Here's History

Just as the US flag had many iterations before it, in 1960, finally became what we know today, the city flag of St. Louis went through several versions before it arrived, in 1964, at the current version. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content:  Andrew Wanko, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Politics and Government, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history on 88-one, KDHX. ——— If you've spent any time in St. Louis, you've surely spotted the red banner with a fleur-de-lis and river-like blue lines that announces the city to the world. But while you might presume St. Louis's flag has flown since the city's earliest days, it's actually a pretty recent addition to our civic symbols. Its barely older than the Gateway Arch, and wasn't the first flag the city had. ——— In 1915, a local civic group launched a contest to design a St. Louis flag, and south side artist Edward Krondl won over 80 other entrants. His design featured Art Hill's statue of St. Louis outlined in blue, with vivid orange and white stripes symbolizing prosperity, purity, and wealth. But when the St. Louis Board of Aldermen saw the color palette they grimaced, and in summer 1916 announced their own flag competition.  ———  The second winning city flag design again featured the statue of St. Louis, now over red white and blue stripes, with four stars symbolizing that St. Louis was the nation's 4th largest city in population. The 1916 city flag became St. Louis's first official one, but its weaknesses quickly showed. The design looked cluttered, the horseback figure of St. Louis was reduced to a blur when the flag was waving, and the stars became meaningless as St. Louis shifted in the population ranks.  ——— With St. Louis's bicentennial approaching in February 1964, Yale University heraldry expert Theodore Sizer came to the rescue. He presented the St. Louis city flag design that now stands beside civic landmarks, waves from front porches, and graces t-shirts and coffee mugs. Sizer's St. Louis flag embodies all five of the North American Vexillogical Association's “good flag design” principles – it's simple enough to draw from memory, has meaningful symbolism, uses limited colors, contains no lettering or seals, and doesn't copy from existing flags. ——— In 2004, the St. Louis flag was named among the top five U.S. city flags, and thousands of voters in a 2020 March Madness-style social media contest crowned St. Louis's flag the world's best.  ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———  

Sometime phenomenons can begin as a hobby. The craze around Monster Trucks began with a man here in the St. Louis who just enjoyed Souping up his truck for extreme off roading. It, however, became big business over time, and his truck named "Big Foot" became an icon. Just press play to hear the whole story.  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Pastimes and Leisure, Transportation, Business,       Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— My nephew loves monster trucks. I know that probably isn't the thing you were expecting to hear in a two minute history segment, but I promise I'll bring it around. Anyway, he loves those trucks. He loves watching the highlights of the trucks doing stunts or driving over cars with their oversized tires. He has a bunch of the toys, and he convinces his parents (and sometimes his aunt and uncle) to take him to monster truck events. And he's hardly the only kid who goes wild for monster trucks—they are big business, and between the toys, live events, video games, and everything else, the industry brings in over a billion dollars a year. ——— But it turns out that none of us may have heard of monster trucks if not for one St. Louis area man named Bob Chandler. In the 1970s and 80s, Chandler owned an auto shop outside of the city, and whenever he had free time he liked to soup up his truck for extreme off-roading. He was constantly improving on it, eventually outfitting it with tall tires from a piece of agricultural equipment so that it could go to even more outlandish places. The truck was turning heads, and Chandler decided to give it a name—Bigfoot. ——— In 1981, Chandler had an idea. He created a tape of Bigfoot as he drove the truck over some old, junked-out cars. The tape started a sensation. It was passed around among enthusiasts—no one had ever seen a truck do what Bigfoot could. Soon Chandler was getting requests to bring Bigfoot to drag races, tractor pulls, and other events. Bigfoot was often the star of the show, with fans rushing the truck to learn more about it. Other enthusiasts began building monster trucks of their own. Events were scheduled where monster trucks competed against one another in races and stunt competitions, and drivers and mechanics innovated the trucks to perform even wilder stunts. A new industry was born, and it hasn't slowed down in the decades since.  ——— Today, Bob Chandler is still involved with monster truck events, and a new version of Bigfoot still makes appearances at monster truck events all over the country. And if you want to visit Bigfoot, you can—the shop is located in nearby Pacific, Missouri. I guess I'll have to take my nephew out there so he can see the truck for himself. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ———

When thinking about brass band music, one probably instantly thinks about John Philip Sousa, but William Joseph Blue, a Black Man, spent his life sharing his passion for Brass music with the world as well, which is all well documented in his diary. Just press play to hear the whole story. -----   Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Music, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Black History,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. As a notable bandmaster, talented cornetist, composer, and teacher, William Joseph Blue spent his life sharing his passion for music with the world. He was born to George and Mary Blue on July 25, 1875, in Bloomfield, Missouri. He married Eva Mapp on September 8, 1898, and the couple moved to St. Louis around 1900. ----- Blue's musical expertise made him one of the leading Black artists in St. Louis and earned him the nickname “Professor.” At an Emancipation Day celebration in 1912, he led a brass band of 50 Black musicians playing to an estimated crowd of more than 20,000 people gathered at Handlan's Park, located at Grand and Laclede avenues. ------ Blue enlisted in the US Army during World War I, arriving at New Jersey's Camp Dix training camp on March 7, 1918. Four days later he was appointed assistant band leader for the 350th Field Artillery Band of the 92nd Division, one of the two Black infantry divisions that served in the war. By June 30 he was on his way to the war front in France. ------- The Missouri Historical Society's Collection includes a fragile 136-page diary from Blue that gives the reader vital information and insight into his experiences. Blue recorded details about his enlistment at Jefferson Barracks, his time in training camp, his experiences, and thoughts on military service in France, and poems about the war. Writing about the artillery band's performances in France, Blue noted, “Every concert was received with continuous applause until we gave the last number.” ------ Also, Blue was involved with different band organizations, including his own William Blue Band, he led the Haskell and Blues School of Music in St. Louis, founded the Shriners Band, and organized Sunday concerts at Pythian Hall and Douglass Hall. ------ For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ------      

In the St. Louis region, the name Soulard is instantly recognized as a neighborhood where, among other things, Mardi Gras is held. Names of neighborhoods usually come from somewhere, though In this case, the neighborhood is named after a person who was a great surveyor and map maker, who helped organize the city, and his wife who donated the land where the namesake, famous, market still thrives to this day. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Business, Landmarks, Women's History, People of Note, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on 88.1 KDHX. ——— With its mix of customs, cultures, and even languages, the bustling town of Colonial St. Louis had trouble keeping its property records straight for its first few decades of existence. The person who finally sorted things out is a name any St. Louisan of today will instantly recognize. ——— In 1795, French native Antoine Soulard became the first official surveyor general of Upper Louisiana. The territory stretched from present-day Arkansas to Montana, and in his first year on the job, Soulard would map its 800,000 square miles more accurately than anyone had before. His map was so good, American explorers Lewis & Clark would take along with them on their journey to the Pacific nearly a decade later. But in addition to mapping these vast spaces, Antoine Soulard equally put his talents into mapping the edges and boundaries of the town of St. Louis. ——— After thirty years of real estate deals based on handshakes and verbal agreements, property owners in colonial St. Louis often had misunderstandings about where their land ended and their neighbor's began. Using prominent landmarks and geographic features to set official property boundaries, Antoine Soulard mapped out St. Louis's world through more than 710 land surveys he completed before retiring in 1806. As St. Louis grew outwards, many of the edge lines that Soulard laid out guided the placement of the streets we drive along today.  ——— While St. Louis has changed drastically from the small town that Antoine Soulard knew, the neighborhood, street, and market named Soulard all connect us to him and his wife Julia across two centuries of history. When the two married, they were given a large tract of undeveloped land just south of St. Louis as a wedding present. Antoine Soulard died in 1825, but Julia continued living on the land for another 20 years. In the 1830s she began selling off portions of the Soulard estate to be subdivided into new city blocks. In 1842, she gifted St. Louis a large piece of her land for use as the public market that still bears her name today. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———  

There have been many great voices on the airwaves of St. Louis over the years. One of those voices was Bernie Hayes. After developing an interest in radio while serving in the military, he would find his way to St. Louis, and becoming an influential voice, and a pioneer of Black radio. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Black History, People of Note, ------ Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ———  Black radio listeners who tuned in to KATZ in 1965 would hear the smooth captivating voice of Bernie Hayes, a new disc jockey who had just arrived from the West Coast. Born to John and Alberta Burns in Florida in 1935 and raised in Chicago, Hayes graduated from the University of Illinois and served in the US Air Forces. It was during his time in the military that he developed an interest in radio and began announcing with the Armed Forces Radio Services. Before landing in St. Louis, he was a radio broadcaster in other locations around the U.S. ——— Honing his skill to meet the needs of the Black community, Hayes crafted his segments to stimulate the minds of his viewers with music and knowledge. His style was so dynamic that listeners believed there were two Bernie Hayeses' because of the two completely different sounds that graced the airwaves, with R&B and rock 'n' roll in the afternoon and jazz during the midnight segment. ——— In his book “The Death of Black Radio, Hayes explores the power of Black music and culture, which led to a rapid change that has since dominated the market and made significant gains for non-Black radio professionals. As different Black radio personalities emerged and dedicated themselves to entertaining, educating, and enlightening their audience, there was direct resistance to authentic Black voices. In 1972 and 1977, Hayes and a few of his colleagues led protests that paved the way for many local Black-owned radio stations and their Black employees. With this picket, Hayes declares, “we changed the culture of radio for African American disc jockeys and announcers at KKSS, KWK, KATZ, and Magic 108.” ——— For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

When a young Black woman came to town  in the 1920's came to town to make a blues record, she accomplished that and more. Having had a successful recording career in her youth, she decided to form a record label that would keep older blues musicians recording. Just press play to hear the whole story. —— — Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Black History, Women's History, Music, Business, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's history on 88.1, KDHX. —— In 1926, teenager Victoria Spivey sat alone and nervous on a 600-mile, one-way train ride bound for St. Louis. It was a city bigger than any she'd ever seen during her Texas childhood, and a place where she knew no one. But more than anything, Victoria Spivey wanted to make a hit blues record, and St. Louis was where to do it. ——— At the DeLuxe Music Shoppe on Market Street, she sat down at the store's piano, and belted out her chilling original song “Black Snake Blues.” Within a week the obvious hit was being pressed in New York City, and it would sell countless thousands of copies within the year. She became a staff songwriter for the St. Louis Publishing Company, and in 1927 scored her next smash hit. The socially conscious “T.B. Blues” chronicled the discrimination faced by the era's victims of tuberculosis. ——— With an animated voice and distinct nasal moan she called her “tiger squall,” Victoria Spivey captivated 1920s listeners across dozens more records. When the Great Depression dissolved recording opportunities, Spivey pivoted to become an actress. In 1929 she starred in King Vidor's film Hallelujah!, among the earliest major Hollywood productions to feature an all-black cast. The following April, she graced the front cover of The Crisis, the official publication of the NAACP.  ——— Victoria Spivey retired from show business by 1950, but as the folk revival of the 1960s took hold, a new generation of fans on both sides of the Atlantic were seeking her out. In 1962 she founded Spivey Records, and got other older blues musicians – including former St. Louisans Lonnie Johnson and Big Joe Williams - recording again for new audiences. On one Spivey Records recording session, an almost completely unknown young folk singer named Bob Dylan provided backing vocals and harmonica. He wouldn't remain unknown for long, and he and Victoria remained good friends. You can find a picture of them side by side on the jacket of Dylan's 1970 album New Morning, released just six years before Victoria Spivey passed away. ——— Here's History is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko, and this is 88.1 KDHX, St. Louis. ———

The islands and sandbars in the Mississippi all have interesting stories, and lifespans. Their form is temporary, and dependent on the currents and levels of the River. One of these “Islands” is Arsenal Island, that has had many forms, and roles to play in history throughout the years. Just press play to hear the whole story. ----- Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Civil War, Mississippi River, Military, Medical, Rivers, ------ Podcast Transcript: I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— Imagine standing on the St. Louis riverfront today, looking across the Mississippi's blank brown surface, your view of Illinois interrupted only by an occasional barge. The swiftly moving current swirling and curling, taking slight detours around bridge piers. ——— Now imagine something totally different – your view being obscured by several large sandbars, covered in trees, with people coming and going from them. Prior to the 1850s, you would be looking across the river at the infamous Bloody Island, site of frequent fights and duels, or down the river at the quarter-mile wide and two-mile long Duncan Island. If you traveled three miles south of downtown, you'd see Arsenal Island, sitting just offshore of the US Arsenal. Not technically islands, but sandbars, they have all shifted and are now part of the shoreline. Though temporary, each island had its own role to play in St. Louis history. ——— Arsenal Island remained in place the longest of the three. It regularly [changed] its position and size, moving enough for Missouri and Illinois to contest ownership multiple times throughout the 19th century. During the 1860s, the island was home to a quarantine hospital and a large cemetery that received the bodies previously buried at City Cemetery as well as Civil War casualties. A farm on the island provided vegetables to patients at City Hospital. When the eastern side of the island began to wash away and threaten the graveyard, the bodies were reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. ——— In the 1880s, a farmer who lived on the island was interviewed about how he and his family, who had alternated their citizenship between two different states, handled the unstable nature of the land mass. His answer was that they just moved their house every couple of years to keep up. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

