one of them and iron until it cooled off. Sit that one back on the stove, and pick the hot one with the handle. Start over. She ironed on a board that she set on top of two chair backs.

Remember sprinkling clothes with the sprinkling bottle? Or just dipping your fingers in a pan of water and sprinkling?

I remember hitting the emergency release many times to get my fingers free from my mother's wringer washer. She let me use it when I got married in 1967.

I can remember many times my dad, or whoever we were with, having to start their car by pushing it real fast and then popping the clutch. I have no idea why that worked, but it did. Whoever was pushing would then jump in and off we'd go.

I remember my brother taking pictures with a Brownie Box camera, and if we were inside, we'd have to sit still for 30 seconds for a time exposure shot. No flashbulbs then.

I can also remember the very first color pictures we took at Christmas one year. Must have been mid 50's. Remember the 3-wheel white Fleet Photo motorcycle men who picked up and delivered film to your local drug store, or grocery store?

Yes !! Remember the large bottle of Vess soda turning around high in the air at the Hampton Bus Loop, and the huge ice cream cone outside Velvet Freeze on Gravois? All of us kids from Roosevelt signed that over the years. It would have been an incredible piece of nostalgia to keep around.

Remember walking to Rose Fanning school for your homemaking class, and the boys walking there to take whatever it was they took. Was it called manual? And this wasn't an option, kids. We had to learn to sew, cook, light a gas oven (burned arm hair, thankyouverymuch), peel an apple so that the skin stayed in one long piece (who cared ????) and so on.

Remember the swimming pools in Fox Park and Tower Grove Park? They were free, and Fox always had summer craft classes that were FREE.

Remember Frezert? Imitation ice cream. But it tasted fine to us.

Remember school parades when the steets and sidewalks were lined with lots people who came out to watch us walk by with our crepe paper hats and banners? It was a very big deal - - followed by The Highlands for the school picnic, and then we were off for the summer.

Stop me. Back to work. See Ya Later Alligator.......................

Post from Tom E Lloyd, Jr. (1/25/2007)

My father and mother are both from St. Louis.

They grew up in the 40's and 50's and my father has many fond memories.

Last night at dinner he began to share some of them with me and tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Like so many he yearns for the "good old" days.

He and my Mom would leave St. Louis and their families behind to serve this great country of ours as an officer in the US Air Force. We, the children, would see our grandparents when we could due to Dads military obligations and I too have some very fond memories of childhood in St. Louis.

My father went on to become one of the founders of a very large and successful publicly traded defense contracting firm and now lives a very nice life in Northern Virginia where 2 of his 3 sons chose to reside close to him.

My father is a man of great presence and knowledge. His is passionate about his family and has committed his life from an employment stand point to ensure the safety and security of our great country and we all sleep better because of it. He is a man of great wealth yet more humble than those who have nothing. He is not loud and aggressive in his mannerisms yet he is soft and gentle yet every point gets across. His is very educated and shares his knowledge openly. He has the rare ability to remember in great detail and accuracy events from times passed.

Now in his 70's and still working as hard as he did in his 30's he has taken a slower approach to life and looked back on the experiences that helped form him into the man he is today.

As I sat at the table of our fine Italian restaurant I listened with thirsty ear as he played marbles in his shorts, his cheeks rosy from the sun. He took me through a mental journey with his eloquent verbage through his old neighborhood as he and his friends caught fireflies long after dark safe in the knowledge that no harm would come to them, the neighbor across the street, Mr. Nelson, who sold flour to all the local donut shops, the tamale man, the milkman and paper man. His recounted stories were vibrant with color and there was never a cloud in the sky. The air was pure and clean and the living was honest. So well spoken were his tales that as I closed my eyes I became him as a youth and shared in his boy hood experiences. Growing older, he worked at the well known Baker shoe store prior to his military enlistment.

When I returned home I began doing research and I happened upon your website. I began reading it with a voracious appetite for it's knowledge and recounting of memories by others. Picking up the phone I called my father and began reading some of the postings to him. As I read street names and store names he shared childhood memory after childhood memory with me all filled with great detail and precision. I listened intently to his tired voice and heard distinctly the tears he tried to suppress. I am certain they were tears of joy as one memory after another long ago tucked away began flooding his mind like a dam that had just given way.

He spoke of place after place but there was one he spoke of most. After a long day at St. Louis University he would emerge at 9 pm. Tired and hungry he would go to Melrose Pizza for a pizza that he would pay $1.50 for. Piping hot he would take it home and eat it while he studied late into the early morning hours. He described the pizza with such detail I could almost taste it and to this day he has yet to taste any pizza that replicates it.

Would you or any one who has posted to this great web site have any knowledge of Melrose Pizza? What happened to it and when? What was the secret to the crust my father so adored and how was it cooked? Was it a crispy crust, a thin crust, maybe a hand tossed crust? Is it possible anyone still has a copy of the menu from that era that would not mind making a copy of?

Somehow, some way at whatever the expense I would love to recreate that pizza for him and allow the warmth of that fresh pizza roll the hands of time back to the early 50's.

Post from Marilynne Diane Brayfield (1/25/2007)

I would like to add some memories to all the rest of the memories. I remember all of them, but I remember the pageants we put on at the end of summer at the school playground (Scullin) and all the crafts (potholders and rugs made from strips of curtain and tied with yarn) under the tutelege of "teach" ( a counselor). I remember standing on our back porch and watching the fireworks set off at the close of the Shriner's Circus at the Public School Stadium. I remember my brother and I walking home from Natural Bridge and Kingshighway carrying the bags of white castle hamberurgers. We really whetted our appetites for them by the time we got home. I remember the rides down the alley on the back of Johnny Kaufman's produce truck. He would let us ride down the alley from our house to Farlin. I remember Miss Michel who was one great teacher. I am sure we did not give her the respect she deserved while we were in her class, but her memory is such a pleasant one, I hope she can know it now..

Post from Tom E Lloyd, Jr. (1/26/2007)

Post from Michelle (1/28/2007)

Born in St. Louis in 1958 I have lots of good memories from my youth.

Graduating from Ritenour High School and the walks across St. Charles Rock Road to have a malt at Chuck A Burger after school.

Cruising at nights around Steak N Shake, White Castle on Natural Bridge and Chuck A Burger on St. Charles Rock Road. Around every 5 rounds maybe even taking the longer cruise out to the Steak N Shake on Lindbergh.

Northwest Plaza. The first big shopping center I remember. Going with girlfriends on Saturday and spending the whole day shopping and looking at the boys.

Kresge's on Page Avenue and sitting at the counter at the restaurant having a cherry or vanilla coke.

Johnny Rabbit and KXOK radio.

Telephone Party Lines.

Airway Drive In on St. Charles Rock Road. Helping friends get into the movie free by hiding them in the trunk.

Hoech Junior High. Setting in class day dreaming as I looked out the window across the road at cows roaming in the field.

American Donut Shop on St. Charles Rock Road.

The Admiral boat going out on Sunday nights with friends. An evening of cruising and dancing to Bob Cuban's Brass Band.

School picnics at Chain Of Rocks and Holiday Hills. Remembering how envious friends of ours from the city of St. Louis were of us for living only minutes from Holiday Hills.

A Saturday school carnival at DeHart. Enjoying the day with my family.

Creve Coeur Park. Cruising around in the park with a carload of friends on a Sunday afternoon.

Shakey's Pizza Parlor on St. Charles Rock Road.

The Ice skating rink on St. Charles Rock Road.

Velvet freeze on Woodson.

Gas Wars when gas was around 28 cents.

Mister Softee ice cream trucks coming through the neighborhood.

Fox's Lake on St. Charles Rock Road. Just before you crossed the bridge and went into what was then country. (St. Charles)

Crossing that narrow 2 lane bridge that went into St. Charles. Holding my breathe as my dad would drive his large plymouth over it.

Visiting family in the city of St. Louis and shopping on Cherokee.

California Donut Shop in the city.

Home cooked meals EVERY night after my mom would come in from working 8 to 9 hours.

Legend Park and Friday night Fish Fry's during the summer.

Post from Sandra C. (1/30/07)

A late follow up to the question about hospital at Utah and DeMenil......... I read the answer about Marion Hospital. Wasn't there also in that neighborhood Booth Memorial Hospital, operated by the Salvation Army? It was a hospital where unwed mothers stayed until the birth of their baby which was almost always given up for adoption. It was down there somewhere near Broadway/Arsenal area. Girls came from all over to stay there.

The park near there was Lemp Park, now gone thanks to Highway 55 construction, and Benton park was further away at Arsenal and Jefferson.

I remember my mother sending me to buy one pair of stockings at JC Penney on Cherokee Street. Stockings were packaged in flat, rectangular boxes, 3 pair in a box, all stacked up into wooden cubby holes. The sales lady would take out one pair, and carefully put her hand in it so you could see the shade of the color on the back of her hand. I'd ask for a certain size and color and then....... does anyone remember this?.......... I can remember mother saying "ask for 20 gauge, 15 denier". What did that mean??? The numbers may be off, but I distinctly remember the "gauge" and "denier" specifications. Someone please tell me they remember that also.

