In honor of Labor Day, I’d like to give a shout out to Rosemary Feurer’s book, Radical Unionism in the Midwest: 1900-1950 (U of Illinois P, 2006). Feurer focuses in particular on the rise of labor unions in electrical factories – especially those in St. Louis, including Wellston’s Wagner plant. Also worth checking out is […]
Thanks to alert Wellston Loop reader Maud Essen for sending me info about a new St. Louis documentary that’s out now and screening this weekend at Off Broadway, 3517 Lemp Avenue (Friday and Saturday nights, 7:00 both nights). In Brick by Chance and Fortune, filmmaker Bill Streeter explores St. Louis’s rich brick history (yes! it has a […]
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This week, I’m captivated by a radio essay by local St. Louisan Sean Collins. Aired on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” the piece highlights a “sound of summer” — in Collins’s case, the sound of the train at the St. Louis Zoo. This is an iconic sound for me as well, and I especially home my […]
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Last week, I featured Raleigh Cigarettes, with their coupons that could be saved to purchase special items. An even more popular way to save toward something special was to collect Eagle Stamps and Green Stamps. Retailers – such as grocery stores and department stores – would give these stamps out at the checkout counter, basing […]
Raleigh Cigarettes by DwightFrye The last two weeks, I’ve written about my grandfather’s favorite beers – Falstaff and Stag. Now it’s time to immortalize his favorite cigarettes: Raleighs. Made by Brown & Williamson, Raleigh Cigarettes were the sponsor for Red Skelton’s popular Raleigh Cigarettes Program. (I remember watching Red Skelton with my grandparents but didn’t […]
Last week, I wrote about one of my grandfather’s favorite beers – Falstaff. But the beer I associate him with even more is Stag, a St. Louis-area favorite. Grandpa had his particular way of referring to this beloved beverage: “Stag. Stag Beer.” (Those readers who heard Grandpa say this will know exactly what I mean.) […]
One of my fondest recurring childhood memories is seeing my grandfather, Art Landsbury, sit at the kitchen table with his transistor radio tuned to the Cardinals ballgame. In the ashtray would be a Raleigh cigarette. In a tall brown bottle would be either a Falstaff Beer or a Stag Beer. When I recently went to […]
“In the early 1950s,” writes St. Louis blogger Toby Weiss, “Jennings, Missouri was a red hot White Flight destination, just a scootch outside the St. Louis city limits proper. “ She goes on: ‘Newfangled’ is the correct word to describe the new homes and businesses that were built at a rapid clip, designed in the modern […]
Continue reading about Another Great Mall Gone: Northland Shopping Center
Last week, I discussed the development of St. Ann, an inner-ring St. Louis County suburb. Perhaps St. Ann’s greatest claim to fame is Northwest Plaza. Now defunct, Northwest Plaza was, in its heyday, perhaps the grandest place to shop in the St. Louis metropolitan area. And by “heyday,” I don’t mean its peak years as […]
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This typical kitchen, circa 1950s, is part of a fascinating Missouri Historical Society exhibit on the development of St. Ann, an inner-ring St. Louis County suburb that drew many post-war families. Originally developed in 1942 and incorporated in 1948, the community was named for the mother of the Virgin Mary. The community had a strong […]
Continue reading about St. Ann: The Epitome of Suburbanization
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