des peres
Here-enberg, There-enberg, Wehrenberg … as some patrons say when the house promo for our favorite hometown movie theater chain comes onscreen before the previews start. Hundreds of thousands of us have sat through, many even enjoyed, that prelude to feature films in and around the StL over the years. A few even stage whisper along with ‘Wehrenberg’ as it moves softly from speaker to speaker in the auditorium, no doubt showing off the impressive sound separation. Let’s hope that Marcus Theatres of Milwaukee keeps some of that Lou-like flava’ when they officially take over the chain, probably sometime next month. It would be OK, too, if they wanted to add some of their own perks, like ‘DreamLounger’ reclining seats (the better to miss, uh enjoy, the show) and in-house restaurants. Wehrenberg’s corporate offices are at 12800 Manchester Road, which most of us probably have known only as the location of the Des Peres 14 Ciné. In the age of the movie multiplex, there are locales like Ronnie’s 20 in South County (Concord Village), where the company, until sometime mid-20th century, operated a drive-in popular throughout the metro. Before the Marcus deal, Wehrenberg was the oldest and largest family-owned movie theater chain in America. Lifelong or longtime residents may remember The Airdome, the Lou’s first open-air venue, basically a drive-in without cars. People sat on folding chairs, and a canvas tarp was stretched above patrons in the winter, keeping them warm with pot-bellied stoves! Back to Ronnie’s, which is now all indoors with unobtrusive heating and cooling systems. Marcus is buying the entire shopping plaza along with the namesake theater. The company operates upward of 850 screens in more than a dozen states; Wehrenberg now has 15 theater locations in Missouri (nine in the metro), Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Oh well, I wish they could keep the big-screen promo as is; Marcus just doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely.
clayton
The St. Louis Blues, through thick and thin, have been not only stalwarts in a sometimes-changing local sports scene (remember the Browns? No? How about the Rams? Sorry; if that’s a name that will never again cross your lips, we fully understand.) The Blues are more popular than even the Redbirds with some 
St. Louisans. (Must be from getting hit in the head a lot.) Anyhow, our hockey team now is being honored as a ‘pillar’ of the community. Now who, other than Chicago Blackhawks fans, could argue with that? The Clayton Chamber of Commerce has chosen the Blues to receive its 2016 Pillar in the Community award, presented by Centene Corp. Ceremonies will be held at The Ritz-Carlton Dec. 7. Now celebrating its 50th year, the team is being recognized for its commitment to St. Louis. Established in 1967, the Blues are a beloved NHL franchise—witness Blues gear that the most rabid fans wear year-round. In 2012, Tom Stillman, chairman of the team, bought the Blues, as well as the Scottrade Center lease and a substantial interest in Peabody Opera House. The all-local ownership group is dedicated to maintaining the Blues as one of professional sports’ most stable and sustainable franchises. And they intend to keep them right here, Stanley Cup or no. Pillars of the past, since 2001, include Joe Edwards, Mark Wrighton, Peter Raven, Sanford N. McDonnell and I.E. Millstone.
kirkwood
Mosby Building Arts, based in Kirkwood, is again holding its ‘Stuff the Truck’ toy drive at its Kirkwood headquarters to benefit two children’s charities: Friends of Kids with Cancer and Our Little Haven. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, there will be food trucks outside 645 Leffingwell Ave., hot coffee and visits with the jolly ol’ elf himself. Two radio stations (one AM, one FM) will be hosting live remotes at the event, which last year collected thousands of toys to bring smiles to these kids in dire need. How many toys was it, exactly? Like we said, thousands; a truckload. Volunteers will load the truck that afternoon, and since Santa will already be there, it’s obvious to this reporter that they will somehow be transferred to a magic sleigh for transport to the North Pole. Of course, that’s all behind the scenes, and very mysterious. It probably involves logistics, in a bigly way.
st. louis
Strike up the band … that is, cue the orchestra. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra reports that it has celebrated a remarkable year, both financially and artistically. SLSO reported a balanced cash operating budget for the first time this century. Significant increases both in attendance and ticket revenue during its 2015/16 season have been reported. Overall ticket revenue increased by nearly 4 percent, to $6.87 million. ‘Live at Powell Hall’ concert attendance and sales reached the highest numbers since the inception of the series in 2010. And, counter to the experience of many American orchestras, classical audiences and sales in St. Louis increased for the second consecutive year. The Symphony also reported solid growth in philanthropic support. This was its best-ever annual campaign, with a total of $7.68 million from 5,394 donors—30 percent of whom were new. SLSO also reports impressive results in building the St. Louis Symphony’s Endowment Trust. Significant contributions have been received over the past three years as part of ongoing efforts to secure endowment funding commensurate with the orchestra’s needs. As of Aug. 31, endowment-related assets under management exceeded $200 million.
hazelwood
Looks like the Chicago-based parent of our town’s big airplane factory is moving approximately 500 jobs from California to its sprawling Hazelwood campus as it continues to consolidate its Defense, Space & Security business nationwide. This company-wide effort of Boeing aims to shrink infrastructure considerably by a target date of 2020, by 4.5 million square feet. As part of the consolidation, Boeing will shuffle the deck in California and Washington state, while closing facilities in El Paso, Texas, and Newington, Virginia. The jobs moving here are professional posts, including finance and engineering, not construction positions, so they won’t be rolling more of the most advanced jets off an assembly line here. Meanwhile, Boeing contends it will win the race to Mars by transporting the first crew of astronauts to the Red Planet. This is no idle claim, as McDonnell Douglas—which merged with Boeing in 1997—built many key spacecraft and components for NASA.