I remember my dad's work pants being put on stretchers right from the washing machine. The stretchers pulled out the wrinkles as they dried and also put in razor sharp creases. Clever. Then we just had to iron the top part of the pants.

I remember learning to iron by practicing on hankies (yes, we ironed them), and sheets and pillowcases. Yes, they were all ironed too.

I remember hot starch cooking on the stove on laundry day.

I remember lighting real candles at Catholic Churches anytime of the day, because they were always open.

I remember big weddings always being in the morning, then the whole group going out for a wedding breakfast. Then the reception was always at night.

I remember DiReinzo's Pizza very well. It was wonderful. Also Helen's on South Grand.

I remember the very cool jazz bars around south St. Louis. The Fallen Angel, The Coral Reef, The Algiers, Jazz Alley, .......

I remember black cocktail dresses.

I remember stockings with seams and very fancy designs at the back of the ankle bone.

Post from Christy in Texas (2/2/2007)

A reply to the Post from Linda in Manassas, VA (1/12/2007) - Linda, you mentioned you attended St. Catherine's of Alexandria elementary school. So did I and all my brothers and sisters. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the school picnics, and how each year, Sr. Mary Louis would announce the theme, and each class would decide how to dress up and decorate for the parade. The Charlie Brown "Happiness" song always reminds me of the year we had that theme, and my class chose "Happiness is a Birthday Party", and some of us (including me) got to dress up as birthday presents. I wore a cardboard box with holes cut in for my arms and my head, that my mom helped me decorate with crepe paper "wrapping paper" and a big bow. And I loved how right before we would start the parade, we'd all assemble out in the school yard in front, and the "Drum and Bugle Corps" would start playing. I love watching the old home movies of those parades. I never rode the Mad Mouse because my brothers had told me too many horror stories about it (someone getting killed on it?????) I loved the double ferris wheel, and when I was feeling brave, the "riding spook house".

I remember how on July 4th, my dad would load up the station wagon, and we'd all drive up to the park, and watch the fireworks downtown from the top of the hill at Chain of Rocks. Back then you could see forever. Our phone number was also Underhill, (UN-87864) but we grew up in Bellefontaine Neighbors.

The confectionary is still there on Diamond Drive, and still smells the same, and looks the same inside. (At least it was when I went to visit 2 summers ago...) That was a big deal for us, to go the confectionary after school and I loved the "bottle cap" candies, kind of like soda flavored sweet tarts, and Bazooka Joe bubble gum (I liked to read the jokes inside the wrappers). My sisters liked the wax lips and wax "soda bottles" (I never could see the appeal in those) and they liked the pixie stix too, oh, and I loved getting the candy necklaces on the elastic string.

I remember the fish fries at the school every month, my mom helped cook in the back and us kids would go back there and all the ladies would be back there frying up a storm and sharing all the latest gossip. They seemed so OLD then, now I'm THEIR age! Scary!

And I remember taking milk money to school in little brown manila envelopes, and at lunch turning in "milk tokens" or "orange drink" tokens at a little window to the kitchen in the gymnasium, to get your carton of milk or Orange drink. And the collapsible lunch tables that folded up into the walls. And when I got into the upper grades, felt SOOO important when we got to put the tables back into the walls after lunch.

And the Christmas assemblies in the gym every year, when the whole school would sit on the gym floor and each class would present a Christmas song or skit. And Sr. Mary Louis would give out Christmas gifts to EVERY kid. I remember getting a fuzzy plastic cow with a bobbing head one year.

I had a friend who lived in Glasgow on Lilac. (she also went to St. Catherine's.)

Well Thanks for stirring up more memories. I better stop now before this goes on and on and on.....

Post from Cindy in Japan (2/4/2007)

first of all . . . i can not thank you ENOUGH for your website! I am a native St. Louisian who at the age of 45, moved away from St. Louis for the first time and am now living in Japan, of all places in the world. I have searched frantically for a website covering life in St. Louis during the last century (hah we actually can say "the last century" in our lifetimes! makes me feel old though in some ways ^-^ ) I was on a web search looking for any information of my elementary school Ascension in Northwoods and this led me to finding your absolutely fantastic website. Really, it should win honors and awards ... this is thee most incredible website reviewing life in a city I have ever ran across. And wow how your posters impact my life at this time in my life, when I am living away from family and friends, half way around the world. I only have my husband, who is native to this country, and his parents. I am constantly searching the internet for information to share with him about my life through the years in the states and I struck gold with your website. I am so blessed beyond measure! And to find that posting from Barbie 03/10/04 - it is obvious she lived in the same neighborhood/vicinity as I did when a child!

Its very emotional for me to read the various memories of others . . . and recall events and places I had forgotten. I always loved growing up in St. Louis and brag on the cities many cultural establishments, restaurants, icons, etc. -- and living in a foreign country as I do, this makes the isolation from my home area a bit less hurtful. If I am babbling and carrying on, forgive me. A lot of memories just came flooding back. A lot of good times! good places! good people!!

For now what comes to mind: Hyde Park (which I think is now torn down?) in the early 60s & the cherry tree out back of my grandparents 2 apt. flat they owned. Mr. Softy ice cream truck; the popcorn street vendor, the "hot tamale" vendor, the peanuts vendor, all the small pushcart food vendors that would walk the evening streets of downtown St. Louis. Carondelet. Grants Farm & the goat that would always eat your coat! Gravois bowling alley & South St. Louis BBQ! Waiting in line to get into the drive-ins which when a small child, after playing on the swingsets, watching the first cartoon, then falling asleep. Then 15 years later, at the drive ins smooching with boyfriend and having outdoor BBQs on back of pickups before and during the movie! haha ah the drive-in ... a truly sad passing away of Americas great pastimes. Crestwood Plaza & KSHE. I remember when KSHE FM first aired on the radio!! and hearing David Bowie's "Space Odyssey" song playing. Those really were the years for high hopes and dreams of a great future. When "computers" were buildings and small hand held transistors radios were the "rage" -- I remember going to bed at night being sad when KIRL would go off the air for the night. haha and STREAKERS ... one year a radio station had a contest going on in which I won a pair of "streaker tennis shoes" - I think i was 11 years old? but hung up on the radio DJ because my mother came into the room inquiring about who I was on the phone with. I recall my parents would take us for a evening "outing" by driving to the airport & watching the planes land at night. Sometimes we would meet up with nearby relatives & hang out a while chatting. I also remember my cousin telling me the landing lights were fallen stars. And for a while, believed him (yes, wishful and gullible child at times.) Recall watching on TV: Lucy, Osmonds, Ed Sullivan, Monkees, Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, American Bandstand, Love American Style, Dating Game, Bugs Bunny (just to name a few iconic shows). I too recall when channel 30 came to TV and you needed that special antenna. Also recall phone cords that would wrap around the kitchen wall as we sat on the basement steps, kitchen door closed, hoping no one was listening to our phone conversations with school friends. I remember the "huge" AMOCO sign off of Hwy. 40 in Clayton / I remember the day the Checkerdome came down (wow was I sad, lots of concert memories there) / I remember the original Planetarium / I remember all the St. Louis Symphony concerts / I too, remember KATZ drugstore & Wags (is there still a WAGS? Walgreens restaurant WAGS had the best breakfast!) / I remember the first time see the Oscar Meyer Hot Dog Weinermobile "hot dog car" on the highway. I also remember people slowing down on highway 270 but that was long before 270 became such a traffic jam nightmare, and then expanded. Amazing ... recalling so many things now. Thank you Dave!

Now, back to thee website. I have a LOT more of reading to do! Will be sharing your website link with others & my family members, who regardless of age, are all "internet connected" - ah a new century in St. Louis & the world.

Thanks for the memories!!! and thank you again for sponsoring this historical documentation of a wonderful city ... "you now, the city with The Arch!" - (what you always told others who would say "St. Louis? where is that?")

Post from Rick Gahn (growing up in West County (Ballwin) from 1966-1974) (2/12/2007)

Phone # was CApitol 7-0664 . . . . CA & LAfayette prefixes were used in west county

Only restaurants in 1966 on Manchester Rd. west of HWY 141 were a Burger Chef and a Dog n' Suds

Captain 11 on KPLR in the afternoons

The Charlotte Peters show on channel 2 KTVI

Harry Caray & Jack Buck on KMOX doing Cardinal games

Dan Kelly & Gus Kyle on KMOX doing Blues games . . . . "it's going to be a barn burner tonight"

Red Berenson scoring 6 goals against the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly to tie NHL record and then coming home to be presented a new Chevy station wagon and hunting rifle at the arena by owner Sidney Solomon Jr.

Norm Kramer at the organ for Blues & Cardinals games, his rendition of the St. Louis Blues when the Blues would take the ice would really get the fans cheering

Riding my Schwinn Varsity 10 speed & buying all the 1967 & 1968 baseball & football cards I could afford at the Ben Franklin on Clayton Road (turned out to be a great investment in later years)

Falstaff Beer headquarters at 5050 Oakland, just down the street from Musial & Biggies Restaurant and The Arena. Falstaff was #1 beer in St. Louis in those days! (Those in the know drink with Pappa Joe)

Sala's Restaurant for great Italian food under the Kingshighway viaduct. Nothing like it in west county!