Worker in the early part of the 20th century often had to fight for their rights against low pay and poor working conditions. They were often viewed as disposable. But, in 1933, a group of women banded together to fight for their rights. If that wasn't enough, they inspired women to do the same. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Business, Women's History, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— By the spring of 1933, Carrie Smith had spent 18 years working as a nut picker at St. Louis's Funsten Dried Fruit and Nut Company. It was one of the toughest, dirtiest and lowest paying jobs around. Funsten's thousands of nut pickers, the majority Black women like Carrie, cracked open pecans and separated out the edible portion from the shells. ——— Carrie Smith had watched as her pay was steadily sliced back for doing the same work. By 1933, she was earning just three cents per pound for intact pecan halves, and just two cents for any broken pieces. She and others fumed at the cruel injustice of processing food for a living, while not being paid enough to buy food for their families. At a Funsten nutpickers meeting on May 13, 1933, Smith stood in front of her fellow workers with a Bible in one hand and a brick in the other and shouted, “Girls, we can't lose.” Bolstered by St. Louis's Communist Party, more than two thousand Funsten nutpickers from five St. Louis factories marched out on strike. ——— Funsten's factories ground to a halt as the striking workers clashed with police in the streets of Downtown. Nearly a hundred women were arrested as they marched on City Hall, demanding the Mayor aid their cause. Company president Eugene Funsten made two inadequate appeasement offers to try and break the strikers ranks, but the women remained in solidarity. After eight days, they toppled the giant. Funsten agreed to equal pay for black and white nut pickers, representation in the Food Workers Union, and all wages doubled. ——— The Funsten Nut Factory Strike of 1933 was a monumental labor movement victory led by Black St. Louis women who refused to yield in the face of injustice. A few months later in August 1933, thousands of women working in St. Louis's garment district walked away from their machines in demand of higher wages and union recognition. The call to arms heard echoing up and down Washington Avenue was “do as the nut pickers do.” ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

If you were doing well in a profession, would you have the courage to try a different profession, and changing fields drastically? One St. Louis man did just that, walking away from a successful publishing career, and going out into the great unknown. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Business, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— The idea of switching careers is exciting, but it generates all sorts of questions and anxieties. Do you have the experience you'll need to find success? Will the change create financial hardships? Does starting over mean having to go to the bottom of the career ladder? ——— One has to wonder if questions like these were swirling around in the mind of St. Louisan Al Spink in 1890. By this point, Al had created quite a legacy for himself in publishing. He had moved to St. Louis around 1875 to pursue a career in journalism. He focused on covering sports, particularly baseball, and he quickly earned a name for himself as a reporter. In 1886, Al vaulted his career to new heights when he started his own sports publication—The Sporting News. This publication would become one of the most famous sports magazines in America, and its dedicated coverage of baseball even earned it the nickname “The Bible of Baseball.” ——— But back in 1890, Al wanted to try something new. He left the paper he founded to his brother and took his talents to a new stage. Literally. A longtime theater lover, Al had decided to try his hand at becoming a playwright. For the next three years, he worked on a play called The Derby Winner, a romantic comedy centered around St. Louis horseracing. The production was huge—the cast included over 40 people and several racehorses that were trained to run on treadmills during the racing scenes in the show. Needless to say, all of this was quite expensive. ——— The Derby Winner hit the stage of the Grand Opera House in St. Louis on August 25, 1894. The next day, the papers praised the show, but didn't rave about it—the Post-Dispatch, for example, thought it was exciting and well-acted, but that it had a fairly corny plot. Still, the play turned into enough of a hit that Al and his co-producers decided to take the show on the road. ——— But The Derby Winner did not find success outside of St. Louis. Reviews for the show were decidedly mixed, and the crowds dwindled. By the time Al sold his stake in the play in 1896, he was reported to have lost over a quarter of a million dollars—that'd be over nine million dollars today. He eventually returned to St. Louis and went back to publishing, a field he knew he could find success in. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

James Hannerty's early experience began with him being robbed of his bottom dollar. But, you can't keep a good man down. Mr. Hannerty had charm, charisma, and drive, and soon found himself dominating the theater scene. Just press play to hear the whole story. ----- Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Crime, Business, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, ------ Podcast Transcript: I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— James Hannerty came to St. Louis in the mid-19th century and made his first headlines in 1861, with a brief story about being robbed of his entire $10 fortune but quickly recouping his loss thanks to his natural charisma. The report ends with a prediction that Hannerty will someday be richer than the newspaper's editor. Over the next few decades it seemed that prediction had merit as he built a successful career managing just about every theater and entertainment venue in the city. Multiple articles attest to his reputation for saving struggling productions and heading the newest attractions. And this is where I found him – while researching the Globe Cyclorama, a short-lived but novel theater experience that placed viewers in the center of a massive circular space, surrounded by a mix of panoramic painted scenery, live actors, and special effects. While many cities boasted cycloramas, featuring different historic events, the Globe immersed audiences in the 1870 Siege of Paris. When ticket sales lagged, Hannerty personally walked the streets, distributing over 2,000 free passes to encourage visitors. ——— By the turn of the 20th century, the enterprising promoter found himself in demand not just for entertainment ventures, but began consulting on product and event advertisements. Hannerty is credited with designing the iconic logo and marketing materials for the 1904 World's Fair. ——— In 1905, he made front page news by leaving the entertainment industry behind and opening the Hannerty Idea Company - a company whose only products were his ideas. In the early 20th century, the concept of not just owning ones ideas but selling them was unheard of. A newspaper profile calls him a “Doctor of Photography Who Prescribes Poses,” detailing how he gave photographers and designers artistic direction on images accompaning stories – radically changing the look and use of pictures in the newspaper. When published, these photos would be accompanied by a branding tagline that they were a “Hannerty Idea.” ——— A few years later, Hannerty left St. Louis for Manhattan, a pioneer of the modern advertising industry. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

There was a time that the border between Missouri and Iowa was not quite defined. This led to a controversy and conflict between the governors of the states. Many shenanigans ensued. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andy Primm, Legal Matters, Politics and Government, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Andy Primm, Museum Educator at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— St. Louis loves honey. Whether we're enjoying some local honey from the farmer's market or raising bees in our own urban hives, the sweet treat is always popular. But here's something you might not know about honey: in 1839, it almost led to war between Missouri and Iowa. This ridiculous series of events is known today as the Honey War. ——— The whole thing started because the northern border of Missouri wasn't clearly defined. Missouri's first Constitution, drafted in St. Louis in 1820, referred to a northern border that “passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines.” The problem? Such rapids did not exist. Over time, several possible borders were proposed, but no one knew which one was correct. ——— In 1839, Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs took decisive action on the matter and strongly asserted Missouri's claim to the most northern boundary possible. Iowa, still a territory at the time, argued for a more southerly line. The two proposed borders were almost ten miles apart. ——— Things escalated quickly from there. Governor Boggs ordered a Missouri Sherriff to collect taxes in the disputed area. Iowans responded by tossing the good Sherriff in jail. An unknown Missourian then took it upon himself to cut down and haul away three valuable honey-producing bee trees from the disputed area. Enraged Iowa authorities convicted the miscreant in absentia and fined him $1.50. In Governor Boggs' estimation, these actions were assaults on Missouri's citizens and property. ——— Boggs dispatched 800 militiamen to the border. Iowa Territorial Governor Robert Lucas responded in kind, sending 300 militiamen of his own. Bloodshed seemed imminent, but the militia commanders quickly agreed that a shooting war over honey trees was in nobody's interest. The bellicose governors relented and allowed the issue to be submitted to the courts. The matter was finally resolved in 1849 when the US Supreme Court split the disputed area roughly evenly between Iowa and Missouri. ——— How sweet it is that cooler heads prevailed! ——— Here's History is a join production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Andy Primm, and this is eight-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis. ———

Sometimes sports heroes are heroes in other walks of life. One Black baseball player in the area was embarking on a promising career with the Atlanta Braves when he got a call to duty and was drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he met his fate. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Black History, Civil Rights, Military, Sports, Baseball, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX.  ——— Stories that integrate the history of war, patriotism, and race can be told through the experiences of Black St. Louisans who served on the battlefield. 58,000 military personnel lost their lives during the Vietnam War and the story of a graduate from Kirkwood High School connects to the local and international story of the Vietnam War. It is the story of Private Udell Chambers that provides an entry point into Black life during the onset of the war.  ——— Private Udell Chambers was born to Tommie and Bettie Chambers on February 22, 1948, and lived with his family in Meachum Park. Gaining notoriety as a strong baseball athlete in high school, Chambers was admired within the community for his welcoming personality and skillset. After graduating in 1966, Chambers began his promising baseball career. As a rookie shortstop player in 1967, crowds heard the ball crack against the bat and soared when he hit 12 home runs and stole 28 bases. While playing in the minor league, Chambers hit .325 in the Class A affiliate. ——— From the baseball field to the battlefield, Udell Chambers had a bright career with the Atlanta Braves that was quickly cut short after he was drafted into the Vietnam War. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment in the 1st Infantry Division. He was later killed in action at the age of 20 years old on June 21, 1968, in Vietnam, during a ground casualty that resulted from a hostile rocket. For his bravery and heroism, Private Chambers was awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and inducted into Kirkwood High School's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. ——— For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

There have been many power couples throughout history, and one of those couples were instrumental in the blues community in St. Louis in the early part of the 20th century. Through their music shop, this black couple made a huge impact and helped many people, get gigs and get recording contracts. Just press play to hear the whole story.  ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Black History, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Music, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— While we often see famous musicians depicted as “lone geniuses,” even the most towering of musical talents have always had help somewhere along the way. For the early blues musicians of St. Louis, one of the best places to find help was the husband-and-wife team of Jesse and Edith Johnson. ——— When music promoter Jesse Johnson opened Market Street's DeLuxe Music Shoppe in 1919, it sat right beside the Booker T. Washington Theatre, the city's largest entertainment venue for Black St. Louisans. The DeLuxe Music Shoppe offered records for sale, but it also functioned as an audition booth and networking hangout for aspiring musicians. Record label representatives often scouted the store, and Jesse Johnson used his extensive industry connections to get dozens of local performers gigs and record deals. ——— In the mid-1920s, Jesse Johnson married local St. Louis blues singer Edith North. She co-ran the DeLuxe Music Shoppe, serving as judge and mentor to the musicians testing out their material. One of them was young Victoria Spivey, who in 1926 took a 500-mile train ride from Texas to St. Louis just to try and make a hit record. Victoria belted out her chilling original song “Black Snake Blues” for Edith, and five days later, the record was being pressed in New York City. It would sell 150,000 copies in its first year. ——— In addition to running the DeLuxe Music Shoppe, Jesse Johnson used his promotional sway to break the color line on the city's excursion boats, getting Monday nights set aside for black patrons. He also brought in national acts like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to perform in St. Louis for Black audiences. ——— The important role of the DeLuxe Music Shoppe in the early St. Louis blues scene reminds us that the music we hear is always shaped by a historic context. For St. Louis blues legends like Peetie Wheatstraw, Victoria Spivey, Roosevelt Sykes, and Henry Townsend - and for all the artists those musicians later inspired - the helping hands of Jesse and Edith Johnson were vital in getting their voices heard. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

