central west end
Missouri Historical Society has increased its reach from the north end of Forest Park to 1315 Chestnut St. in the city, taking the reins of Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in a long-term agreement with the city that will allow the society to lead a $30 million renovation. The retrofit of the 1938 structure aims to create a state-of-the-art museum that honors military service, veterans and their families. Leaders of the society and the city signed the construction oversight, development and operating agreement during a Veterans Day ceremony on the steps of the memorial. In a sense, it completes a chapter of the memorial, which was opened Memorial Day 77 years ago, a building in the striped Classical Style of severely simplified form and limited ornament, kind of like Art Deco lite. It also has been called Greek Revival. Whatever-youmacallit, the rectangular structure was dedicated by FDR, with great hope that it would commemorate those who fought and died in the socalled war to end all wars. That wish was shattered just a year later, when Hitler invaded Poland to officially begin the cataclysm that came to be known as World War II. At the ceremony last month, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Mayor Francis Slay praised the plans to transform the memorial into a worldclass museum. Touchscreens and recorded veterans’ oral histories should be part of the multimedia offerings, if plans from a study come to fruition. There’s apparently plenty to be found for display in boxes onsite, collected for years, most of it relegated to the basement. One imagines a cavernous warehouse akin to the penultimate scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. You can find the Missouri History Museum at Lindell Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue.
clayton
Have you ever joined a group of carolers, regardless of whether your voice could peel paint? Most groups will take all comers, unless they are composed of fine musicians, and even many of those will accept a charity vocal case or two. How on earth do they do it? Well, you can find out from the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association—based in Clayton at 7425 Forsyth Blvd., Ste. 353. The caroling association provides support to those who would like to start their own group, whether family, friends, neighbors, scout or youth groups, church or school choirs. Carolers accept donations that are then distributed via the association, far and wide. Last year, 39 children’s charities throughout the metro benefited from the carolers’ joyful noise. But if you know how bad you really are and that you’d sound like Joe Cocker among the angelic voices, nobody will notice if you just mouth the words.
Pennies make sense for elementary school kids in Ballwin. Actually, for the dozens upon dozens of parochial and public primary-school pupils who participated in the ‘Pennies Make Sense’ campaign sponsored by Ballwin PD, many pennies add up to thousands of dollars. In this case, police report that the 21st annual iteration of this generous event netted $2,204.39. Kids and staff from Holy Infant—plus Henry, Westridge, Ballwin, Woerther and Claymont elementary schools—got their hands dirty carrying all that money earmarked for the St. Louis Area Foodbank. But they didn’t have to count it. (That’s 5,833, 5,834, 5,835 … no, Alex, YOU’RE a nemmerhead who can’t count for nothin’. Um, doggone it, where was I?) Once again, Ballwin’s finest counted on River City Casino to count the non-folding money. And police say it was hundreds of pounds of coins. No, a dump truck didn’t beep-beep-beep, back up and dump ’em at the Foodbank. Elementary school kids say that’s impractical. There was a big check presentation at Henry Elementary, which was awarded the honors for collecting the most money: $680.86. A group of gleeful kids was on hand with Steve Schicker, Ballwin’s police chief, for the ceremony presenting the ‘check’ to Jane Corpora of the Foodbank. These kids, many of whom since 1994 have grown up to become teachers, social workers and bankers, have collected $29,000—enough over 21 years to provide some 114,000 meals for those less fortunate. Bravo!
kirkwood
Train lovers never really die. Much of what they bequeath is in HO scale, Lionel-sized, or in whatever other special gauges from the UK and elsewhere in Europe. Many readers of a certain age will lovingly recall the magical model train display in the window of Famous-Barr downtown, which started running at Thanksgiving and chugged along until the holidays went back into mothballs. Those trains still run today, at the Museum of Transportation, 3015 Barrett Station Road in southwest Kirkwood … well, except for Christmas and New Year’s Day, plus both holiday eves. The transportation museum has become quite something, even reportedly given kudos by the esteemed Smithsonian Institution in D.C. as the greatest collection of rolling stock anywhere. But most of the little ones are in the S gauge from American Flyer and today operate under the Macy’s banner. (For anyone who still misses our former hometown department stores—you remember Stix, Baer & Fuller, right, which is now Dillard’s.) The model train display is an integral part of the museum’s exhibits over the holidays, and has been since 2013. Volunteers with model-railroad experience keep ’em chugging. But there’s more: The museum also operates the E. Desmond Lee holiday train exhibit, which has been expanded since its installation. Formerly just one level of trains, the route now includes three levels of track and trains of three different gauges. Keep an eye out for Thomas the Tank Engine, the ebullient friend of any little kid who still believes in Santa. Wanna see the little choo-choos? It’s a treat that comes with admission to the museum. Now, if you can’t manage to get there over the holidays, you can see a few clips of the layout in action, online. Or you can cue up an animated Tom Hanks in The Polar Express. (Do any kids wake up to a train set running around the tree nowadays?)
Those doggone Busches. First they make this popular, world-famous beer here. Then one of their audacious kin rolls out this stuff called Kräftig, which apparently also is doing just fine, thank you. You may have heard of one, the other, or both. They can be seen on TV and billboards and purchased in area grocery and convenience stores. Grant’s Farm is another Busch enterprise, named for a former president (not of the brewing giant); it’s a popular mini-Zoo where the Clydesdales also roam (and beer flows). Seems the Saint Louis Zoo wants to buy Grant’s Farm, in part to have additional space for animal husbandry, research and breeding endangered species. There looks to be plenty of green space at Grant and Gravois in South County, where Anheuser-Busch, and now the Busch family trustees, for 60 years have operated the attraction. Anyhow, Kräftig impresario Billy Busch is also interested in the attraction, and has so expressed his desire with a bid. A man named Adolphus Busch is behind Billy, too, in expressing a desire to keep the farm in the family. (Billy has gone on the record to say he would work with the Zoo to use the area, even though he’s proferring a competing bid). Meanwhile, reportedly the four other Busch siblings support the Zoo deal. Even though there will be time in court to sort this out, it could be a major win-win for the metro no matter how the gavel falls. We’ll try to keep you posted.