Buying Buicks from Gilbert Buick (Grand @ Gravios), meeting Jim Bakken of the football Cardinals at Gilbert Buick when he was a spokesman for them. Also the O'Shea brothers from the Blues. (GoGo Gilbert . . . Wouldn't you really rather drive a Buick?)

Parkway Central being the only high school in the Parkway District until Parkway West opened in 1969

Playing hockey on frozen ponds in the Claymont subdivision in the winter and on tennis courts in the summer

Getting gifts from the gas stations for buying gas such as steak knives and football Cardinal drinking glasses, along with Eagle stamps

Watching I-270 being built and the fact that it was making Lindberg Blvd much safer . . . there were many deadly accidents on Lindberg before I-270 was completed.

The Blues beating the Minnesota North Stars in double overtime of game 7 of the Stanley Cup semi-finals in 1967, believe Ron Shock scored on Caesar Maniago and the popularity of Blues sky rocketed. To this date, still the most exciting sporting event I have ever witnessed in person.

Field trips to Grant's Farm and St. Louis Zoo while attending Claymont Elementary school

Saturday night dates on The Admiral

KXOK & KSHE for rock, KMOX for sports. St. Louis radio was the best in the country!

CMC Stereo on Manchester Road, buying 8 track cassettes

Peaches Records on Manchester Road

Mason's Department store for clothes in Ballwin Plaza

Queeny Park concerts with Richard Haymond

Lion's Choice Roast Beef Restaurant and their 5 cent kid's cones

Grandpa's discount store on Manchester road, first discounter in the area

Central Hardware "from scoop to nuts", a really great hardware store chain in the St. Louis area

Eating at Miss Hullings restaurant at the Hilton Downtown St. Louis, also Trader Vics for special occasions

The drive-in theater at Manchester road & I-270 where West County Mall is today

Danny's Do-nuts on Route 66 in Crestwood next to the minature golf, always a treat after a round of 9!

Casey's Sporting Goods in Kirkwood, the best place by far to buy hockey equipment in the late 1960's (CCM & Victoriaville hockey sticks, bought them by the dozen)

Thanks Dave for a great web-site . . . .for a great metro area!

Post from Anonymous (2/13/2007)

What an awesome website! Thank you for the time you have put into this and for continuing to do so.

I was born in 1969; however, I am the youngest of six so what many of you are talking about I can somewhat relate to because of my older brothers and sisters. I can't wait to share this website with them. The last posting I read was from Rick Gahn and many of the things he posted hit very close to home, especially the memories of the St. Louis Blues. I have two older brothers who are HUGE hockey fans as is my husband. My oldest brother gave my nephew the middle name of Barclay after Barclay Plager. And that name suits him well because he is one heck of a hockey player.

We grew up in South St. Louis. Lived on Louisiana two blocks down from Cleveland. All six of us went to St.Anthony's Grade School. The boys went to St. Mary's and my sisters went to St.Anthony's High School by the time I was to go to High School it had closed already. There were many weekends spent at the gym watching basketball games and then Wednesday after school roller skating. My grandpa was a huge fan of Behrmans. He use to take my one brother to afternoon kindergarten because both our parents worked. And if I remember correctly Gramps would tell my brother they were going to Burger Chef to get lunch before he took him to school. Well, one day mom was off and she was taking him to school and said she would still take him to Burger Chef before school like Grandpa did, well as they are driving past Behrmans Joes tells mom she passed Burger Chef............Grandpa had my brother thinking they were going to Burger Chef when in fact that were going to Behrmans every day........but to this day Joe still likes those burgers.

Some of the other great things I remember from growing up with older siblings was Bobby Sherman, the crush boys had on Farrah Fawcett, those funky big clod hopping boots guys would wear I think they were Boonedockers or something like that. Two of my sisters had worked at Grand Manor. Both brothers had worked at Rigazzis. Someone had mentioned Hobarts. We were right around the corner so we were there alot. Velvet Freeze.........Gold Coast was my favorite. Ted Drewes, Al Smiths, Dairy Farm.Going to Kuna Meat Co on Saturdays with dad. Dads Cookies, Kristoffs, Marquette Park, Winklemanns Drug Store. There was a bakery on Meramec across from the hobby shop-cant remember the name of it I just remember how good it was. Potje Shoe Repair. For those of you that lived in that area Grand/Osceola/Louisiana/Taft....there was a house on Grand Ave and every Christmas it was decorated just so and Santa Claus would sit on the front porch on Sunday nights and you could go sit on his lap............that is one of the hand me down memories from one of my sisters..........I never got to do that.

How could I forget my all time favorite place.................................GUS' PRETZELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soulard Market

I remember the old blue St. Louis City Police Cars-had 2 uncles who were City cops-one who was chief for awhile- they are both deceased now; however, they have one nephew and two great-nephews who proudly follow in their footsteps.

Thank you again for this website what a great idea! I can't wait to read some of the others. Kind of just gives you a good warm feeling when you read these. Takes you back in time and helps you forget if only for a little while the messed up world we live in today.

Post from Pat Bishop (2/15/2007)

Hi Dave! What a great website! I grew up in Hillsdale, in the Normandy school district. I remember:

The Fatted Calf at Northwest Plaza....great burgers!

Ponticello's Pizza next to Rapps (Schnucks) on Natural Bridge.

Schmidt's Bakery...I'd go to the dentist upstairs, Dr. Matthews, and then downstairs for a sugar cookie while waiting for the bus.

The Green Parrot Restaurant...way down south I think...the best fried chicken, family style.

Wellston, the Children's Shop...the sweetest lady was a salesperson there...always made me feel so pretty.

Norwood Hill's Country Club....the pool seemed huge...we always had zombies to drink (root beer, cola, 7-up, and grape soda, I believe).

Chocolate Coke and fries or onion rings at Walgreens by Britts Dept. Store after Normandy Jr. High bowling club.

Whelan's Bar

Godat's Drug Store, after school for an ice cream cone with a candy cherry on top!

Gus's Market...Skippy, the butcher...and I think Lorraine, his wife who worked the cash register.

Melrose Pizza, in the area of Goody Goody, Sam the Watermelon Man, Ed's White Front, and the Thunderbird drive-in....can't remember the name of the bowling alley.

Starlight Ballroom on St. Charles Rock Road where my husband & I went every Sunday night and danced to Bob Cuban & the In Men! Once we were kicked out because he lifted me up by my waist..have times changed!

Heman Swimming pool in University City.

The Martin Cinerama theatre where I saw "How the West Was Won". It was near the Playboy Club.

I'll be in town this summer & hope to recapture a bit of my youth...what's left anyway. I graduated from Normandy High School in 1969.

Post from J.W. in Massachusetts (2/21/2007)

Hi fellow St. Louisans!

I was born in 1943 and lived in Maplewood until I was 12, not far from the bus loop and the Maplewood Theater. I remember the gangway between the movie theater and the next building. And the big concrete trash pits in the parking lot behind all the stores where we would climb in and search for discarded treasures. There was a wooded area behind that where hobos from the train tracks slept in cardboard boxes.

All the neighborhood kids would play bicycle tag, jump rope, flip baseball cards, and have acorn fights. We played "war" with pea shooters. After dinner we played hide and seek until we were ready to drop.

Behind our house was a dirt alley with big ruts. The rag man took his horse and wagon through the alley as he called out for rags. And neighbors dumped their ashes and "clinkers" from their coal furnaces in it so it was hazardous to go wading in the puddles after a storm.

I haven't found any thunder storms that can match those in St. Louis. It would get dark as night and sometimes the air would turn green.

The fish fries at Immaculate Conception in Maplewood were totally fun. I loved the deep fried jack salmon. What kind of fish is jack salmon anway? I loved getting homemade popcorn balls while trick or treating at Halloween.

For a while there was a big revival tent on Southwest Avenue. Once I overheard the preacher forecasting the end of the world by nuclear war and it scared me to death. I had nightmares for years.

One thing about St. Louis that I didn't realize when I was growing up, though, was how terribly racially segregated it was. Anti-semitic too.

What a shame.

I miss the old days and the freedom kids had, but I'm glad we've progressed, at least in a few areas.

Post from Bob Doerr (2/21/2007)

Hi Dave,

This stroll down memory lane is refreshing. Great web page! Thank you!

Upon reading many, many entries, I am inspired to remember more of the past in St. Louis.

Two of our daughters are now grandmothers. That implies correctly that I am older than most of your submitters.

Born in 1927, on Rosa, a bit west of Kingshighway, I lived mostly in St. Louis, except for military service and two short out-of-state moves, until 1958.

From 1932 we were on the move. I remember living in four rental places in Our Lady of Sorrows parish, one in St. Stephens, one in St. Margaret Mary, and living in Webster Groves (Holy Redeemer) plus one in Cleveland and two (one school) in Wichita. In 1936, however, we built and moved to St. Gabriel's, where we lived on Walsh, within a block of Francis Park. That was home until 1951.