Riding a bicycle is fun. We take it a bit for granted these days, but early in he history of bike riding, it was a sensation. It was also something more. It was a way for women to free themselves from the confines of the oppressive restrains of fashion. Beyond that it was a doorway to personal independence, friendships, increased self-esteem, and the thing society so often stole from women's lives – a source of fun. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Clothing and Apparel, Pastimes and Leisure, Women's History, Transportation, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— In the summer of 1896, the United States was stricken with “wheel fever.” Bicycling became a verified mania, and St. Louisans were some of the most enthusiastic riders. In 1896 St. Louis reported two million dollars in bicycle sales - at 75 dollars a bike, that's over 27,000 bicycles in a city of 500,000 people. One St. Louis reporter was astonished when he counted more than 2,800 bike riders pass the corner of 4th and Walnut in a single day's morning commute. ——— While complaints were plenty about bicycles clogging streets and “scorchers” flying past pedestrians in city parks, the biggest controversy was that women wanted to ride bikes too, and they were taking off their dresses to do it. Because a long dress made pedaling nearly impossible and could get dangerously snagged in the gears of a bicycle, many women adopted baggy, knee-length pants called “bloomers” that left their lower legs free. —— “With their nether limbs exposed,” as one astonished St. Louis reporter put it, “Bloomer Girls,” dominated news about bicycling.  Women's rights advocates praised bloomers for freeing women from fashion bondage, while others vilified bloomers as immodest or even ruinous to social order. One anti-women-biking St. Louis newspaper article displayed before and after illustrations of “pale beauties” transformed into “perfect frights” by bicycle riding. With windblown hair, sun-flushed cheeks, and of course, bloomers on display, these illustrations meant to terrify must have actually looked wonderfully enticing to countless St. Louis women. —— While “wheel fever” quickly peaked and fizzled across the late 1890s, the battles over women's fashion and freedom that bicycling sparked were part of a much wider pushing back against the Victorian era's strict social rules. For St. Louis women in 1896, bloomers and bicycles were more than just new clothes and transportation – they were a doorway to personal independence, friendships, increased self-esteem, and the thing society so often stole from their lives – a source of fun. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———  

Some people are able to channel their hardships and the obstacles they face into art and activism. Maya Angelou's life was not easy, but she was able to do both and more. Just press play to hear the whole story. —— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Civil Rights, Black History, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, People of Note, Women's History, ------ Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ——— Maya Angelou's words, “Still I rise,” remains etched into the hearts and the minds of those who read her poetry. The daughter of Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter Johnson graced the world with her presence on April 4, 1928. Due to hardships within her parents' marriage which led to a divorce, she moved to Stamps, Arkansas, with her paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, at the age of 3 years old. She and her brother Bailey—who gave her the nickname “Maya”—continued to move back and forth between their grandmother and parents' homes during their adolescent years. ——— Her career took off after receiving some training as a professional dancer and singer. It was at this point in her life that she changed her name to “Maya Angelou” in 1954. That same year, she traveled to Europe and appeared in a production of Porgy and Bess and learned to speak many languages. ——— Angelou returned to the United States and joined the Harlem Writer's Guild and produced songs, short stories, and poetry while living in New York. She also became involved in the civil rights movement and worked within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. ——— Angelou published her first autobiography in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and it was an instant success and appeared on the New York Times's nonfiction bestseller's list, was nominated as a National Book Award, and has since been translated to different languages. Since her first publications, Angelou has received many awards for other works she's produced. ——- On May 28, 2014, she passed away at the age of 86 years old. Among the many accolades Angelou has received, she will be a part of the American Women Quarters Program, which is a 4-year program that “celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women…” ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

The founding of a town can have interesting stories, behind it The founding of Brooklyn, Illinois,  is one such story.  Legend has it that Brooklyn developed as a Black settlement, an asylum, and within the Underground Railroad system. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Black History, Civil Rights,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ——— Stories of agency, courage, strength, and resilience were told as oral history traditions passed down from generation to generation within Black communities. It is through these stories that many forebearers instructed Black Americans about their lineage, life lessons, and mapping a path forward. The history of Brooklyn, Illinois, incorporates this oral tradition. ——— Brooklyn's story revolves around Priscilla Baltimore, often referred to as Mother Baltimore, who was born into slavery around 1805 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. She was sold off by her enslaver (her biological father) and sold several more times before purchasing her freedom for about $1,100. According to lore, she continued to liberate her family, first her mother and then her second husband, John Tobias Baltimore, by mortgaging her property in St. Louis. ——— Despite the punitive Black codes adopted by Illinois in 1819, which were designed to suppress economic, social, and political power for self-emancipated and free Black individuals, the state was a destination for Black people fleeing Missouri. In 1829, 11 families left Missouri for Illinois with Priscilla and John Baltimore as their leaders. ——— Legend has it that Brooklyn developed as a Black settlement, an asylum, and within the Underground Railroad system. The principles of family and religion were their foundation, and it was through God's power that they were liberated during the antislavery movement. ——— Priscilla Baltimore died in 1882 and many details about her life as a beloved and revered figure within the community appeared in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Along with John Berry Meachum, Mary Meachum, Moses Dickson, and many other pioneers that paved the way for Black liberation in the previous centuries, it's important for us to keep the oral history about Priscilla and John Baltimore within St. Louis regional history. ——— For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———    

What Michael Jordan is to basketball, and Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart are to aviation, Harry Houdini is to the world of magic. But even legends have slumps in their career. Harry Houdini was having one in 1908, but figured a way to turn the tide right here in St. Louis. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Business, People of Note, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— Even a century after his death, it seems like everyone knows at least something about Harry Houdini. The most famous magician in history, Houdini took to the theater stages of St. Louis at least five times across his career, but a visit in 1908 holds a special place in Houdini lore. It was then that one of his most famous and dangerous stunts made its world debut. ——— Across the early 1900s, Houdini had escaped being lashed to planks, stuffed into packing cases, and clasped into countless handcuffs. But he sensed a problem. Audiences were getting bored with seeing the same old escapes. In January of 1908, Houdini appeared before a small and lackluster crowd at the Columbia Theater in Downtown St. Louis. Manager Frank Tate, disgusted by the empty chairs, told the famous magician he wasn't worth a five-dollar bill anymore. Houdini needed a new hook, something that brought a sense of danger to his shows. ——— On January 27, 1908, St. Louisans attending Houdini's show at the Columbia watched as a giant galvanized metal jug was hauled onto the stage. Attendants dumped in endless buckets of water. Then Houdini stepped inside, inhaled deeply, and dropped down beneath the water's surface. The heavy lid was slammed shut and locked with six locks, and a curtain drawn in front of the can. ——— The St. Louis audience sat in captivated silence, broken only by the occasional nervous cough. As the seconds ticked by, a panicked axe-wielding assistant came out ready to smash open the can, another carefully timed visual meant to set the audience's pulse racing even faster. ——— After two tense minutes, Houdini whipped back the curtain to reveal himself soaking wet and alive. The crowd that just the night before was yawning and disinterested roared with applause. The Milk Can escape's deadly stakes – or at least the appearance of them - brought Houdini's career back to life. From its St. Louis debut it would become one of his trademark escapes, baffling audiences all the way up to his death in 1926. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

Throughout history, many of the music industry's great artists are from right here in St. Louis. Fontella Bass is certainly up there with the legends. She was a pianist and songwriter, in addition to her vocal talents. And she helped write a famous song, that she had to fight to try and have songwriting credit on. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------ Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Women's History, Black History, People of Note, Music, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Podcast Transcript: I am not ashamed to say that I love Motown music. Even as a young kid growing up in Ohio in the 80s I loved listening to the oldies station on the radio. Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Aretha…I loved them all. But hands down, my all time favorite song was Rescue Me by Fontella Bass. Imagine my delight years later when I moved to St. Louis and discovered that this was her hometown. ——— If you turned on the radio in late 1965, chances are you would hear Fontella's soulful voice singing that amazing song. But it had taken a tardy lead singer to finally convince her to step out from behind the piano and take her place on the center stage. ——— At the request of her grandmother, Fontella began playing the piano at funerals at the age of 5, and went on tour with her mother, gospel singer Martha Bass, at the age of 9. Born and raised in St. Louis, Fontella attended Soldan High School while already earning money as a musician. She became the piano player for Little Milton, a well known blues singer, and one evening, when he was late for a show, she covered for him, and her singing career began. Soon she was a regularly featured singer, and later became a highlighted act with the Oliver Sain Soul Review. ——— Fontella began recording solo records in 1962, but the songs just didn't gain much of an audience. It wasn't until she released a duet with Bobby McClure in early 1965 that her career really began to take off. A few months later, after an informal jam session and only 3 takes, she unknowingly recorded what would become her best-selling record. Released on September 4, 1965, Rescue Me climbed to number 1 on the R&B charts by October 30, and made it to number 9 on the Hot 100. ——— Unfortunately, Fontella wasn't included as one of the songwriters on the album, and spent years fighting for both recognition and royalty rights for the song she co-wrote. She continued to record through the 1980s, but the high point of her career remains the unforgettable song that will forever be tied to her name. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis.  ———

A woman arrived in St. Louis in 1818. She was, in fact, a nun and a teacher. She came here to do good and to start up some schools, but she soon came across something that she felt needed to be addressed for the good of her female students. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Women's History, Education, Children, People of Note, Religion, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— Most St. Louisans are familiar with the story of Sister Rose Philippine Duchesne, one of the first Catholic nuns to arrive in St. Louis in 1818 with the purpose of educating children in the area. She opened schools in St. Charles, Florissant, and the city of St. Louis before traveling to Kansas to work with Native Americans, her lifelong dream. Over 150 years later, she was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II. ——— As someone who dedicated her life to the church, it's easy to assume that Sister Duchesne spent her days in prayer and contemplation, unfazed and untouched by the frustrations of daily life. But that assumption would be wrong. In a letter from the Missouri Historical Society's archives, Sister Duchesne writes to the Mayor of St. Louis, William Carr Lane, and expresses her horror at what her female students must deal with on a daily basis—walking by men and boys swimming in the creek near the school—a creek that also happened to be on Lane's property. Public swimming was a whole different experience before swimsuits hit the scene, and she wasn't having it. ——— She writes, “I have recourse to your authority for the redress of an abuse which I look upon as very much against the welfare of our establishment. You know, Sir, that our young ladies, day scholars, have to pass the creek that runs all around our house. The warm weather invites a number of men and boys to swimming in the creek, and every day our young ladies meet with that disagreeable sight, both coming [to] and leaving the house; and as I understand that some regulation of court forbids swimming in public places, I suppose that it is merely by some negligence of the sheriffs in discharge of their duty that it takes place. As you are Sir, the father of an amiable family I need not say how much that rudeness is against the delicacy of sentiments we strive to endow our young ladies with, and I am convinced that you will be so good as to use your power to remove that obstacle.” ——— Needless to say, Lane took care of the problem. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis.  ———

There was one World Series that was played entirely in St. Louis, with the Cardinals playing the Browns for the title. This created many firsts, and many odd stories, including one about two apartment mates. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Baseball, Pastimes and Leisure, Sports, Competition, Housing, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— The 1944 World Series holds a special place in the hearts of St. Louis baseball lovers. It's special not just because it's one of the Cardinals eleven World Series titles, but because the Cardinals opponent in that Fall Classic was the St. Louis Browns. Meaning, in 1944, every game of the World Series was played in St. Louis. Because of this, there are all sorts of unique facts about the 1944 World Series. ——— For example, 1944 was the first World Series played entirely west of the Mississippi River, which makes sense, as St. Louis was the westernmost city in Major League Baseball until the 1950s. It was also the third World Series where every game was played at one stadium. In this case, that stadium was Sportsman's Park, home to both the Cardinals and the Browns. It was the last World Series played all at one ballpark until 2020, when covid restrictions necessitated that every World Series game be played in one stadium. ——— But perhaps the oddest fact surrounding the all-St. Louis World Series is a story involving the managers of the Cardinals and the Browns. You see, for the 1944 season, Browns manager Luke Sewell and Cardinals manager Billy Southworth split an apartment at the Lindell Towers. There was a housing shortage, and since the Browns and Cardinals were never in St. Louis at the same time, the two managers figured they could just split the apartment with no difficulties. When one man was at home, the other would be on the road. They rarely even saw one another.  ——— As the season wound down, and the likelihood of an all-St. Louis World Series grew, Sewell, who was in St. Louis with the Browns, eventually sent a telegram to Southworth asking what should be done if the Browns should clinch the American League pennant. Southworth, who was on the road with the National League leading Cardinals, sent a telegram back to Sewell in St. Louis saying, “The Browns are going to win the pennant, so you go right ahead [and stay in the apartment]. I have rooms available at a hotel, and I'll just move in there when we return home.” ——— Apparently, though, the hotel room brought some extra luck to Southworth. The Cardinals ended up winning the World Series in six games, clinching their second championship of the 1940s. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ———

