webster groves
Union Pacific’s No. 844 (pictured above), one of the largest steam locomotives ever built, chugged through the metro last week on a journey from Kansas City, overnighting in the StL. But getting close enough to it for a photo was akin to trying to snap a selfie with Mick Jagger. Train buffs are absolutely crazy for this choochoo, which in 1944 was the last steam locomotive delivered to the UP. The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles since being ‘retired’ in 1962. There may be more glamour shots on the Internet of this beautiful, powerful piece of machinery than there are of Marilyn Monroe. OK, that’s not exactly accurate. But there may have been more admirers in Kirkwood, where the train stopped at the historic station for a half-hour, than have been there for many a political candidate’s whistle-stop. Anyhow, the locomotive, which pulls excursion trains and serves as the railroad’s ‘publicity’ vehicle, will pass through Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas, returning on Halloween to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a well-needed rest. It was supposed to pass through Webster Groves sometime between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the 18th. That was the schedule, anyhow. (Since Mussolini is dead, one can never be sure anymore whether the trains will run on time.) It is a bit disappointing that the train is not slated to stop anywhere in or near the Lou on its return trip, but it will overnight in KC on the 27th, with a full day of display at that city’s Union Station on the 28th before departing for Lawrence, Kansas. If you’re so inclined, you could take Amtrak to see it up close and personal.
richmon
Like mushrooms, Halloween specialty stores pop up every year in late August and early September: Here today, gone in November. They have big, removable banners that obscure the nameplates of former storefronts. One of them, a onetime Blockbuster Video store, is in Richmond Heights across from the Galleria on Brentwood Boulevard: Halloween Express. These temporary emporia occupy vacant spaces. I think the For Sale or Lease sign touts this one as 10,000 square feet, and every square inch is occupied by cute costumes for kids and, of course, sleazy getups for adults. This year is a slam-dunk, since Halloween comes about a week before the most obnoxious run-up to a presidential election in our memory comes to its bitter end—Bernie’s face on a stick, Hillary and Donald wigs, rubber elephant and donkey masks. So, why attach a dozen miniature cereal boxes to a smock with plastic knives to become a ‘cereal killer’ when you can masquerade as either of the most vilified candidates ever, depending on which side of the aisle you’re on? On an early October afternoon, Spirit of Halloween was about as busy as your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart … all that was missing was some old dude offering you a shopping cart. By the first week of November, savvy temporary shopkeepers will have switched out banners and merchandise and converted these wide-open spaces into stores that sell artificial Christmas trees, Santa suits, inflatable reindeer and other tchotchkes for the winter holidays. Or they will have just vanished like retail gypsies … or creepy clowns.
kirkwood
Kids could have turned today’s trash into tomorrow’s treasures at The Magic House a couple weekends ago during the Recycled Art event, the latest installment in a yearlong Visiting Artist series at the children’s museum. Art educators from Perennial helped groom the recyclers of the future, teaching young visitors how to reduce waste by turning recyclable materials into eco-friendly masterpieces such as jewelry, decor and stationery. Perhaps you, too, are interested in making junk into jewels—after a fashion (you won’t be able to crush charcoal into diamonds). Look into Perennial, a community workshop and store in St. Louis that offers educational programming in creative reuse, repurposed home goods, and eco-friendly project supplies. Perennial’s mission is to build a creative culture of sustainability in which discarded items are transformed into valued and cherished resources.
‘Will the wolf survive?’ That was the question posed by the band Los Lobos in a thoughtful song from the 1980s. The answer, from the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, is, ‘Yes, indeed!’ Further proof that what the center’s been doing has been working well is the recent certification from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA, est. 1924), quite a prestigious honor. For certification, the Endangered Wolf Center underwent a meticulous, onsite AZA inspection to ensure it has met and will continue to meet ever-rising standards, which include animal care and welfare, keeper training, veterinary programs, conservation, and safety for staff and visitors. AZA officials say the center has shown it ranks among the best in the world and is a true leader in wildlife conservation. This is, of course, what the center is all about, along with combating long-held misunderstandings about these majestic creatures, which some Western landowners routinely shoot as if they were coyotes. That said, wolves (and, yes, coyotes) are more essential to critter control than anyone’s .22-caliber rifle, and driving them to extinction would break the great circle of life. Along with the Mexican wolf, the center’s endangered species include two other types of wolf, two types of fox, and African painted dogs. Want to visit? PredaTours are offered Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. through the fall and winter. The center’s address: 6750 Tyson Valley Road in Eureka.
There will be no Black Friday at Dillard’s-Chesterfield Mall. And no sales before or anytime soon after what likely would have been a lucrative Christmas season for the department store, devastated by a flood in September that caused untold thousands of dollars in damage to merchandise and to the store itself. Signs were hurriedly taped on the glass doors apologizing for the ‘inconvience’ and stating that the store would be ‘temporary’ closed (I hope they’re getting some spelling instruction during the interim). Outside doors just featured the signs, some pasted up crooked, because there were interior gates blocking the view inside. Dumpsters were in the parking lot. But posted inside the upper and lower level sliding glass doors to the mall and obscuring the view inside for the curious were large posters for makeup, clothing and Dillard’s ‘designer’ brands such as Gianni Bini. Word is that the store is to be remodeled and will reopen in early 2017, maybe by February. But you’d think a corporation that can afford such lushly produced posters and splashy fullpage newspaper ads might loosen the purse strings and make the most of the disaster with banners or some such to tempt shoppers with teasers about a lavish remodel and grand reopening coming … soon. But the signs were reprinted on someone’s office printer and replaced at least once, albeit with fewer misspellings and/or typos, on the same 8½ by 11 white paper. And attached using cellophane tape. Not quite glamorous enough for an establishment peddling style!