Neighbors, the Ittners, has a huge mounted polar bear.

Two of the rental places stand out in my mind. We moved from one upon learning that the house had termites and fearing collapse; the house is still in use. Once we rented a bungalow (4944 Lisette) that was very dirty inside and the back yard of which was hugely overgrown. Mom cleaned the house, ceilings to floors. Dad cleared the yard, including digging out rear axles of vehicles, buried with the differential housings down, a big job. Then the landlord said, "Nice job, now my daughter can move in." One move, on Milentz, was so short that no van was used.

At St. Margaret Mary I 'went out for' choir, but was rejected. The adage, "If you cannot sing good, sing loud." did not apply there.

My parents' car was a Whippet when I was small; I think they had a Ford before. My dad traded the Whippet for $15 in gas in 1936.

Recall the trees given out to grade-school kids in the 1930s? Mine, a Chinese elm, did very well, and grew large, but Chinese elms are very vulnerable to ice storms, so it was destroyed. Who gave out the trees? I seem to recall that they were from a paper man or a printer.

Our furnace on Walsh was hand-fed coke. We never had a stoker, and those who did had the biggest and worst clinkers. We changed to petroleum coke that came in handy paper sacks that made it easy to feed the furnace. After WW II, we switched to gas.

Archbishop Glennon handed me my high school diploma. He asked me if my being last in the long line was because I was tallest.

Because my high school years almost coincided with the War and gas rationing, I was not part of cruisin'.

The finals of KSD's spelling competition were always between two of these three schools: South Side Catholic, Rosati-Kain and McBride. I was on the South Side team. Bro. Art Ebbesmeyer, S.M., was the coach.

My favorite ride at the Forest Park Highlands was the Flying Turns.

Remember bus passes for high schoolers? And the special holders for same?

Who recalls the Metropolitan Ice Cream Company? My first corporate job was there, as a mixman's helper, in 1945.

Hitch-hiking from Kansas City to St. Louis in 1945 or 1946, I caught a through ride with Rush Hughes and got his autograph, which I still have.

In 1947 I worked briefly at American Can Company (previously Amertorp) on South Kingshighway.

While a student at St. Louis University (1947-1951) I worked part time at the post office. During the school year, I mostly drove box-to-box collections after school. During the summers, I mostly carried mail in Webster Groves.

I fondly recall the morning news on KMOX; there was a period of "12 � half minutes of uninterrupted news."

I recall the building of the antenna tower for WEW-FM on the St. Louis U. campus and later its removal to the Washington U. campus for KETC.

Hey, Bill - That was the Dorr and Zeller Bakery. I found a photo of my cousin, Lorenz D�rr (of Dorr and Zeller) on the organ in Mariankirche, in his native town, Dieburg, Hessen, Germany.

Lawrence Welk's orchestra played for a dance that we attended at the Chase Club.

Remember the Woolworths at Kingshighway and Chippewa, the one with entrances on both streets, but there was another store on the corner, half surrounded by the Woolworths?

The nasty smell from the hand-soap factory somewhere near Shaw's Garden?

"Big Shot" ice cream cones? It was like a soft-wrapped Dixie cup, but the clerk would unwrap the ice cream and serve it in a cone. Think portion control.

The time the star of the Hawks was off with injury or illness and Easy Ed Mcauley scored big for a win?

Midget car races at Walsh Stadium?

The downtown airport on the near north side, near the Mississippi and produce row? I flew in and out of that tiny, scary strip.

Clover Farm store in Webster Groves, near Big Bend and the tracks, just west of Old Orchard?

Eagle stamps?

Uncle Dick Slack commercials?

Meletio's Seafood? Great-grandpa's diary shows that he shopped there, as did we.

France Laux doing play-by-play for the Cardinals?

Acolytes using gasoline and a rag to clean soot from votive-light glass cups?

Zoo pandas Happy and Po Pei? (I have kept a photo that I took and developed.) The only place outside of China that had more than one giant panda was the St. Louis Zoo.

The great snow of November 1951? (It was only a great inconvenience for us in St. Louis, but life-threatening for deer hunters who were just then camped out.)

The 'Pacific Eagle' (commuter train)?

The Grand Avenue Bridge, a suspension bridge of links, not cables?

Famous Tavern, downtown, where they slightly dipped the top bun of a hamburger in the chili? Oh, that was good!

South St. Louis clay mines and the associated narrow-gage railways?

Cabinets built into outside walls to keep food cool during winter, when the ice man cometh not?

All the market gardens in and around St. Louis? Talk about fresh! About 12 years ago, I visited the second-last survivor, now a school parking lot on Laclede Station Road.

The great produce at Union Market? At Laclede Market?

Sala's and Ruggeri's? Great eats on "the Hill".

The old terminal on the west side of Lambert Field? I recall bringing my dad there to make a business trip on a Ford Trimotor. He later rode in a two-seat Ercoupe with Oliver L. Parks piloting.

The wonderful smell of coal-oil stoves at the cabin on the river?

Hunting rabbits (with sticks) where Bishop DuBourg High now stands?

Hunting frogs where Willmore Park is now located?

Willmore's green and white wooden realty office building diagonally across from the northwest corner of Francis Park?

When, after the smoke abatement ordinance, they cleaned city hall and revealed its beauty?

Pevely Dairy in West Webster Groves? Good ice cream bar, but not as good as Central Dairy in Jefferson City.

Picnics in Rockwoods Reservation? The tame deer there? The tame coyote? The store converted to a museum? The wood samples carefully cut and polished? The mining equipment?

I must tell the story of the origin of Rockwoods. The area had been owned by a lime-mining company that was not doing well during the Great Depression. At that time, the wildlife situation in Missouri was desperate. Interested individuals got the Pendergast machine in Kansas City to agree not to oppose the formation of a bi-partisan Conservation Commission. The Constitution was amended and the Commission (of four) was appointed. They managed to hire the very well reputed I[rwin] T. Bode of Iowa as Director. One of the commissioners prematurely leaked this good news. The commissioners of the opposite party then said that they would 'hang him out to dry' by blocking Bode's appointment unless he would agree that the Commission buy, from their friend, at an exorbitant price, what is now Rockwoods, which, if acquired by the State, clearly should have been a state park. (There were then no state funds to buy it for a park, even at a fair price.) So, a major part of the Commission's anticipated funds were tied up instantly in real estate not germane to the purposes of the Commission. Politics, dirty politics.

Tournament casting in Carondelet Park?

Flattening 1-cent coins on the train tracks in Carondelet Park?

Horse troughs in use by horses on South Broadway?

Strawberries peddled down the alley for 10 cents per quart, $1 per 12 quarts?

Fouke Fur Company, which had exclusive rights to the furs of the Pribiloff seals?

WW II gas rationing? But bootleg gas was to be had for 25 cents per gallon.

WW II meat rationing? I raised rabbits to supplement our supply.

Arrata's on Olive near Grand? I worked with Dan Arrata (in Granite City) for seven years in the 1950s. Yes, twice a day across the McKinley bridge.

About 1960, the owner of the Zoo train asked my dad to manage to train system while he went on vacation for a few weeks. Dad, having retired, said, "OK". Then, when the time was about to end, dad received a phone call from the owner, "We're having a great time; would you stay on?" Dad's response was, "OK, but you do not know how much I'm charging you."

Our doctor was Dr. Brickbauer. While in Webster, Dr. Henry Dionysius of Kirkwood attended us; we called him Dr. Whiskers. Both were homeopaths.

Recalling the great bus and streetcar service of the 1940s, for one week in January 1955 I had several round trips to make and decided to ride the bus. It was transit from hell. We then lived near 39th and DeTonty and my destination was near Hampton and Oakland. That entailed a west-bound ride to Kingshighway, a southbound leg on the North Kingshighway line, a long wait for a southbound ride on the South Kingshighway line, then a westbound ride on Oakland. And return! But I must give credit: Now I drive to the Eureka Park-Ride lot and ride the express bus downtown in jig time.

Our postal zone (not zip) was 9; it is now a zip, 63109.

Our wedding invitations were mailed (first class) for 3 cents in 1951. I recall in-city first-class postage at 2 cents.

Once, driving a mail truck, I saw a big rattlesnake crossing a street near Kingshighway. It was headed away from a candy factory and had a huge bulge in its middle. No doubt, that bulge was a big rat, so I stopped the truck in a manner to block traffic while the reptile completed the crossing. Some drivers became irate at being held up, some an losing an opportunity to kill a rattler, but I took the view that taking rats from the candy factory was beneficial.

I still use the motor (on my bench grinder) from our wringer wash machine.

Gas was mostly '7 gals for $1'. A joke was, "Let me meet them."

I learned to swim at a south side Turnverein.

Recall Shredded Wheat (supposedly from Niagara Falls) with truly valuable info printed on the cardboard separators?

Coke bottles with city names on their bottoms?