Teens have always needed a place to gather. There was one place in the 1980's where they could go and meet and hear the music relevant to them. It was also a place where important connections were made between people of different racial backgrounds, and different musical genres. But there were forces against them. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Music, Pastimes and Leisure, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Politics and Government,----- Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— In the 1980s, punk rock and hip hop were simultaneously bringing new youthful voices to the landscape of American music.  While their respective music scenes rarely crossed paths, there was one local place that became a haven for St. Louis's punk rockers and rap fans alike. Right next to North County's unmissable Lewis and Clark Tower is a cavernous building that was once the Mark Twain Theatre. But through the 1980s, it was known to St. Louis teenagers as Animal House. ———  Animal House was opened in 1983 by Walter Lanham, who the club-going youth knew as “Uncle Walt.” One of a handful of under-21 night clubs anywhere in the region, the music at Animal House made it common ground for both Black and white St. Louis teenagers. Friday nights were set aside for punk and new wave music, while Saturdays were hip-hop nights. The club became one of the top local places to see nationally known hip hop stars - including LL Cool J, Whodini, and Eazy E - often with St. Louis dance groups as their opening acts. The crowd was always eclectic, and the excitement stretched into the early morning hours. ——— Animal House reminds us how music can connect, but its story also reminds us how music can become a flashpoint for divisions. By the late 1980s, Moline Acres aldermen and business owners moved to shut Animal House down. They claimed the club attracted supposed gang activity, while Lanham claimed the attempt was motivated by racism toward Black youth gathering around rap music. At one of the tense city council meetins, a defiant Lanham stated “The city and county say they need something for these kids to do, but they leave it to the other guy… well I'm the other guy.” ——— Local teens stood alongside Uncle Walt, speaking about the social importance that Animal House held in their lives. Exhausted by the constant defense, Lanham finally decided to close Animal House in 1989. Other clubs would appear, but for the 1980s St. Louisans who discovered like-minded friends and bonded over music, Animal House was a second home. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

There have been many entertainment and recreational venues through the years and throughout the eras in the St. Louis region. None were quite like Clark's Natatorium. It was an aquatic wonder world of epic proportions. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Pastimes and Leisure,   ------- Podcast Transcript: I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri History Museum, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX.  ——— In the 1880s, an Irish immigrant and former championship boxer known as Professor Bill Clark opened what would become one of the best known places in the city – Clark's Natatorium. The natatorium featured a 5600 sf open-air swimming pool surrounded by spectator seating. It was a place for swimming lessons, amateur and professional racing, or just escaping the St. Louis heat. ——— Clark was a showman a heart, and unlike other natatoriums, his featured a wide range of swimming theatrics. For example, on April 27th 1890, you would have seen a show featuring Madame Josephine Denari singing a solo, followed by Prof. Alphonse King riding a marine bicycle. Next up was both duck and gondola racing…all followed by a dramatic 45-foot plunge by a professional diver. Other years featured elaborate shows where swimmers recreated famous battle scenes and fake gunfights with dramatic balcony dives when a performer was wounded. Newspapers noted the pool could be rented for anything from religious baptisms to midnight champagne swimming with chorus girls. ——— In the winter, endurance bicycle and walking races were held, including a high-profile multi-day walking race in 1893, featuring professional walkers from America, Ireland, and England – with the newspapers providing surprisingly riveting daily coverage. The fall of 1890 featured a six-day bicycle race for amateur female cyclists. ——— The natatorium was also a training facility for professional swimmers. Clark's intense training program concluded with a requirement to dive off the Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis. Coaches would be waiting below to bring the diver back to shore, but unsurprisingly, not all swimmers survived the stunt. ——— Clark's original natatorium was slated for demolition in 1901 but another facility was quickly built a few blocks away and remained open until 1912. The building became home to the Irish-American Athletic Club and later Sullivan's Future City Athletic Club. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis.   ———

There was a time when there was a magazine that covered the area's high schools' social scenes, when you got your 15 minutes of fame issue by issue. It, however, could not survive social change. Just press play to hear the whole story ------  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Education, Pastimes and Leisure, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— Humans have been turning 13 years old since there have been humans, but in late 1940s America, achieving that passage of time gained you a new cultural label. You were now known as a “teenager,” and teenagers would determine the coming era's dress code, musical tastes, and even language. It was tough keeping up with it all, but for the teenagers of St. Louis, Prom Magazine made it no sweat. ——— Created in 1947, Prom Magazine covered the dances, parties, football games, and spring musicals from more than 65 public and private high schools around the St. Louis region. It was like a local junior version of Life Magazine, except the stories happened in your cafeteria, and the photo essays featured your friends. If you showed up in Prom's pages you were nearly guaranteed local teen celebrity status – at least until the next issue came out. ———  For just 10 cents a copy, St. Louis teenagers could drop in on the hallway chatter at every high school in the area. Each school had dedicated student beat reporters, bringing you updates about the “Roosevelt Ramblings,” “Mehlville Murmurs,” or ”Wellston Wig Wag.” Other features gave teens the scoop on fashion and music trends, like “Strictly off the Record,” a music column penned each month by a different St. Louis disc jockey. ------  By the mid-1960s, Prom Magazine claimed that over 90 percent of St. Louis's teenagers were regular readers. But Prom's last dance was on the horizon.  The magazine's wholesome and simplified portrayal of teen life avoided pressing topics facing young people at the time. Sex and drinking were never discussed, nor were issues like the Civil Rights movement, feminism, or being drafted for the Vietnam War. These complex conversations were on teenagers' minds in the late 1960s, but missing from the magazine's squeaky-clean pages. With readership falling and advertisers pulling out, Prom Magazine quietly stopped production in 1973. Former publisher Julian Miller would go on to spend decades fighting teen substance abuse through a local non-profit devoted to that cause. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ------   

In the fight for civil rights, many groups took part. One of those was group of St. Louisans who banded together and morphed into a local chapter of CORE. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content:  Cicely Hunter, Black History, Civil Rights,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ——— Poised with the determination to change the racial dynamic in St. Louis, residents led the charge to mobilize their efforts. The Congress of Racial Equity also referred to as CORE was a national interracial organization designed to utilize nonviolent tactics to combat racial violence and segregation. The primary factor that guided their involvement derived from Mahatma Gandhi, whose practices helped them to expose the brutality and inhuman beliefs espoused by racists. The belief of active resistance, through nonviolent measures, became their primary tactic to address injustices. ——— A local chapter of CORE was born in St. Louis during 1947 after Bernice Fisher, a Chicago activist, inspired a small group to organize. Irv and Maggie Dagen were the primary leaders and organizers of the small group, Humanity, Inc., which morphed into the St. Louis chapter of CORE following their meeting with Fisher. ——— The next year, the St. Louis local chapter of CORE determined to galvanize their efforts by demonstrating at sit-ins at Stix, Baer & Fuller, a department store and other businesses like Famous-Barr, Woolworth, Walgreen, and more. The group contained students and faculty primarily from colleges and graduate schools, but also some high school students and faculty members from institutions like Washington University, Saint Louis University, Stowe Teachers College, and a couple of high schools in the area. ——— As CORE and other activist groups embarked to change the racial landscape in St. Louis towards an integrated society, there was a glimmer of hope in 1948 when the first bill was introduced to prevent racial discrimination with a public accommodations bill. Thirteen years later, on May 19, 1961, a bill passed to address the discriminatory practices and was enacted on June 1, 1961. ——— For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

Some find it easy to adjust to St. Louis when moving here. Others find it quite the experience. A Young medical student named F.M. Pepper had quite the rough experience when first coming here. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------ Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content:  Katie Moon, Disaster, Natural Disaster, Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— When I moved to St. Louis from Ohio over 20 years ago the first thing I remember is being overwhelmed by how hot it was, especially during that first weekend in July. But my initial experience of St. Louis doesn't even begin to compare to that of medical student F.M. Pepper, who, in his first 3 weeks in the city, experienced not just scorching heat but also an earthquake and a city-wide fire. ——— He wrote this letter to his family on October 1st, 1891, and despite his optimism, it sounds like a rough start to the school year. ——— Dear Sir and Brother, This writing leaves me in St. Louis attending medical college. I have been here three weeks today, and am very well satisfied with my school. Our school is the largest in the city, matriculating at present over 200. I attend eight lectures a day: from 9 to 12: from 1 to 6, and dissection from 8 to 10, when it gets cooler. You will very readily infer from this that I have no time to gossip around town. ——— The heat has been dreadful since I have been here, excepting the last few days. Last Saturday night, St. Louis was visited by an earthquake, which was something dreadful. It shook bottles from off the shelves in the drugstores, and threw persons out of their beds, and shook things up generally. ——— Sunday eve, at about 9 o'clock, fires broke out and before morning 23 had broken out; every fire department in the city was out several times. I saw a 9 story building burn; it covered one whole block. It was a grand, magnificent night, yet fearful and appalling in consequences. You have seen heavy hail storms—if you will imagine the hail to be balls of fire you can form a meager description of the fire. ——— It is very nearly lecture time so I will close hoping this will find you all well and happy, and expecting to hear from you soon. With love to all I remain Your Brother, F.M. Pepper . ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis.  ———

Many remember Elizabeth Keckley from the film “Lincoln” as Mrs. Lincoln's dressmaker and confidant. But the story of the woman behind that film character is much deeper and fascinating and dramatic than most know. Just press play to hear the whole story. ———  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Cicely Hunter, Black History, People of Note, Women's History, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ——— Black women displayed their skill and brilliance as they wove and stitched together pieces of fabric to create beautiful ensembles. One woman whose ingenuity brought her from St. Louis to Washington D.C., was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hobbs Keckly (also spelled Keckley). Her toiling and skillful hands whisked her into prominence as she created dresses for President Abraham Lincoln's wife, Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Widely held as a controversial book, Elizabeth Keckley published a narrative detailing her experiences and life in Behind the Scenes: Or Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House in 1868. ——— Keckley was born enslaved in Virginia during February 1818, and she worked as a domestic servant from a young age, learning how to sew alongside her mother. Keckley's slaveholders moved her, her mother, Agnes, and her son, George, to St. Louis in 1846 in hopes to improve their economic fortune. She was hired out as a seamstress and dressmaker to sustain the Garlands. She expressed, “With my needle I kept bread in the mouths of seventeen persons for two years and five months.” ——— Keckley desired freedom and labored as a skilled seamstress to obtain it, gaining a reputation as the best dressmaker in St. Louis and working with prominent families. Her clients offered to loan her the money to purchase her and her son's freedom, and in November 1855 she borrowed $1,200—about $35,000 today. For the next five years, she worked to repay them. ——— In 1860 she moved east—first to Baltimore and then Washington, DC. She was soon sewing dresses for the wives of Jefferson Davis and Stephen Douglas and her most notable client, First Lady Mary Lincoln who Keckley became her confidante and dressmaker. ——— For more information about St. Louis Black history, please visit our website mohistory.org/aahi. Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

The history of the different professional ballparks in St. Louis over the years is fascinating and dramatic. This is the story of one of the lesser know ballparks, which involves a horse racing track and fires. Just press play to hear the whole story.-----  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Baseball, Sports, Business,----- Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— For many folks in St. Louis, the stadiums that the Cardinals have called home are special places. The names Sportsman's Park and Busch Stadium recall the feats of players like Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Albert Pujols. But as important as these stadiums are to baseball fans, there is one park where the Cardinals played from 1893 until 1920 that receives a lot less fanfare in Cardinals' history. You can't visit this park today—it is long since torn down—but it's troubled history would change the fortune of the Cardinals. ——— Before the 1893 season, St. Louis team owner Chris von der Ahe decided that his team needed a new park to call home—the old Sportsman's Park at Grand and Dodier was becoming quite dilapidated. So, he opened a park that he called “New” Sportsman's Park, at the corner of Vandeventer and Natural Bridge, just south of Fairground Park. Situated to take advantage of new trolley lines, the new park opened with a lot of fanfare, including parades and promises of exciting, championship baseball. ——— But, within a few years, opinions on the new ballpark had begun to sour. Desperate for profits, and unable to field a winning team, von der Ahe installed a horse racing track and an amusement park ride in an effort to attract guests—a move decried by baseball purists. After a fire decimated the park in 1898, von der Ahe was forced to sell the team. The new owners repaired the stadium and changed its name to League Park. They eventually also changed the team name to the Cardinals. But the stadium continued to have problems—it suffered a fire again in 1901 and saw several more ownership and name changes. But the Cardinals just couldn't seem to get a winning team on the field. Fans stayed away. ——— In 1920, the Cardinals had finally had enough of League Park. That June, they moved back to the old Sportsman's Park, leasing the stadium from the American League St. Louis Browns, who had done extensive renovations after moving in in 1902.  The Cardinals used the money they saved on stadium upkeep to develop talent in their minor league system. The move paid off in 1926 when the Cardinals won their first World Series title, mostly behind players developed on their minor league teams. Since then, they've won ten more titles, and become one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ———