One Sunday in 1941 we were at the Lowes (State) Theatre. I do not recall the movie, but it was interrupted by a man on stage announcing that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.

We usually bought hardware at Central or Hanneke, but when one needed a part that these 'regular' hardware stores did not stock, one went to Rubelman-Lucas, downtown.

I, too, did the patrol boy bit with the white Sam Browne belt.

When I explored Cliff Cave I almost fell from the rocks above the opening!.

Living near Francis Park, I biked to Fenton and Valley Park (separate trips) - imagine trying that today!

During WW II, one of the Rapp boys and I almost got a contract to make the wooden cross stands for the F[rederick] P[lacidus] Rapp Stores' Christmas trees. We had the drill and nails, and I had lined up the lumber, but he crossed his dad, and we did not get the job.

We called Stix "Grand Leader" and Scruggs "Vandervoorts".

When an empty Camels pack was found, the finder would ask someone, "Hits or cracks?" Then the pack would be opened and the code read - it began with H or C. One or the other was then hit or cracked.

My fondest recollections of the 1930s were our almost-weekly Sunday visits to my grandparents in Webster Groves. Mother had a number of fun sisters, only one of whom married before 1940, but grand-dad died in '34. For part of a year, when Dad was in training and moving about, we lived there.

The rag pickers did not just collect rags - anything salable. They preferred metals.

My parents negotiated the fee to empty the ash pit.

I still use, but not for the usual purpose, our window fan.

I, too, mowed lawns with a push mower. One customer would give me a beer in hot weather, and I became a confirmed one-beer drinker.

We have a genuine Imo's Pizza in Rolla.

Before I knew her, my wife worked on the Admiral. So did her uncle, who was also the last survivor among the founders of the Jaycees.

As to last survivors, I am the last survivor among the initial (founding) officers of the Missouri Chapter of Nature Conservancy.

This was before my time but I found in my great-grandfather Fehlig's diary (at Missouri Historical Society) an entry about his having a telephone installed at home. Another entry, a few days later, was that they actually received a phone call.

In 1909, my grandfather Wangler built the big house at Big Bend at Swon, later Webster U's art department and then the admissions office. It was equipped with dual fixtures, for gas or electric lighting. Before sewers, it had a cesspool.

The first house missing (for construction of the freeway) at the southeast 'corner' of Tenth Street and I-44 in St. Louis was my great grandfather D�rr's.

ST. LOUIS WAS DIRTY IN THE 1930S AND EARLIER.

1. SMOKE

Much Illinois soft coal was burned; the resulting soot dirtied buildings and lungs.

Steam engines on railroads and in industrial plants emitted much smoke. Many switch engines operated in St. Louis. Each industrial plant needed a siding. Power plants, such as the one at Cahokia, emitted much smoke.

Apartments had incinerators wherein garbage and trash were burned, producing nasty smoke.

Many people burned trash, sometimes including worn-out raincoats, galoshes, etc., in their ash pits; that led to nasty smoke. Folks, we�re not talking of wood smoke and burning leaves! But what you burned you did not have to pay to have hauled. Money was scarce during the Great Depression.

Most of the smoke blew to the east. [That made it beneficial to live to the west; for many, that was at the expense of facing the sun, morning and evening, when commuting to downtown.]

The cure was multi-fold. One was a smoke-abatement ordinance that ended the burning of soft coal. One was industry's switch to electrical power and the railroads' switch to Diesels. One was city hauling of trash to end the temptation to burn.

2. ASH PITS

Every home had an ash pit, but many things other than ashes were placed therein; that is what made �rag picking� possible. It was illegal to dump garbage into an ash pit. Garbage disposers were rare. A fairly well enforced ordinance required rat-proof covered steel garbage cans. Another proscribed paper and other trash from garbage cans. But it was so easy, when taking out the garbage wrapped in newspaper, to drop the messy newspaper into the ash pit rather than take it to the furnace and burn it. Not everyone rinsed cans well before placing them into the ash pits. So, most ash pits were breeding places for rats that could easily tunnel in.

Typical inside dimensions of ash pits were, as I recall, about 6 feet by 4 feet, and five feet high. The walls were four to six inches thick. There was no cover or floor. Imagine a five-foot long section of rectangular concrete pipe. Ash pits were of three kinds. Many were pre-cast concrete, made by P. A. Shorb, simply placed on the ground. Some were cast in place by use of two molds, for inside and outside. Some were built of brick to match the garages to which they were attached.

When the city began trash pickup, ash pits were outlawed. Remove it or cover it securely.

Why was trash proscribed from garbage? Hog farmers paid the city for routes to collect garbage for hog feed, not to haul trash. They would report trash in garbage cans. That all ended abruptly when, to reduce food-borne disease, pre-cooking of garbage feed was mandated. Such cooking was uneconomic, and ended garbage feeding. A source of pork contamination was thus eliminated. Antibiotics were then in the future.

Why was �rag picking� practical? Cloth was then of cotton, wool, silk, linen, other natural fibers, or rayon. Cotton was (and is) used to make high-grade paper. Much wool was used to wick oil to bearings; some was cleaned and re-made into cloth. Glass, metals and some paper were recycled. Most plastics, whether spun into fibers and woven to cloth (Dacron) or used as containers or wrappers, were unknown. Pre-WW II, I recall only Bakelite, Micarta and Glyptol. Nylon had just emerged. During the War, tin was recovered from cans and toothpaste tubes; the Japanese held the tin mines. Rubber was reclaimed; the Japanese held the rubber plantations. Copper, aluminum, brass and zinc (Remember the liners of Leonard ice boxes and lids of canning jars?) were, and are, valuable for the war effort.

3. SEWAGE

Raw sewage flowed from the city sewers directly to the Mississippi until the 1950s. That being the case, the sanitary sewers and storm sewers were not separate. There were very many outfalls. The Metropolitan Sewer District was formed to solve these problems. It was necessary to decide how many treatment plants were needed, where they could be located, and the capacity needed by each. Then it was necessary to design interceptor sewers along the river, each sloped appropriately to a treatment plant. The engineer who did most of that remains a consultant.

4. DUMPS

Until the cleanup of the 1950s, trash was hauled to open dumps. A pastime for some was to shoot rats in the dump with a .22 rifle. That must have been at night by auto headlights.

5. MANURE

The streets had abundant horse apples. (Good for loosening St. Louis clay soil for gardening.)

Post from Unsigned (2/24/2007)

Dave, this is great��.. I was born in St. Louis in 1952 at DePaul Hospital and moved away in 1965. I remember Velvet Freeze in Webster Groves, the record shop there(they had the first Beatles 45�s), the Ozark Theater on Friday night (also in Webster).

The year the snow was so deep and lasted so long that you would sink in the mud if you got off concrete. Chapped calves from galoshes rubbing against them in the cold wet weather as I walked to school.

Mary Queen of Peace School picnic complete with a parade around the block, parents festooned their cars with streamers, each class had a costume then we went somewhere for a picnic at an amusement park.

The Sisters of Loretto playing basketball in the gym on Sunday afternoons.

Water fights on the Mary Queen of Peace parking lot.

Visiting the Great Aunts and Uncle on Flad Avenue near Forest Park. A real step back in time. Visiting Grandparents and cousins (I am one of 34).

Swimming at Westborough Country Club. Actually swimming practice, I was never good enough to swim the meet. But at the meets I could suck down lemon drops with the best of them.

Going to the Cardinals games with the Brownies.

Steak and Shake.

Mavrakos Chocolates.

Warson Woods.

Fetching out of town relatives at the airport. It was an event. You could still go to the gate and in those days people �dressed� to fly.

Ice Skating in Clayton.

Seeing Santa at Vandervoorts.

Riding the train at Grants Farm.

Roaming my neighborhood without fear�.those were the days.

Post from Sandra C (2/24/2007)

Pin Boys - - they sat back, behind the pins of a bowling lane and jumped up when the ball rolled back; then he cleared away the downed ones, and reset the rest. One pin boy worked two lanes. My brother worked at the bowling lanes in Swiss Hall on Arsenal Street.

The Lucky Strike commercials with the woman singing their song, and their slogan initials on the bottom of each pack: LS/MFT. Lucky Strike means Fine Tobacco. Remember her holding up the pack to her face and smiling?

Unfiltered Luckies, by the way, which sold for something like 20 cents a pack.

Absorene. It was pink soft putty like stuff that came in a can and you cleaned wall paper with it. Yes, instead of re-papering, you could actually clean your wallpaper. It smelled divine - - I can't imagine what it was made of. My sister and I liked to play with it.

Spoolies. They were small pink rubbery things, and girls curled their hair on them. Didn't need any bobbie pins. You'd wrap a small section of hair around it, then the top snapped down to stay on.

Metal/aluminum wave clamps for ladies to get the wavy hair style. They worked very well and the waves stayed in.

Onion skin stationery and envelopes for "Air Mail". It was much lighter paper and cost less to send long letters out of state. You had to specify if you wanted either air mail postage or regular. And if it was air mail, your letter was stamped with red ink "Air Mail, Par Avion". I guess some mail went by boat over seas.

Post from "The Animal" TWJ (2/28/2007)

Remmeber Grade school at Columbia.Blair schools,playing in St.Louis park,slidin' down the hills in winter on New " Brogan's", or some slick cardboard.Being a freshman at Beaumont High in 64', and ajunior at Central in 66', going to the Tower Show,then working there as an usher,Poor pete's,the Water Tower,playing B' ball at St.John's Church,and Rev, the fall hayrides,eating Old Style Sicilian Pizza from Kemoll's,when it was on N Grand,before it burned down.Seeing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin,Alan King ,Nancy Sinatra,at the Teamster's Fund show at the Fox Theatre, when Arthur Enterprise still owned it,the old Loewe's State,and American Theatre's.Being a "PaperBoy",and delivering the Morning Globe,....having the smart alecks from O'fallon Tech. razz us about "Got a Post,...Lean on It,...or Got a Globe ,...Read It.Graduating from Central High in 68' and enlisting in the U.S.Marines and leaving from the Mart Building downtown,....lot of graet memories. Thanks Dave,fantastic site,...still live in St.Louis,south city now on Lansdowne.

Post from Dan (2/28/2007)

Thank you Dave for constructing this memory lane of living in St. Louis,

I remember.......

The ice cream counter at Bailey Farm Dairy on Meramec Street

Chewing on "Bubs Daddy" gum at Helen's confectionary store on the corner of Gustine and Keokuk Street

Playing soccer at Amberg park across the street from Helen's confectionary store

Listening to the "Cicada's" and "Cardinals" during an early summer evening

Tony, who was a scissor and knife sharpener strolling the streets with his cart and hitting his bell

Picking up my bundles of Post Dispatch newspapers at "The Shack" on Meramec Street with my wooden and iron cart

Hearing the church bells and going to sunday mass at Resurrection Church on Meramec Street and Hydraulic Ave.

Looking in the front window of Mavrakos candy store on Grand Ave.

Going to KATZ drug store on Locust Street, downtown, with Grandma and Grandpa

Eating at Pope's cafeteria

Seeing the Blues hockey team play at The Arena

Ordering "chili 3 ways" from a carhop at Steak N Shake

Going through "The Tunnel" under Chippewa Street to get to Famous Barr

Bike riding around Francis Park

Evening at Ted Drewes custard stand

Fried chicken at Hodak's on Gravois

Eating at the watermelon stand located near Gravois and Meramec streets, with Dad

Chain of Rocks amusement park, with Grandma and Grandpa

Eating oatmeal cookies from "Dad's Cookie Company", with Mom

Going to Ben Franklin's 5 & 10 store on Grand Ave.

Getting flowers for Mom at Netties flower shop on Grand Ave.

Eating pizza from "Imo's"

"Bevo Days" near Bevo Mill restaurant located on Gravois

Cruising down the Mississippi on the "Admiral", with Grandma and Grandpa

Gooey Butter Cake at Federhofer's Bakery

I miss it all........but adding new memories now in New England

Post from Vicki Brown (2/28/2007)

Love to hear about auto racing in the 1950's and 60's on a St. Louis dirt track. We lived in North St. Louis during that time, down around 23rd and Hebert and St. Louis Ave. before it was changed to MLK. My father drove a stock car and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night through the summer, all 6 of us kids would pile in the car and drag the stock car out to the track. I can't remember what nights we race where, but I remember going to Lake Hill Speedway, I think out towards Fenton. St. Charles speedway, Godfrey Il. And I think there was a track in Alton, Il. Been to Belleview, Potosi, Tri-City, I can't begin to remember them all. Sure would be interested in hearing about those races or better yet have any pictures of my dad, " Big Daddy" Harvey Nichols was his name. He used to play music down on North Broadway as well. We lost all his racing paraphernalia in a fire a while back.

Post from Anonymous (3/3/2007)

This is for Vicki Brown who wrote about going to the races. When I was about 12 or 13 (1965-66) I often went to the races with the folks who lived down the street. My sister was best friends with their daughter and I would tag along when they went to the races. I can't tell you where we went, but I know they were stock car races. The family I went with helped sponsor a car driven by a man named Dwight Barbeau. If I recall correctly, he was called Dwight "CYCLONE 88" Barbeau. Ring any bells? I do remember we sure had fun.

For Dan�.you shared several memories that I also recall. We must have grown up in the same area. I lived in the Tower Grove Area between Arsenal and Gravois. We practically lived on Grand. I spent many hours with my nose pressed against the glass at Mavrakos Candy on Grand Ave. We lived on McDonald right off Spring. Would love to hear from folks from my old neighborhood who remember hanging out on Grand Ave. Kingsway and Tillmans Restaurant were favorites..The Ritz Theater and Grand Bowl. Fresh bread from Bretschers Bakery. Looking in the windows of La Merit Bridal Shop and dreaming of my own perfect wedding gown. Getting dressed up for dinner at The Shangri La.

Post from Anonymous (3/3/2007)

Hi Dave, What memories.

I remember St. Engelbert's church at Christmas and the beautiful Christmas decorations against all the marble on the altar. I was mesmerized as a kid by the nativity scene. They don't build churches like that anymore.

The nuns at St. Engelbert's, some like angels in black and some mean as could be.

The old Busch stadium with all the peanut shells on the floor.

The huge wooden roller coaster at Chain of Rocks park.

Annie Oakley on Saturday mornings.

Going to the Italian restaurants on the Hill (called Dego Hill in those days. I didn't know what that meant.)

Babysitting for 50 cents an hour.

Working at the cosmetics counter at Katz in Florissant.

The sock hops at St. Thomas Aquinas high school (Florissant) and decorating our cars with hundreds of flowers made of kleenex for homecoming.

The St. Louis hop and American bandstand (all on black and white TV)

Riding our bikes anywhere we wanted to go, sometimes for the whole day.

Sledding at Art Hill.

Going to musicals in Forest Park. There was nothing more magical than the musicals on the brightly lit stage under the stars. This one rates four stars.

Post from Anonymous (3/3/2007)

from anonymous. The web site is awesome!

I grew up in South St. Louis.

I remember Velvet Freeze on the corner of Gravois and Compton.

Went to Roosevelt High School.

I remember the Melvin and Melba Theaters.

I remember the "Hot Tamale" man selling hot tamales wrapped in newspaper from a two wheeled push cart .

Cherokee Street was the shopping place.

Downtown Famous Barr's Christmas displays. It was a treat to go downtown and look at all the window decorations.

Walking to school from Pennsylvania Ave and Keokuk to Roosevelt.

Scrubbing the front steps leading to our one family flat. (the scrubby Dutch).

Marquette Park pool in the summer.

Ted Drews and the concrete malts.

Cruising the Steak N Shake at Morganford and Chippewa and then on to Steak N Shake at Gravois and Carondelet and back again.

White Castle on Kingshighway and the waitresses wearing roller skates.

Going to Lambert airport and being able to walk outside on the observation deck to get a close look at planes. No security to worry about.

The tornado that tore the Arena steeple down.

Chain of Rocks amusement park. The Highlands. Ice skating at Forest Park and sledding at Art Hill.

There are so many more. Thanks!

Post from Anonymous (3/6/2007)

I got a little information in regard's to Gus's Market in Hillsdale. My grandparents (Kip and Celeste) Lane owned it for a while. If my memory is correct, Lorraine was my great Aunt.

Post from Walt Boczek (3/11/2007)

I remember Holy Name school in North St. Louis. Remember every year they had a homecoming in the lot across the street.

How about Poor Pete's Pool hall by the White Water Tower on Grand.

Does anyone remember The Golden Point on Grand and Natural bridge.

How about Ashlaggies (spelling ?) market on 25th st.

Does anyone remember the lady that you paid after you had lunch downtown at Stix. She sat in a little booth. That was my Aunt Dorothy and she worked there for 40 years.

How about fish fries at Marcus Lutheran school or Pegatouski's on Florrisant & Angelica

Our phone number was OLive 2-0307

14th shopping

Thom McAnn

Elliott Grade school

The Walnut Park Buss

Penrose Police station (been there)

Post from Anonymous (3/11/2007)

Dave, you have done a fantastic job with this web site. I am soon to be 72 years old remember most everything that is written about growing up in St Louis in the forties and fifties with great fondness. I grew up in North St. Louis on 23rd Street near Newhouse. Went to Holy Trinity and DeAndries. My first wife, who grew up on Saint Louis Ave and went to Blair and Central passed away in 1966 , is buried at Jefferson Bks Cemetery.

I left St. Louis in 1955 to see the world. After a fantastic 28 year career in the Navy I settled in Maine. Each time I visit this web site and some of the comments about folks memories I get a warm fuzzy feeling because they bring back such great memories of growing up in such a fantastic place.

There was a question posted regarding remembering Rapp's Tom Boy Market on 22nd and Newhouse. I remember it and your parents well because myself and one of my buddies worked there. I distinctly remember your dad's big old cigars and his crazy ditties. Particularly the one that started "If it takes a kangaroo 3/4 of an hour to climb up a lamp post backwards++++" The butcher was a big heavyset fella named Earl and your Mom was nice but very stern.