There is a mystery surrounding Castlewood State Park. Namely, what happened to a predecessor park. Details are sketchy, but it involves fruit, shares being sold, and vines being gifted by the Grand Duke of Russia. Just press play to hear the whole story. ----- Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Business, Parks, Pastimes and Leisure, Rural, Podcast Transcript: I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri History Museum, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— 25 miles outside of Downtown St. Louis, Castlewood State Park has provided an escape for generations of St. Louisans. For some, Castlewood State Park brings back memories of hot summer nights and riverside revelry. Others may recall stories shared about prohibition-era hideouts and train cars that included space for canoes. These days, Castlewood is for hiking and mountain biking, always packed to the brim on the first warm weekend in the spring. A walk through the park includes the sight of stoneworks and structures in ruin, giving a sense of discovering a lost civilization. I recently wandered through an 1870s map of St. Louis County and found something else lost long before the canoe trains arrived and the speakeasies opened--the Castlewoods site was actually the former home of the grand 400-acre St. Louis Park of Fruits. ——— The name is what caught my eye--and the 1870s map shows a densely built network of roads in an otherwise wide-open part of the county. Intrigued, I consulted the few resources available in search of an explanation. Turns out, the story starts with a newspaper ad placed in May of 1864. A man named Charles Haven, the Secretary of the St. Louis Vine Growers, offers shares in the building of a new private park. For $25 per share, members would receive an equivalent value in fruits produced by the Park of Fruit's plants. Haven describes the park as a source of perpetual revenue, to include avenues and walks, winding for miles through plantations and vineyards, spread over a hill and valley, with the addition of a member's resort hotel. By 1869, the Park enters fruit and plant specimens at the St. Louis Horticultural Fair, with wines being produced and sold by 1873. In 1873, the first mention of the name Castlewood appears in an ad. 1874 sees a massive banquet on the grounds as well as vines being gifted by the Grand Duke of Russia. The park is mentioned in several guides to St. Louis as being one of the principal attractions in the entire city, on par with forest and Tower Grove Parks. ——— And then, abruptly, the story stops. Charles Haven gets caught up in a lawsuit and all mention of the park ceases. What happened to the fruits of Haven's labor? Did the plants keep growing? Does an expedition need to be launched in search of the Grand Duke's vines? ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

In this episode, Adam MacPhàrlain, Curator of Clothing and Textiles at the Missouri Historical Society details the career of a woman who was key in the fashion industry in the St, Louis area. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam MacPhàrlain, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture, Clothing and Apparel, People of Note, Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam MacPhàrlain, Curator of Clothing and Textiles at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History, on 88-1, KDHX. ——— Who is one of the most fashionable people you know? Someone who is always chic and stylish.  ------ In the mid-20th century in St. Louis, one name was always at the top of the best dressed list: Alice Topp-Lee. ——— You might say that it's no surprise to see her on the list, as she was in the fashion industry herself. Topp-Lee spent much of her career as the executive designer at Doris Dodson Dress Company, a clothing brand produced by Forest City Manufacturing here in St. Louis. The brand was one of the mainstays of the junior wear market, which grew from the city in the late 1930s. ——— From 1947 to 1990, Alice Topp-Lee donated garments from her personal wardrobe to the Missouri Historical Society. The donations included famous names like Christian Dior and Balenciaga. But one name stands above the rest: Charles James, a designer known for his sculptural approach to dressmaking. MHS holds 12 James ensembles, all from Topp-Lee. In her own words, a James dress “had no time, year, season. It expressed only the woman it was made for, her attitude, her styles, her requirements.” ——— One of the donated dresses in particular is a testament to James's timeless style. The designer called this one “Green Eyes.” It is a white wool evening gown with hints of dark green velvet at the bust and lower back, which complimented Topp-Lee's green eyes. She wore the gown multiple times from 1949 through 1960, including aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner and to a dinner honoring New York socialite Millicent Rogers. Topp-Lee went so far as to call Green Eyes a “true friend.” ——— Throughout her life and career, Alice Topp-Lee had an indelible sense of style, which is beautifully represented in the Missouri Historical Society collection. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam MacPhàrlain, and this is 88-1, KDHX, Saint Louis. ———

Cars are ubiquitous in our day and age, but this wasn't always so. There is a first for everything, and one man got to experience a ride in a car, that happened to be the very first automobile built west of the Mississippi. And he notated it well. Just press play to hear the whole story ———Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Transportation, ------ Podcast Transcript: 'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— Driving a car for the first time is always exciting. Driving the first car ever built in St. Louis must have been an even bigger thrill. In 1893, cars were pretty much unheard of, but a curious young man by the name of J. D. Perry Lewis built his own and even took it out for a drive. In a stroke of luck, he wrote about that experience in great detail, and the full record lives in the archives of the Missouri Historical Society. Here's some of what he wrote: ——— So one afternoon in June 1893 I backed out of my mothers carriage house at the rear of 3014 Morgan Street in the first successful automobile that was built west of the Mississippi River and took a drive through the western part of the city. ——— I had no license plates on the car, and no restrictions as to where and how I should drive, no traffic signs, nor police officers to bawl me out for making a U turn on Broadway. The machine was an open roadster driven by an electric motor which derived its power from storage batteries under the seat. The speed was about 12 to 15 miles per hour downgrade and about 8 to 9 miles uphill. ——— After backing out of the carriage down into the alley a friend got in and we drove out to Grand Avenue, then South on Grand to Olive Street, on which street cable cars ran in those days. We went with a whirring sound of the gearing to Lindell Boulevard where we turned west for Forest Park. By this time several horse drawn vehicles were following the car but when I hit the downgrade to Vandeventer Avenue I outran them until I was almost to the park when they caught up again. ——— The return trip was just the same with the exception of the last two or three blocks from home we stalled and the crowd that gathered helped us the rest of the way by pushing. ——— Many good rides were had in the little car after that first trip and never a word from the law against me for the way I drove. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis. ———

St. Louis, of course, has had its share of musical legends. In Rock-n-Roll, of course, there's Chuck Berry among others. In Hip Hop, there's Nelly, and others. Lesser know, though, is a Gospel hero in Willie Mae Ford Smith. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------ Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Black History, Music, Arts and Entertainment,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— When you hear the word “gospel,” does a particular city spring to mind? Maybe Detroit, New Orleans, or Memphis? Well next time think of St. Louis. St. Louis has long been a gospel hotbed, and a presence on the scene for decades was Willie Mae Ford Smith. ———- Born in 1906, Willie Mae Ford Smith started singing in St. Louis gospel choirs as a teen, becoming a powerhouse soloist in an era when it was still uncommon to hear women's voices alone. In 1939 she began leading the prestigious Soloists Bureau of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs gaining fame as one of gospel music's top vocal teachers. She taught students not just how to make their singing dramatic, but also how to create a paced atmosphere with body movements, beginning with one's approach to the church pulpit. Among her countless students were Mahalia Jackson, Clara Ward, and Dinah Washington. ——— In the 1950s, Willie Mae Ford Smith was ordained a minister at St. Louis's Lively Stone Apostolic Church. With her booming voice, flowing robes, and oversized glasses, she embodied the ideal gospel balance of loving warmth and towering power. She never sang a hymn straight ahead - she added to it, slowed it down, and threw in sermonettes, wiping sweat from her forehead through joy-filled performances. Fellow St. Louis gospel legend Zella Jackson Price called her voice a “building wrecker.” ——— Willie Mae Ford Smith's first album didn't come out until she was 69 years old, and a 1972 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival marked her first wider exposure to audiences outside the gospel world. In the 1982 gospel documentary film Say Amen Somebody, she tells director George Neirenberg “I may have cracks in my voice as wide as the banks of the Mississippi, but the old Mississippi River keeps on flowing.” In 1988, Willie Mae Ford Smith was presented the Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor in the country for folk and traditional arts. She passed away at age 89 in St. Louis. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

When world events enter the picture, property rights of even entire towns and cities can get stepped on, or worse. Three small towns learned this the hard way when, in 1940, their land was needed for the war effort. Just press play to hear the whole thing. -------  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Military, Legal Matters, Politics and Government, Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— In the autumn of 1940, the United States was still over a year away from entering into World War Two, but the war was already having a huge effect on the United States. For evidence of that, you only need to look at three small towns in St. Charles County—Hamburg, Howell, and Toonerville. But that's the thing. You can't really look at these towns anymore. That's because in the autumn of 1940 they ceased to exist. ——— That year, the United States War Department was looking for about 18,000 acres of land on which to build a TNT plant. The land, they stipulated, had to be away from the coasts. It also needed to have access to water, rail, and roadway shipping lanes, and needed to have a nearby labor force that could quickly be hired to work in the plant. ——— By the autumn of 1940, the government had selected a tract of land in St. Charles County. But there was a problem. Three small towns sat in this tract of land—the towns of Howell, Hamburg, and Toonerville. The towns had schools and stores and various small businesses. Over 500 people called the area home. Some families could trace their roots back to folks who founded Hamburg in the 1830s. But the plant was deemed as something vital for national security. The towns would have to be torn down. ——— As these plans became public, people in the affected area at first expressed disbelief. Within months, though, most people had given up any resistance, especially as government officials promised folks that they would receive fair compensation for their land and their lost property. However, several families never received compensation and took the US Government to court. This case wound up in front of the US Supreme Court in 1945—and was ruled in favor of the past residents. ——— By the time this ruling came down, though, the TNT plant had already been shuttered. After the war, two conservation areas were carved from the tract. But some of the land was used for a uranium refinement facility that remained open until the mid-1960s. Pollution from this plant, and the old TNT plant, led to intense decontamination efforts in the area. These efforts culminated in the creation of the Weldon Spring Site, where a stone mound has been constructed to hold the contaminated waste for the next 1000 years. ——— Here's History is a joint production of the KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ———

Urban renewal alters the landscape drastically, reshaping things, and sometimes erasing a whole neighborhood and its history. One of the few buildings to survive the urban renewal project around the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood was the The Berea Presbyterian Church. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------ Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Architecture, Black History, Religion, Podcast Transcript: I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri History Museum, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— In the mid-20th century, several neighborhoods were demolished in the name of urban renewal. One of the largest was the Mill Creek Valley neighborhood near St. Louis University, home to over 20,000 African Americans. 6,000 buildings were demolished, leaving few hints of the neighborhood's vibrant culture and community. One survivor is the former home of the Berea Presbyterian Church, which is now known as St. Louis University's Il Monastero banquet space and was built in 1929. ——— The Berea Presbyterian congregation was founded in the 1880s and was the first African American Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi. For the Mill Creek Valley community, the church served as an important community hub – and of the 40 churches in the neighborhood, it was the only one that survived demolition. ——— In 1964, the innovative public housing project Laclede Town was built nearby, and it brought a vibrant community back to Berea. The same period also brought the church its first white pastor, Carl Dudley – an activist and dedicated supporter of the Black community. Under Dudley, Berea and Laclede Town became the center of St. Louis counterculture and Black arts. Their popular coffee shop, Circle, was the de facto community center for Black artists and activists including members of the Black Artists Group, known as BAG. BAG's nearby headquarters housed artists and activists, provided meeting and performance space, and provided arts classes to over 200 Black children. ——— Berea, Laclede Town, and BAG were deeply entwined – the director of Laclede Town offered 3 months of free rent to musicians that would there, which was most often at Berea Church's Circle Coffee – which was managed by BAG member LeRoi Shelton. BAG member Shirley LeFlore and Shelton were also members of Berea Church where LeFlore lead the Berea Messenger Singers, an all-female a cappella ensemble. ——— Laclede Town was demolished in the 1980s and Berea Presbyterian Church relocated its congregation to the Compton Heights neighborhood, where it is still active today. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX.  I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis.  ———

Almost everyone loves a ghost story, and St. Louis would briefly succumb to a craze concerning a a certain ghostly specter that supposedly haunted Pine Street. Just press play to hear the whole story. ----- Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Amanda Clark, Supernatural,  I'm Amanda Clark, manager of the See STL Tours program at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History, on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ----- In 1887, on a chilly January Sunday, over 10,000 St. Louisans gathered to catch a glimpse of the impossible. The anxious crowd spent over 12 hours packed shoulder to shoulder after reading in the previous day's Globe Democrat that a phantom horse and buggy had been appearing daily for over a month. The so-called Pine Street Specter would traverse what is now the campus of Harris Stowe University before vanishing. Eyewitnesses alleged that the buggy crossed paths with other vehicles and passed right through them. The Globe's reporter claimed he had not only seen the apparition, but had even ridden the buggy for a block or two, peering into the carriage in search of the missing driver.----- Unsurprisingly, neither the horse nor buggy materialized before the massive, expectant crowd. Police struggled to contain the mob of disappointed spectators. The next morning, the paper published a correction. They didn't retract their claims, they said only that they had left out a crucial piece of information – the ghost never appeared on the Sabbath. Similar scenes recurred for several days, with crowds swelling to 15,000 despite freezing conditions. Some residents of the upper-class neighborhood complained that their servants stopped working out of fear though others hosted lavish specter-themed parties and seances. One young woman was treated to a very public display of affection when her beau hired a ghost-costumed chorus to serenade her. ------ Though many Pine Street residents continued to insist the specter was real, the curious hordes gave up hope after a week or so. The story lived on for another year in the ghost's absence, turning into a shared joke among newspaper writers, who blamed the specter for unsolved robberies and stock market losses. Eventually, though, memory faded, and the Pine Street Specter was again as invisible as it had been on that first cold January afternoon. ------  Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX. I'm Amanda Clark and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ------

Long before youtube, or television for that matter, entertainment looked quite different. One artist's take on it was to make a 1,300 foot panorama of the entire Upper and Lower Mississippi, which toured from city to city to the delight of viewers. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Hattie Felton, Pastimes and Leisure, People of Note, Podcast Transcript: I'm Hattie Felton, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ------  Entertainment looked a lot different in the 19th century. Before smart tv's with surround sound, before epic IMAX films, before virtual reality goggles, people looking for an entertaining experience could see a panorama show. These panoramas were painted scenes hundreds or even thousands of feet long, aimed at giving viewers an immersive, theatrical look at faraway cities or historic battles. St. Louis-based artist Henry Lewis once painted a 1,300-foot-long panoramic depicting the Mississippi River. How do you go about reproducing every major town and landmark along the Mississippi River onto one long panorama? Lewis did it by floating down the river in a homemade raft, making notes and sketching everything he passed. He toured the resulting colossal painting from city to city, where audiences could marvel at the natural landscape and burgeoning towns along this watery thoroughfare of America's west. Lewis's original panorama is lost to history, but two of his sketchbooks depicting the Upper Mississippi River are preserved at the Missouri Historical Society. -----  Henry Lewis, originally from England, came to St. Louis in 1836. He found work as a carpenter but quickly discovered his true passion was art. Being self-taught didn't hold Lewis back, and by the 1840s, his reputation as a skilled landscape painter earned him notice in the newspapers and the business of local citizens. Not content to spend all his time in a studio, Lewis took trips to paint the Mississippi River, which inspired his idea for a magnificent panoramic painting of the entire Upper and Lower Mississippi. -----  In 1848, Lewis and several assistants began their voyage from Minneapolis to St. Louis. The pages of his books are filled with sometimes detailed, but often fleeting pencil sketches, occasionally accented with bright touches of watercolors. The margins contain Lewis' notes to help when it came time to transform his small sketches into the panorama. Among the many scenes he captured during that summer journey are Fort Madison Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, the Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, and Hannibal, Missouri. Lewis created these sketches to wow his 19th century audiences, but today they give us a peek into life along the river, preserving rare glimpses of historic buildings and seldom-seen towns.  ----- Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Hattie Felton, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis.  ------

There are many modern conveniences that we take for granted. One of those is Light. Today, for most of us, we simply turn on a light switch and we have all the illumination we need. But it wasn't always so. In the past the process of lighting a space could be smelly, dangerous, and time consuming. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Science and Technology, ------  I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— Every time one of the Missouri Historical Society curators shows me something new from our artifact collections, I get the same feeling. For all I know about the lives of past generations of St. Louisans, there is always more to uncover. Lately it happened when I got to see a tin candle mold, once used by a St. Louisan of the early 1800s to provide a homemade source of light after dark. ——— While the wealthiest early 1800s St. Louisans could afford the whale oil candles brought into town on riverboats, most residents made their own candles at home using animal fat. The candlemaker began by simmering a cauldron of meat and water over an open fire for hours. As the water evaporated, it left behind a floating layer of liquified fat, called “tallow.” ——— With the fuel source prepared, the candlemaker turned to a tall and narrow metal candle mold with anywhere from two to twelve openings. String wicks were tied to a rod above and left to dangle in the mold's openings, and then the scorching hot tallow was skimmed from the pot and poured in. It was a delicate process - the candle mold's openings were barely an inch wide, and burns or accidental housefires were a constant risk. After a few hours of cooling, the hardened tallow candles could be carefully wiggled out of the mold and set aside to use. ——— Tallow candles went rancid quickly and usually burned down in just a few hours, so candle making was a weekly chore for many St. Louisans. Tallow candles also had the downsides of smelling like burnt meat and producing thick clouds of black smoke, but those inconveniences probably seemed minor to the alternative of spending your evenings sitting in the dark. ——— History gives us many things, including reasons to be grateful. Next time you're at the store, standing beneath hundreds of light bulbs and picking out a new vanilla or lavender candle just for fun, be thankful that the smells, mess, and danger of making your own source of light are concerns for St. Louisans of the past. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———    

We take for granted many of the conveniences of the modern day, transportation among them. One man saw the transportation needs of the early city had rushed in to fill them. And he made his fortune along the way. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Transportation, Business, People of Note, Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ------ Public transportation in St. Louis has been the subject of much debate in recent years, and it's easy to forget that this isn't just a modern problem—people in St. Louis have always been trying to get places. Over a century ago, St. Louis developed an extensive electric streetcar system that transformed the city, but the demand for public transportation in St. Louis actually began much earlier, and one enterprising transplant saw the opportunity and jumped on it. ------ A young man by the name of Erastus Wells (yep, the same Erastus Wells who founded Wellston, served in Congress, and was the father of Governor Rolla Wells) came to St. Louis from New York in the early 1840s with no plan other than to make something of himself and to make a profit doing it. ------ The population was booming, and businesses were sprouting up all over. The challenge for many St. Louisans was figuring out a reliable and convenient way to get from place to place. Wells saw that need and had a solution. He partnered up with a financial backer, and the two started the first public transportation system in the city, in the form of an Omnibus. ------ The name sounds strange to modern ears, but at the time, it was a popular mode of transportation in the east, and was simply an enclosed wagon with multiple seats and windows. Wells had his omnibus built by a local wagon maker, and purchased two horses with the last of his own money. He developed a daily route that covered the busiest streets in St. Louis, and drove whether he had passengers or not. Each fare cost 12 and half cents…what was then known as 1 bit. ------ After a slow start, the idea caught on and eventually as many as 90 omnibuses were operating across the city. In just a few years, Wells sold the company for a hefty profit and turned his attention to other endeavors. After a groundbreaking start in 1842, the last horse-drawn omnibus made its way down Jefferson Avenue in 1896, marking the end of an era. ------- Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis. ------

Some bands achieve fame, only to find themselves unable to recreate it with their subsequent recordings. They are, of course called, “one hit wonders.” One such band experience happened right here in St. Louis. Just Press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Music, Pastimes and Leisure, People of Note, Business,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— St. Louis record label Musicland USA only released one major song, but it was a big one. In St. Louis, no other one-hit wonder approaches Bob Kuban and the In-Men's “The Cheater.” ——— An eight-piece band formed in 1964 by local drummer Bob Kuban, the In-Men sounded snappier and more sophisticated than most of the countless 1960s Beatles-inspired groups. The band was poised for fame, and in late 1965 at Technisonic Studios, they laid down the track that would launch their pop stardom. Released that October, “The Cheater” told the story of a pride-filled stealer of significant others eventually getting his due. It had vibrant horns, a chorus that lingered in your head for days, and baritone crooner Walter Scott's Elvis-inspired vocals. ——— By the spring of 1966, the Cheater had shot up the Billboard Hot 100 chart to number 12. Bob Kuban and the In-Men landed a national television appearance on American Bandstand that April. The group was suddenly sharing concert stages with acts like Otis Redding and the Turtles, and they even joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for a classical performance of “The Cheater” at the Kiel Auditorium. ——— “The Cheater” seemed like the first brick in a tower of hits, but the song's main hook “He's gonna build you up, just to let you down” was about to sound like foreshadowing. In the spring of 1966, the group's follow-ups, “The Teaser,” and a cover of the Beatles song “Drive My Car,” stalled out at numbers 70 and 93 respectively. They tried releases of “the Batman Theme” and a novelty dance song called “The Pretzel” but with no luck. As quickly as they'd arrived, Bob Kuban and the In-Men fell out of pop music's fickle spotlight. ——— St. Louis never lost its “Cheater fever,” and the band outlived quite a few other famous local institutions. For example, Bob Kuban and the In-Men played at the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966, and also at the last game played there on October 2, 2005. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX.  I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———  

The St. Louis Zoo is a large place indeed, and there is much ground to cover in a visit to see the animals and sights. Starting in 1963, a new alternative to walking was given to the patrons of the zoo, a miniature rail line. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Transportation, Engineering, Animals, Forest Park, Parks, Pastimes and Leisure,  Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— The Saint Louis Zoo is one of the true gems of St. Louis. Every year, about three million people visit the zoo to see animals from all over the world, including Asian elephants, orangutans, tigers, and penguins. For many St. Louisans, a summer vacation just isn't complete without one trip to the zoo. ——— For many visitors, though, the highlight of the trip isn't necessarily the animals. The highlight is a chance to take a trip around the zoo on one of the locomotives of the Zoo Line Railroad. And even those who prefer getting around the zoo on foot can't help but smile and wave at the passengers as the train rolls past with a blast from its whistle. ——— The beginnings of the Zoo Line Railroad date back to 1963. In January of that year, zoo director Marlin Perkins announced that the Zoo had begun construction on a one and a half mile rail line that would travel around the grounds. This rail line would feature three real, gas-powered miniature locomotives that would pull passengers seated in small coaches. In his announcement, Perkins stressed that while the train would undoubtedly provide entertainment, its main function would be to deliver passengers to planned stops at popular spots on the zoo grounds. Admission would be 30 cents. ——— Construction took a little longer than expected, especially as workers had to dig large tunnels under sections of the zoo, as the trains would not be large enough to haul passengers up some of the hilliest sections of the grounds. But by late August, the line was complete. On August 29, Howard Baer, the chairman of the zoo board, drove in a golden spike to ceremonially complete the line, and zoo officials took an inaugural trip around the zoo. The next day, the rail line opened to the public. It was an instant success—even if some youngsters had to be convinced not to place rocks on the tracks to see what would happen. ——— In the years since it has been open, the Zoo Line Railroad has been a smash hit. Zoo officials estimate that it is still the most popular paid attraction at the zoo, and that almost 40 million people have taken a ride on the miniature rails since 1963. Admission no longer costs thirty cents, though—today a day long ticket to the Zoo Line Railroad will cost you $7.95. But for many visitors that's a small price to pay for the chance to travel around the zoo on a train. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe and this is eighty-eight one, St. Louis. ———