It is heartbreaking to see what has happened to the old neighborhood. It was such a great place when I grew up there.

Thanks to all for sharing your memories!

Post from Col. Walt & Rosebud (3/11/2007)

In the early 1920's St. Louis was still a fairly wild town to live. Not like it was in the early 1800's mind you, but still wild. But in 1925 the Haas family opened up a little bakery and they made one treat that is credited with bringing total civilization to the city. The now famous Haas Gooey Butter cake. It has been said that people would line up outside the little bakery each morning to catch the sweet aroma of these cakes baking. It was even rumored that Presidents sent delegations to secure these cakes.

For years I dined on this rich creamy and soft cake every chance I got. Once I even wrote to Mayor Cervantes of St. Louis requesting that the Haas Gooey Butter Cake be named the official food of St. Louis and East St. Louis alike. When I received his reply, there was evidence that he had been eating one of the cakes when he signed it. I slept with that letter under my pillow to insure sweet dreams at night. As a teen I once broke up with a girl because she ate my last slice. Her father told me I should have beaten her for that!!.

Then travels took me to far off places, and even countries. It was seldom that I ever saw my Gooey Butter Cake. Oh, there were imitations abound, but none as good as the original. Lets face it, once you have tasted the Haas Gooey Butter Cake nothing else will ever do again. I worried the rest of my life may be spent without my cake. There was no way I could trust anyone to mail me any, after all, if they did not eat it themselves, it would be certain that the postal employees would, and in this day and age, claim it was for home land security.

Then not long ago while doing my grocery shopping I caught first a whiff,,, and I felt that it must be my senses in deep addictive reaching, as St. Louis was so far away,. No,,, then I saw to my delight that yellow box with the little plastic window in the top,,, AH!!!! There is was and entire section in the baked goods full of my cake.

Before anyone else could discover them I loaded them all into my basket,,,, all 46 of them. I simply could not risk that the store may or may not order more. I gorged myself, as did rosebud on the heavenly flavor of this manna from the Haas family, If God would have fed this to the Israelites they would still be out there wandering in the wilderness, refusing to come home as long as they could have the Haas.

As I sit here tonight, stuffed, rosebud on the floor with her feet in the air,,, I can gladly report that Haas has brought civilization to Florida,,,,,,, excuse me now,, ,I still have 18 cakes to go.

Post from "Animal' TWJ (3/15/2007)

I Remember,...

Sacred Heart Church & school,..

White Castles' by Little Sister's of the Poor Convent on W Florissant.

Londoff Bowling alley on Natural Bridge, Crown;s Candy Co. on 14th & St.Louis Ave,

Sobel'sDept. Store,BenFranklin's,Kresge's,& Woolworth's 5 & 10 cent store on 14 th St.

Hill Bros. 2 for $ 5 shoe store on 14th st

Forest Park Highland's-- the Comet & Bobsled

Chain of Rock's Fun Fair Park--the Mad Mouse

Xmas decoration's downtown at Famous,Stix,Vandervoorts

Spectrum's Head shop in Webster Groves, the last streetcar in St Louis,..

The Who in concert at the Arena,..CCR,Bo Diddley, & Earth,Wind & Fire at Kiel Concert Hall.

Sha Na Na at tht American Theatre downtown, Trader Bob's Tattoo Parlor when it was on Broadway.

Sneaking in to see Evelyn West strip to CCR's "Run Through the Jungle"

Hodge's Chili Parlor --downtown,

Playing bottle -cap ball,and Whiffle-Ball Leagues in Fairgrounds Park.later played softball there when I was older.

Being a "Patrol Boy in grade school at Blair school, w/ the white belt & badge.

Spanish Lake before it became polluted,

Stan Kann on the Organ at the Fox Theatre

The great "Onion Rings" from Velvet Freeze ,

Paper Tag with the neighborhood journal, Corky the Clown, & Captain 11 & Princess Moonbeam,...Jim Bolen on the U.S.S. Popeye

American Bandstand,St louis Hop,and Where the Action Is,...after school of course.

Friday night "Battle of the Band's" at Tower Show,remember Bob Shepard and the Shadow's won.

Wrestling at the Chase,--with George Abel,....& Dick the Bruiser,& Pat O'connor.

Frogleg's at Hodak's Bar,...Shoney's Big Boy at the Circle in N St.Louis

Golden Point---the precursor to McDonald's,....

By the way Sandra C.,...I still "Iron" my hankerchiefs.

a lot of great memeories from this city where we all grew up, Thanks for the great site.

Post from Ralph Poser (3/16/2007)

My name is Ralph Poser and I grew up in South St. Louis and lived at 4015 Hartford Street, five houses West of Roger Place. I love your web-site Dave, because it certainly does bring back a lot of fond memories. I to remember walking to the Ritz Show every Friday night, when I didn't go to the Granada and look forward to buying food from Tony the Tamale Man, after the show. My telephone number back then was Prospect 6-0277 and I went to Horace Mann Elementary School and graduated in 1959. I started playing baseball for Holy Family Parish when I was ten years old and I was the only protestant kid in the whole league, which didn't set well with some of the catholic parents.

I continued pitching baseball, cork-ball and fuzzball, until I was forty six years old, which allowed me to make a whole lot of friends that I wouldn't have known had it not been for sports. On the Southeast corner from my house was Guinner's Tom Boy Market and just across the street from Horace Mann was Rathgaeber's Pharmacy on the Northwest corner, then Katies Confectionery on the Southwest corner and Pauls Market on the Southeast corner. Also I can't neglect Habbies Dance Studio next door to Paul's Market. I regret to say that some of my old buddies have passed away since we were kids, like Eddie Johns, Perry Johns, Kenny Barnett, Bob Hammers and Eddie Musil, but they will always live in my memory. I'm sure that I probably walked every street in South St. Louis back in those days, we walked to Cherokee Street regularly and out to Dago Hill. We hung out on Morganford Road at Doc O'Neils Drug Store and on Grand Avenue at Minnies across from the Shenandoah Show.

I wouldn't have chosen a different neighborhood to have grown up in if I had the opportunity, and the kids in my neighborhood were the best in the world. I still stay in contact with many of them and I always will. Well I have taken up enough space for the moment, but I have only begun to reminisce and I will submit more memories at a later date.

Post from Ralph Poser (3/24/2007)

Dave, if you will allow me to continue my stroll down memory lane, as I mentioned in my original post, I haven't begun yet. I remember watching the old men (That's me now) pitching horseshoe's in Tower Grove Park, on Arsenal between Gustine and Roger Place. I couldn't believe the consecutive ringers they could throw.

I remember spending countless hours hanging out at Bent & Utah Park playing ball with my buddies, or playing hours of Fuzzball on the playground at Horace Mann School. When we got old enough to drive, we did some really crazy things like doing power skids in Tower Grove Park and Eddie Musil rolled his dads car. We would also play a game of tag with our cars, which we called "Rat Races", where one guy would take off and the rest of us crazy fools would chase him through alleys and streets until we hemmed him in, then it was someone elses turn. I know, it scares me now to think how crazy we were back then.

I remember the local Hot Rod Club called the "Avenue Angels" and hanging out at The Palace of Poison on Lemay Ferry Road, where all the hot cars would go. And don't forget the local gang "The Monkey's, who later became the Spartans A.C". if my memory serves me right

I remember the Friday night dances at the pavilion in Tower Grove Park (we called it the Luau).

I remember when Bob Hammers, Nathan Murphy, Dale Brooks and myself, drove through ten inches of snow in a 1949 Ford, to Memphis Tennessee, so we could meet Elvis, which we did by the way. Even truck drivers told us we couldn't make it, but we did.

Just one last thing I would like to write and that is to say thank you to all the kids who grew up in my old neighborhood, for supplying me with enough memories to last until I Die. Until I write again!

Post from Cheryll Kuhl (3/24/2007)

Hi! and thanks for all of the great Historical Info on your site. I was raised out in the "boonies" of Labadie Missouri and had very little experience of the "city" during my childhood. I am presently doing some research on the 1916 event of Miss Jim for the St. Louis Zoo. I have come across several names and wondered if I could find prodigy who remembered being told about the event. There was a Simon C. Steinberg, a Joe Stewart and a Anna Bentrup that participated in this event, along with up to 6000 St. Louis school kids. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. diademdecor@aol.com

Post from Sandra C. (3/24/2007)

Just read the last posting from Ralph Poser. I went to Roosevelt High School with Eddie Johns, we were in the same advisory, and I went out with him a few times, but most of the 4 years I knew him, he went steady with a girl I won't name here. I was friends with her too. Ed Musil was also in my advisory, Mr. Jaeger's, and I had a huge crush on him but he never noticed me. So so sorry to know that Eddie and his brother have both died. And Ed Musil. I didn't know about any of them.

And all those places I remember so well, Katies, Minnies, Rathgebers - - not that I went there so much but I hung out with kids from that neighborhood and they all hung out there a lot.