Some thought that prohibition would solve many problems in the United States. But, in fact, many problems got worse as drinking went underground. Among them, drinking amongst women increased dramatically. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Darby Ratliff, Alcohol, Business, Health and Wellness, Prohibition, Women's History, Podcast Transcript: I'm Darby Ratliff, a researcher at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88.1 KDHX. ——— One of the biggest questions around Prohibition was whether or not it was effective. When Prohibition came into effect, people believed that it would greatly improve American life. Billy Sunday, a celebrated preacher and evangelist during this period remarked the following when the amendment was passed: “The reign of tears is over…The slums will soon only be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jailhouses into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile, and the children will laugh.” ——— Yet, when the ban on the use and distribution of alcohol went into effect on January 17th, 1920, many would notice that instead of a dry nation, Americans were drinking more than ever. In fact, after seeing a rise in the number of alcoholics treated in City Hospital, the St. Louis Health Commissioner Max Starkloff commented, “There is no such thing as prohibition in St. Louis.” ——— So what were the effects of Prohibition? One of the most obvious lasting effects is evident in today's drinking establishments. Prior to Prohibition, it was mostly men that were drinking in saloons. However, once Prohibition went into effect, saloons were immediately in danger, and many tried to pivot, becoming restaurants or soda parlors. Only about 60% survived the first year of Prohibition. Notably, one saloon that did make it, Garavelli's, would stay open through the mid-1970s. Most famed among its many owners is Cardinals pitcher Stan Musial. ——— While saloons struggled, speakeasies flourished, and while we might today picture a 1920s speakeasy filled with flappers, flowing cocktails, and loud jazz music, speakeasies also revolutionized the way people consumed alcohol. First, speakeasies were made to cater to both women and men, incorporating table service, powder rooms, and entertainers—none of which would have been found in saloons. Additionally, it was unusual to refer to liquor using a brand name in a saloon., People starting using brands to avoid drinking questionable alcohol that may have been made at home as well as to express their sophistication and taste. ——— When Prohibition ended, some saloons welcomed the transition back—or, at least the legal transition back—to selling alcohol, but many of the changes to the social side of drinking were here to stay. After all, there were an estimated 3,000 speakeasies in St. Louis alone! ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Darby Ratliff and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

Some artists seem to be way ahead of their time, and they leave their mark because of it. In the early part of the 20th century, Hugh Ferriss was designing cities in a way that still influences today's filmmakers and artists today. Just press play to hear the whole story. -----  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Architecture, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX. ——— What do Batman's moody Gotham City, Superman's soaring Metropolis, Dorothy's glimmering Emerald City, and the dystopian Los Angeles of Blade Runner all have in common? They all owe some of their style to the drawings of one St. Louisan. ——— Born in St. Louis in 1889, Hugh Ferriss enrolled at age 17 in the architecture program at Washington University. After graduating, he gained a national reputation for his trademark style of architectural illustration. In a 1916 feature in the Post-Dispatch, St. Louisans got a look at ten of his brooding, powerful images of local buildings. In the images, structures like the Art Museum and New Cathedral float half-concealed in shadow above a moody nighttime world. But while Ferriss produced mesmerizing images of real-world buildings, it was his 1929 book The Metropolis of Tomorrow that pushed the imaginative limits of architects, poets, and filmmakers alike. ——— In The Metropolis of Tomorrow, Hugh Ferriss presented hypothetical visions of a near-future megacity meant to show readers where he believed urban life was headed. In his glowing future metropolis, skyscrapers are the size of mountains and floating superhighways cut through buildings. He presents interconnected building-top sky gardens, vertically stacked airports, and suspension bridges with high-rise apartment buildings hung between the cables. ——— Whether you find the Metropolis of Tomorrow's futuristic city hopeful and heroic, or overwhelming and terrifying, the images themselves are undeniably magnificent. Though Ferriss never constructed a building, few people have had a greater influence on how we perceive cities. Both the aesthetic look and dramatic atmosphere of the Metropolis of Tomorrow have been borrowed thousands of times over, in stage sets, comics, science fiction novels, movies and more. ——— Hugh Ferriss passed away in 1962 and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. In honor of his legacy, the American Society of Architectural Illustrators gives out the annual Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize for excellence in architectural rendering. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

History, and historic places, can be lost if not preserved properly. There was a time that, in the name of progress, entire neighborhoods were torn down to make way for new things.  One woman, Ruth Kamphoefne, decided that the Lafayette Square neighborhood should be preserved, however. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Architecture, Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— It's hard to imagine it now, but there was a time in St. Louis when the idea of saving old buildings was a foreign concept. Progress usually meant tearing down anything old or in need of repair. Old homes and businesses were generally seen as a hurdle to moving forward, and typically the solution was to tear everything down and start from scratch. For decades, buildings and entire neighborhoods were destroyed across St. Louis in the name of urban renewal and progress. Historic preservation wasn't a term anyone used, let alone practiced. ——— But not everyone was on board with that idea of progress, including a young widow by the name of Ruth Kamphoefner. On a house tour of the Lafayette Square neighborhood in 1970, Ruth somehow managed to see the potential for a different type of progress. At the time, the entire area was slated to be demolished. The crumbling neighborhood was home to several brothels, crime of all kinds was rampant, and insurance fires were a common occurrence, with owners of the vacant and deteriorating properties attempting to make a buck by reporting the damage. Saving the historic neighborhood seemed like a hopeless cause. ——— But despite a limited income and 5 young children to raise, Ruth chose to dive in head first, purchasing one of the dilapidated homes and getting to work. She would later describe herself as an urban pioneer, finding it nearly impossible to get repairman to come to her home, and ended up doing many of the repairs and updates herself, including a fierce battle against the rats and roaches that had claimed the house as their own. Her dedication inspired others to move into the neighborhood and in 1972, the Lafayette Square neighborhood was designated as a historic district, which saved it from complete demolition. ——— Ruth finished that initial renovation and sold her house in 1983, but went on to purchase 17 more homes in the neighborhood, fully restoring 7 of them. But it was her first risky choice, and a determination to stay in the city to save just one house—it was that decision that inspired a movement, and evidence of her amazing fortitude is now everywhere in St. Louis. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis.  ———

Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Journalism, Women's History, Civil Rights, People of Note, Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX.------ In the early twentieth century, journalism was a male dominated field. But, in 1905, one woman would upend the newsroom of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She wrote reports on some of the most important events of early twentieth century St. Louis. Her perspective proved that women needed to be a part of the newsroom. Her name was Marguerite Martyn. ------ Initially, Martyn was hired by the Post-Dispatch as an illustrator. In 1904, Martyn submitted several sketches of the World's Fair to the Post-Dispatch. Based on the strength of those drawings, the paper hired her as an illustrator in 1905. Martyn began taking her sketchpad all over town, drawing pictures of the notable people and events of early twentieth century St. Louis. ----- Soon, though, her editors recognized that Martyn had a talent for interviewing in addition to her skill as an illustrator. Over the years, she would interview everyone from socialites to sports team owners to presidential candidates. Oftentimes, Martyn would not schedule interviews with her subjects, but show up unannounced to their homes or hotels to ask for a few minutes of their time. Through her tenacity and personality, she was able to gain trust from nearly every interview subject. That trust got her quotes and insights from subjects that were unique and illuminating. Her writings proved extremely popular, and soon readers were searching for Martyn's byline. ------ Martyn also campaigned for causes she believed in during her thirty-six years working for the Post-Dispatch. Using both drawings and words, Martyn advocated for things like stronger child labor laws and women's suffrage. In 1916, for example, Martyn covered the Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, and paid special attention to the Golden Lane suffragists protests, where women held a silent protest to encourage convention goers to support granting women the right to vote. Martyn's drawings of the protests, and her written takedowns of the men who fought against suffrage, are still effective, and illuminate this important moment in US history in ways that still resonate today. ------ Martyn retired from the Post-Dispatch in 1941. Her drawings and words are still important, and they offer us a unique window into how women navigated St. Louis in the first half of the twentieth century.------ Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX, St. Louis. -----

Milk once had varied levels of quality and even safety. The history of what it took to guarantee safe milk for everyone was filled with controversy and rancor. Some considered the licensing process to be burdensome and off putting, but in the end it was all for the best. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Darby Ratliff, Food, Health and Wellness, Business, Podcast Transcript: I'm Darby Ratliff, a researcher at the Missouri History Museum, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ---- Today, you need a license to drive a car, a boat, even sell milk. Wait—what? ——— That's right, if you're looking to sell pasteurized milk, you need a license, and there's a thorough process for licensing processors and distributors of milk in Missouri. So how did we get here? ——— Try to picture a glass of milk, whether it be dairy, soy, oat, or coconut. Now, imagine the milk of the early twentieth century, which often contained clumps of dirt and was rarely white. Some bacteria even colored it blue, green, or red. As you might guess, milk like this posed health hazards to infants whose parents had just recently switched from breast to bottle feeding, especially for those living in poverty. Problems like this led to a series of regulations and reforms beginning in the late 19th century, setting up standards for testing both product and the cows from which milk was drawn. ——— The first milk licenses were granted in the 1880s, and health officers would evaluate the conditions of a farm on which milk was produced for distribution. As one St. Louis Post-Dispatch article would read in 1920: it was “the duty of the city” to ensure the safety of milk for all St. Louisans. Yet, inspections and regulations often put a heavy burden on farmers, who needed to ensure that their barns were well ventilated and that an effective waste management system was in place. As a result, herd sizes were kept small, with about five to ten cows, so that farmers could feasibly provide adequate conditions for a passing inspection. ——— However, in St. Louis, one man disagreed with the city's ability to determine whether or not he could sell milk. In 1916, Harry Kellman was fined $25 for selling milk without a license. He first appealed to the court of criminal correction, which reduced the fine to $10. He continued to appeal until his case reached the Missouri state supreme court, arguing that it was unconstitutional for the city to regulate the sale of milk. Ultimately, the court did not rule in his favor, backing the city's milk ordinance and reinforcing the city's responsibility to guarantee safe milk for all St. Louisans. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri History Museum. I'm Darby Ratliff, and this is eighty eight one, KDHX, St. Louis. ------

As the world transitions to more digital forms of currency, and away from paper money, it's worth remembering that there was a time when the world transitioned to paper money away from other things. Much skepticism ensued. Just Press play to hear the whole story. ----- Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Andrew Wanko, Business, Podcast Transcript: I'm Andrew Wanko, Public Historian of the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on 88-one, KDHX.----- When was the last time you paid for something with paper money? I still do now and then, but it's getting rarer by the day. Credit cards and electronic payments have almost completely replaced the slips of green paper and metal coins that once were a part of every purchase I made. Well St. Louisans of the 1810s were also feeling the times change when it came to their purchases – except back then, paper money was just showing up. ——— In 1810s St. Louis, few people trusted what they nicknamed “rag money,” and rightly so – every bank issued their own separate bills. There was no way to guarantee the worth of any of them the next day or next town over. Plus, counterfeiting was incredibly easy on the American frontier. Most people instead relied on bartering, using fur pelts, chunks of lead, whiskey, or bags of grain as payment options. It worked fine, except values swayed wildly from trade to trade. As St. Louis grew, merchants needed a more reliable system for financial transactions. ——— In December 1816 the Bank of St. Louis opened, offering the town's first formal institution for borrowing and storing money. Unfortunately, it almost immediately ran into catastrophe. Bank cashier John B. Smith wrote huge, unrestrained loans to personal acquaintances, and many early investors turned and ran. But overextended resources weren't even the full problem. The end of Europe's decade-long Napoleonic Wars upset the world's economies, leading to a massive financial panic in the summer of 1819. The Bank of St. Louis collapsed, after less than three years of operation. ——— While the Bank of St. Louis proved a flop and caused many to double down on their belief that paper money was untrustworthy, it did leave behind something pricelessly valuable. At the center of its 1817, ten-dollar banknote is an accurate drawing of St. Louis, with a keelboat lazily floating by on the Mississippi River. The small image is the oldest known depiction of St. Louis that survives today. ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Andrew Wanko and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ———

In this episode, Adam Kloppe examines the life of one of the members of Lewis and Clark's expedition, who wasn't in any hurry to get back from the mission, taking side trips each time he was almost within site of St. Louis. Just press play to hear the whole story. Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Rivers, Exploration, Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ------ Most people have experienced some form of being homesick during a prolonged stretch away from home. For some of us it happens after a week, and some of us start to feel it after a month. But eventually almost everyone starts to miss the people and the things that they left behind. But there's one man with ties to St. Louis who was built a little differently. If his actions tell us anything, it's that he never felt homesick. That man's name was John Colter. ------ Colter was born in Virginia around 1774. By 1803, he was already a skilled outdoorsman and hunter. After a meeting with William Clark he was recruited to join the Corps of Discovery—better known today as the Lewis and Clark expedition. In May of 1804, the expedition set off from St. Louis to explore parts of the continent that were then unknown to anyone in the United States. Over the next two years, as the expedition made its way from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back again, Colter demonstrated his skills in hunting, wayfinding, and communication with Native American peoples. ------ In 1806, the expedition was making their way back to St. Louis. They had been away for two years—anyone would be forgiven for wanting to get back home after so much time away. But that wasn't John Colter. When the expedition made a stop in present-day South Dakota, they ran across two fur trappers making their way west. Colter asked for permission to join them. His request was granted and just like that, Colter was headed west again. ----- In 1807, Colter was finally headed back to St. Louis. But when he was only a few days out from the city, he bumped into St. Louis fur trader Manuel Lisa. With Lisa were several of Colter's old friends from the Corps of Discovery, and they were going west to establish a trading fort. Colter couldn't resist, and he headed west once again. While there, Colter undertook another mission of discovery, spending the winter of 1807-1808 exploring areas we today know as both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. ------ Finally, in 1810, Colter came back to St. Louis. He hadn't seen the city in six years. He got married and settled down, but city life didn't suit him. He bought a farm in Franklin County, where he lived the rest of his life. ------ Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ------