And totally agree with you. There is no place or time on earth like there was in the 50's and 60's in South St. Louis. Big Velvet (Velvet Freeze on Gravois/Compton), and Little Velvet (on Grand). Car hops at Steak & Shake at Morganford and Chippewa and drinking their Orange Freezes. Drive-ins on a summer night and all the south St. Louis Teen Towns - - St. Pius, Sunset, Idle-Wild, Kopling House, and Tower Grove Park in the summer, and more I can't remember. Seeing Tina and Ike Turner live at Imperial Club. And of course, going over to Illinois to Radison's just at the end of the old JB Bridge. And the Artesian Club that I think was in Herculaneum.

And another memory: What ever happened to the radio disc jockey, John McCormick, the man that walked and talked at midnight? And his theme song "Dreamsville". Anybody remember him? He had a voice to melt ice, and he played music by Norrie Paramour, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, etc.

Who will admit to going out to Baumgartner Road when it was way far out and still all country & woods, and having bonfires and drinking beer, and the Bear Pits off of River Des Peres?

And, to the "Animal" who still irons his hankies, I say good for you !!! Most men don't even carry a clean hankie any more. Later, 'gator..............

Post from Patti Betz (3/24/2007)

My phone number was Prospect 30736.

Great football games between McKinley and Roosevelt and then Velvet Freeze afterwards

Rememeber the huge Football Mums at homecoming?

Sitting on the front porch until the weather got so cold your cheeks froze

Following the mosquito trucks on my bike

Mickey Mouse parades down Ann Avenue

Going to Hodak's for Chicken

Fish frys at Siegel school on Friday's

Confectionaries

Walking to Cherokee Street

California Donut Company

Riding our bikes to Reservoir Park - that was a long way!

The YMCA on Grand and Shenandoah

Having parties in our concrete basements!

Loads of fun!

Post from Anonymous (3/24/2007)

I grew up in North County and remember:

Cruising - Steak n Shake in Jennings

Chuck A Burger in Ferguson

Gooey Butter cake from Ozenkowski�s Bakery

The Snack Shack in Ferguson

The Admiral and Bob Kuban

"hip" clothies in The Way Out Department at Famous Barr

The Jade Room at Famous

The diner at Walgreens at Northland

The Savoy / Crown Theater

Sextro�s Market in Normandy

Godats

Pine Lawn Cleaners

Fishing At January Wabash Park

Running behind the bug spray truck

Prom Magazine

Post from Anonymous (4/2/2007)

GREAT SITE - evokes many memories

I grew up in Affton - SWeetbriar xxxx

First and Second grades at Salem Lutheran were upstairs from a tavern on Gravois and Lakewood. We gradeschoolors sat on the rock cemetery wall on Gravois to watch the steeple lifted onto the new church, maybe 1951?

Corner confectionaries - penny candy

Cho-cho's - chocolate malted ice cream on a stick

Looking at ALL the brides in Sunday's paper

Ditto looking at all the Maids of Honor and the QUEEN of the Veiled Prophet

Cheap perfume in little bottles shaped like Victorian lamps

My Uncle Fred Moegle was on tv with The Little Rascals

My Uncle Ted owned the Winter Garden!

Pevely Dairy in Webster with the colored fountain

Bailey Farm Dairy had wonderful ice cream.

The swimming pool at Rose Fanning school near Grandma

Free hot dogs for Girl Scouts in the log cabin at Grant's Farm

Playing Jacks during Salem's recess

The wonderful church parades when they closed Gravois for us. We'd decorate the cars, and everyone who marched was dressed up!

Watching the Indian test pattern when we got our first TV

The underground tunnel at Famous Southtown

We'd drive all day to get to Spring Garden swimming pool, or so it seemed

High School at Lutheran High School Central - Lake and Waterman

Of course, the Parkmoor on Debaliviere while waiting for the streetcar and bus.

The "Aud" at LHSC where boyfriends/girlfriends would hang out before school and hold hands.

I can remember GRand, VIctor, FLanders, SWeetbriar, TWinbrook, HUdson, MCdonald, MOhawk, CHestnut, UNion, WAlnut,

I remember when there was NOTHING West of the 66 Drive-In

Push mowers and hand clippers with long handles

Metal hair rollers

Newberry's in Maplewood with the wood floors

Live chickens being sold in dimestores

Little live turtles and the plastic dishes

Every yard had a Mimosa Tree.

We all went to the Jewel Box on Easter.

Most of all, I felt SAFE, wherever we walked or played.

Post from Marilou (4/2/2007)

Thanks for the website. I grew up in St. Ann, Missouri. Went to St. Ann grade school and then to Pattonville High School. Saw my first movie at the Airway Drive Inn where my mom and brother and I sat in the seats up front. Remember Howard Johnson on St Charles Rock Road and their wonderful ice cream. Used to shop at the Kroger store also on the rock road. Used to go to the Four Screen drive inn also. We also rode our bikes to the Legion Park for swimming during the hot summers. We would play outside till dark and you could hear Mom's all up and down Ashby road calling to their children to come and get cleaned up for bed. Halloween was wonderful, never had to worry about going to strangers houses, every one knew every one up and down all the adjoining streets. We also used to have street dances over in front of Grants Department store. My girl friend and I would get dressed up and ride the bus down to Wellston and then transfer to another bus to go down to the Fox or Lowell's theatre. Can not do that now. Those were the wonderful times.

Post from Walt Barry in Gainesville,Florida (4/2/2007)

I do remember the yo yo sales and demo guy who came by Scullin School in the early '50's when Ms. Sweetin was the Principal. I returned to St. Louis for a visit a couple of years ago and Scullin still looks great as do most of the surrounding " brick bungalows". We lived in a flat on Natural Bridge across from Brix Florist and the Hardware store/bowling alley. It was a great time to grow up. Still love the site; it's fun to visit and share memories.

Post from Michael Irvin (4/3/2007)

I want to respond to the post from Post from Rita (1/24/2007) and the Post from Anonymous (2/13/2007)

I lived just a few doors down from the guy on Grand Ave that decorated his house up and dressed as Santa. He would stand outside on the porch no matter what the weather and wave at the passing cars. I think I went to Cleveland High with Rita. I am a 1969 graduate.

Like everyone else I remember Ted Drewes, walking everywhere, Meramac St., Cherokee St. and tons of other stuff already mentioned. What I remember most though is the simplicity of life back then. We only got 3 channels on TV in black and white. I didn�t own a color TV until the late 70�s. There wasn�t a lot of money to go to places to eat, we didn�t have air conditioning, wall to wall carpet, or a second car. We cooled off sitting on the back porch which was screened in. I mowed the lawn with a real push mower. I spent my summers walking around just for something to do that didn�t cost money.

School was Mount Pleasant Elementary and Grover Cleveland High. Occasionally I got to go to the Ritz or Shennadoah for a matinee movie after school. I saw Hard Day�s Night and Help there. We had a party line with a 40 call limit. We had hot water heat. I walked to school. Life just wasn�t as complicated back then. I was a patrol boy in grade school and walked to Scruggs for Manual Training in the 8th grade. I can remember walking up to Ted Drewes on Grand in the summer for an occasional treat and hurrying home before it melted.

I spent my early years in East St. Louis and we called for our friends just like in St. Louis. Maybe the suburbs were more refined. I played with friends who went to St. Anthony�s and other Catholic schools. I would go roller skating out on Gravois at a storefront rink and on Wednesday�s at St. Anthony�s gym.

After graduation I moved away and haven�t lived in St. Louis since. Now my middle son is living in Arnold and just married so I hope to be visiting more often. Great site!

Post from Debbie Steffen Stewart(4/3/2007)

I'm writing this with tears in my eyes. I didn't grow up in St Louis, but my father did. Reading these memories brings back many of my dad's stories of growing up.
Some of my best memories are of visits to my grandparents. Seeing where my dad went to school, walking to the confectionary and going to the zoo. Yes, I remember Phil the gorilla!!!

Post from Tom In Florida(4/3/2007)

Great Site, Dave. Thanks.
I've already sent my memories, and had them posted. But, I've been trying to remember the name of the old L-shaped wooden roller coaster at th Chain of Rocks Fun Fair Amusement Park. Cany any one out there help me?

Post from Anonymous (4/6/2007)

Hi - Finally reading from someone from North County (Post from Anonymous (3/24/2007))
I remember January Wabash Park, I still like to go there an walk around.
"Running behind the bug spray truck" I do remember doing that, and thought we were the only stupid ones to do it.
Chuck A Burger in Ferguson, and the Ice Cream place close to it, don't remember the name, but they had what they called Pig Dinners, I think it was different sizes of banana splits.
Savoy Theater- Especially as I got older and it was older, your feet would stick to the floor from all the soda spilt.
Painting the store windows on for Halloween, I never won anything, but it was fun.
Walking to Northland to hang out, we would walk the RR tracks from Ferguson and Elizabeth.
The Milkman coming and running after him to get pieces of ice.
The little store on Chambers, by Hartnet, we would get the penny candy.
St. John and James School, the boys separated from the girls at recess. Pl