Amazing and dedicated scientist Gerty Cori's accomplishments were overlooked because she was a woman. Unequal pay with men, and a condescending attitude in the male dominated profession did not deter her, however. She went on to great acclaim. Just press play to hear the whole story. ------ Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Women's History, Health and Wellness, Medical, People of Note, Science and Technology, Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— Today, Gerty Cori is celebrated as the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in science. But one hundred years ago, she was just a brilliant, motivated scientist who had to push her way into a system that viewed women, at best, as second-class academics. ——— Gerty Cori and her husband Carl were born the same year in the same town, and received the same education, both earning medical degrees in 1920, which was also the year that they married. They worked in the same research lab in Prague, published papers together, equals in every way. They would continue to be committed to working together for the rest of their careers. However, in 1922, Carl was offered a professorship in Buffalo, New York. Gerty received no such offers. Instead, she eventually worked as a research assistant in Carl's lab, earning just one-tenth of his pay. ——— In 1931, the Coris moved to St. Louis to work at Washington University, but Gerty was again forced to take a low-paying job as her husband's assistant. Despite differences in public status, she and Carl always worked as equals. When Gerty gave birth to a son in 1936, she was out of the lab for just 3 days before returning to work. ——— After 20 years of conducting research in close partnership with her husband, Gerty finally began to receive some recognition for her own exceptional work, and was promoted to assistant professor. Shortly after, in 1947, the Coris received the Nobel Prize for their discovery of the Cori cycle—the process the body uses to break down glycogen or sugar for energy, an important step in figuring out how to manage and treat diabetes. ——— Gerty was only the 3rd woman, and first American woman, to receive the Nobel Prize in science—preceded only by Marie Curie and her daughter. ——— For the next 10 years, until her death in 1957, Gerty received numerous awards, and prominent scientists from all over the world flocked to St. Louis to work with her. The Cori's lab at Washington University was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2004. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis. ———

There have been many trailblazers in the history of women's struggle for respect and equity, among them, Helene Britton. She, in a time where women were thought not to be capable, and weren't allowed to vote yet, owned a professional baseball team… in fact, it was the St. Louis Cardinals. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Women's History, Baseball, Sports,  Business, ——— Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, public historian with the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight one, KDHX. ——— In 1911, the St. Louis Cardinals made history, but it wasn't for anything the team did on the field. In March of that year, the owner of the Cardinals, Stanley Robison, passed away. In a move that shocked many people at the time, he left his stake in the Cardinals to his niece, Helene Britton. Just like that, in a time before women were allowed to vote in the United States, Britton became the first woman to own a professional sports team. ——— But this groundbreaking moment was not treated as such by the men involved in baseball. The press mocked the idea that Britton could run a team, with one report jokingly suggesting that the team's uniforms would now be replaced with bloomers. The other male owners pressured her to sell. They all felt that a woman could not own a baseball team. ——— But those men all underestimated Helene Britton. Over the next several years, Britton took an active role in the leadership and operation of the Cardinals. She would move her family from Cleveland to St. Louis to be closer to the team, and she often attended Cardinals games with her children. She also insisted that the Cardinals bring back a Ladies' Day, to encourage more women to take an interest in baseball. ——— Britton often faced challenges in her time as the Cardinals owner. For example, when she took over the team, the team's manager was Roger Bresnahan. Britton faced public pressure to replace Bresnahan, as the Cardinals were struggling on the field, but she believed in the manager, and elected to keep him on board. Her belief paid off, and the Cardinals improved the next season. However, Bresnahan had an interest in buying the Cardinals himself, and often pressured Britton to sell. Soon, Britton and Bresnahan were arguing about the team. During an argument after the 1912 season, Bresnahan reportedly angrily told Britton that he would not listen to a woman when it came to baseball. She quickly fired him. ——— By 1918, though, Britton was ready to sell the team. She had started to face financial difficulties in the wake of her divorce from her husband, who had recklessly spent her money and was also physically and emotionally abusive. She sold the Cardinals for $350,000. And though some people had doubted her, she proved to the world that women had a place in baseball. ——— Here's History is a joint production of KDHX and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Adam Kloppe, and this is eighty-eight one, KDHX St. Louis. ———

Discrimination can take many forms. When J.D. and Ethel Shelley simply tried to purchase a house, they found themselves involved in a landmark legal case to fight for their right to move into their property. They were battling a restrictive covenant that tried to exclude them based on their race. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content:  Cicely Hunter, Landmarks, Black History, Civil Rights, Podcast Transcript: I'm Cicely Hunter, Public Historian from the Missouri Historical Society, and here's history, on eighty-eight-one, KDHX. ——— For St. Louis to be named the 10th segregated city in the United States might have come as a surprise to those who heard it back in 2017, but St. Louis's history is similar to many other urban cities. With all the hidden gems and history that surrounds this city, racial segregation became more fixed and evident as public policies and private practices tightened restrictions against Black communities. But these instances of discrimination and racism were often contested. We can look to Shelley v Kraemer, a court case that was argued in the Supreme Court and outlawed state enforced restrictive covenants. ———- J.D. and Ethel Shelley and their children moved from Mississippi to Missouri. They were looking to purchase a home, so Elder Robert Bishop, who was their pastor and a realtor, showed them 4600 Labadie Avenue. The Shelley's loved the home so much that they made an offer, and it was accepted. But, since the house had a restrictive covenant, the Shelley's racial identity became a determining factor that restricted Black people from entering, purchasing, or occupying certain areas based on residential segregation. ——— The Marcus Avenue Improvement Association with Fern and Louis Kraemer as the plaintiffs were determined to stop the Shelley family from living in their newly purchased home. The Circuit Court ruled that the restrictive covenant was poorly executed since the property owners failed to sign the document. Then, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision and argued the restrictive covenant remained a legitimate agreement. The final ruling by the Supreme Court on May 3, 1948, established that restrictive covenants violated the Fourteenth Amendment and could not be judicially enforced even though it was a private contract. ——— St. Louis was important to the civil rights movement, and at the center of Black legal resistance, with court cases like Shelley v Kraemer and Gaines v Canada, and Dred and Harriet Scott's freedom suit. In 1988, the Shelley House was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark and served as a “living memorial to the Shelley family and their fight against racial discrimination.” ——— Here's history is a joint production of the Missouri Historical Society and KDHX. I'm Cicely Hunter and this is eighty-eight-one, KDHX, St. Louis. ———

Flooding has historically been frequent in the St. Louis region, including the 1844 and 1993 floods, which are probably the most famous. In 1903 another major flood took its toll on the eastern side of the river. Just press play to hear the whole story.-----  Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Adam Kloppe, Environmental History, East St. Louis, Engineering, Mississippi River, Natural Disaster, Rivers, Disaster, Podcast Transcript: I'm Adam Kloppe, Public Historian at the Missouri History Museum, and Here's History on 88.1 KDHX. ——— If you've lived in the St. Louis area long enough, you were sure to have some experience with floods. The city is situated near the confluence of the two greatest rivers on the continent, the Missouri and the Mississippi, and the area has seen its share of devastating floods that have wiped out homes and businesses and farms over the years. ——— Stories of the greatest of these floods, like the floods of 1844 and 1993, are told time and time again. But other historic floods have been just as damaging to the St. Louis area. In 1903 in fact, East St. Louis faced the most devastating flood it has ever seen. That year, the Missouri River flooded its banks, devastating towns throughout Kansas and Missouri as the high water swept through. As the floodwaters from the Missouri rushed into the Mississippi in early June of 1903, the levees on the eastern side of the river began to give way as the river reached heights of 38 feet. Smaller towns on the river were completely washed away. Still, officials in East St. Louis were confident that they would stay dry. Over the years, streets had been elevated and levees and dikes have been built to help protect the city. None of that preparation was the payoff however. ——— On June 6, both the Madison County and Cahokia levees broke, even as men tirelessly worked to raise them. A few days later, on June 10, the last protection that East St. Louis had, a causeway that had been built by the Illinois Central Railroad line, gave way. Water rushed into the city, which at the time had a population of over 34,000 people. Some men with lanterns and pistols ran through the streets, firing into the air to wake their neighbors and warning them of the incoming water. Other folks made their way to the rooftops of houses and factories, often with their only remaining possessions as the clothes on their backs. Many others weren't even that lucky as dozens of people were lost in the floodwaters. ——— Over the ensuing hours, hasty efforts were made to rescue the stranded East St. Louisans. Boats were constructed to try to rescue those who have been trapped by the high waters. Once folks were rescued, they were taken to refugee camps for food and shelter. Some St. Louisans from the western edge of the Mississippi were a part of that rescue effort, as they gave money to flood relief efforts or offered their boats to help pick up refugees. Others weren't so helpful, and they made their way to the Eads Bridge to stand above the swollen banks of the river and take in the scenes of devastation. ——— Overall, the papers estimated that the damage done to East St. Louis would total over $16 million dollars. After cleanup from the flood was over, East St. Louis erected higher levees to keep out future floodwaters. These levees have been improved several times over the years and have worked to keep the city mostly dry as the years have passed. ——— Here's History is a joint production of the Missouri History Museum and KDHX. I'm Adam Kloppe and this is 88.1 KDHX St. Louis. ——— St. Louis is no stranger to floods. Stories of the greatest of these catastrophes, like the floods of 1844 and 1993, are told time and time again. But a lesser known one, which happened in 1903, nearly destroyed East St. Louis.

Dogs are often called “man's best friend.” When their population grows out of control, however, it can be quite the opposite. Just after the American Civil War, dog populations had become unmanageable in St. Louis, and rabies ran rampant, leading to… the dog wars. Just press play to hear the whole story. ——— Click on search links to see if there are episodes with related content: Katie Moon, Animals, Medical, Legal Matters, Politics and Government, —— Podcast Transcript: I'm Katie Moon, Exhibits Manager at the Missouri Historical Society, and Here's History on eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X. ——— If you've lived in St. Louis for any length of time, you've probably noticed that pretty much everyone owns some sort of animal…dogs, cats, chickens, you name it. And that when one of those animals escapes or is seen roaming free, it's a huge deal. Well, in 1865, people in St. Louis had other animal problems to deal with—stray dogs were EVERYWHERE. The Civil War had just ended, and the entire country was trying to regroup, but in St. Louis, dogs, particularly “mad dogs” or what we would now call rabid dogs, presented a more immediate concern. Newspapers regularly carried stories of people getting severely bitten and also dying from hydrophobia, or rabies. ——— Without the modern technology of spaying and neutering, the number of dogs in the streets just kept growing, and the mayor decided he was going to fix the problem. In July of 1865, he passed an ordinance which require owners to muzzle their dogs and stay with them while they were on the street. Any dog found unmuzzled and loose could be immediately killed by the police. ——— Many wealthier dog owners moved their animals to the country during this time, and not without reason. Within a week of the law going into effect, the police shot and killed several hundred dogs. But their mission wasn't without mishaps (and happy results for the dogs). One officer chased a dog all the way to the Levee, where it jumped to safety onto a raft that happened to be floating by. When the officer attempted to follow, he fell into the Mississippi River and had to be rescued. ——— The initial public response to the mayor's initiative wasn't overwhelmingly positive, for several reasons, and it didn't improve. The police were using valuable ammunition to kill dogs. In response, the mayor amended the law, stating that the officers should use means other than shooting. Needless to say, this didn't improve the public opinion of the entire initiative. By the end of November, the vast majority of police officers were no longer enforcing the law. Instead, the city hired 2 dog catchers who would hold the animals until they were claimed by their owners, died from rabies, or unfortunately had to be put down. ——— Here's History is a joint production of K-D-H-X and the Missouri Historical Society. I'm Katie Moon, and this is eighty-eight-one, K-D-H-X, St. Louis. ———