St. Louis People 365

St. Louis connection to King assassination
and "Miss Jim"

The St. Louis connection to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the arrival of "Miss Jim" at the St. Louis Zoo were among April trivia items in the past. Also, the local founder of the first American gas station died in April.

And there was the St. Louis connection to the naming of the popular junk food treat, "Twinkies."

These are just a few of the historical trivia items in St. Louis author Joe Sonderman's book, "St. Louis People 365."

(Sonderman has given permission to Young Saint Louis.com to quote selected items from his book. If you'd like a copy of the book, check local book stores or go to www.booksonstlouis.com .)

Here are 10 of the 120 items in the April chapter:

April 1, 1782: George Champlin Sibley was born in Massachusetts. He helped build Fort Osage and blaze the Santa Fe Trail. He settled on 280 acres at St. Charles in 1828 with his wife, Mary Easton Sibley. They founded a school for girls on their estate, which was called "Linden Wood." The Sibleys are buried on the campus of the college (now Lindenwood University).

April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis. In the 1970s, a House committee concluded that James Earl Ray of Alton shot King as part of a plot involving his brothers, Jerry and John, and two St. Louis businessmen, John H. Sutherland and John Kauffmann. Kauffmann and Sutherland, who died before the probe began, allegedly put up a $50,000 bounty for King's death. Ray had escaped from the Missouri Penitentiary, where he was serving time for robbery.

April 5, 1916: "Miss Jim," the elephant, arrived, and Mayor Henry Kiel formally dedicated the St. Louis Zoo. Children in the public schools raised $2,385 to purchase an elephant that was to be named in honor of Board of Education President James Harper. But, the animal turned out to be a "she," so they settled on "Miss Jim." A parade led by 3,000 school children accompanied her from Lindell and Kingshighway to the park.

April 6, 1931: James Dewar, manager of the Continental Bakery's Chicago plant, came up with a treat that would allow the company to use small baking pans that normally stay idle except during strawberry shortcake season. He was at a loss for a name until he took a business trip to St. Louis. That's when he noticed a billboard for "Twinkle Toe Shoes." The name evolved into "Twinkies."

April 9, 1865: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, two former St. Louisans, met at Appomattox and signed the documents ending the Civil War. There were more than 1,100 battles or skirmishes in Missouri during the war. Only Tennessee and Virginia had more. About 14,000 Missourians died fighting for the Union. About 4,000 died fighting for the Confederacy.

April 13, 1866: A joint resolution of Congress established the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Young Eliza Ann Lash, the daughter of an Army captain, had become the first person buried on the site in August 1827. But, some of the remains are even older. The bodies of men who died at Fort Bellefontaine in the early 1800's were transferred to Jefferson Barracks. Seven Medal of Honor winners are among the 145,000 buried there today.

April 15, 1926: Robertson Aircraft Company began flying the mail between Chicago and St. Louis. Chief pilot Charles Lindbergh flew a plane christened the "St. Louis" by the daughter of Major Albert Bond Lambert. Lindbergh narrowly escaped death twice while flying the mail. Other pilots referred to him as "Lucky" Lindy. The firm founded by Bill and Frank Robertson grew into today's American Airlines.

April 18, 1942: Colonel James Doolittle and a squadron of B-25's provided a great morale boost for America. "Doolittle's Raiders" made the first bombing raid on Tokyo. Doolittle headed the aviation department of the Shell Oil Corporation in St. Louis in the 1930's. He flew for the Missouri Air National Guard before joining the Air Corps in 1940. Lieutenant Charles Lee McClure of University City also took part in the raid.

April 24, 1942: C.H. Laessig died. Early in 1905, he opened the first gas station in the United States at 418 South Teresa. Laessig and his partner Harry Grenner ran a garden hose from a tank to fill up the cars. Prior to that time, most motorists brought a can to the hardware store for gasoline. Laessig and Grenner ended up with a chain of 40 stations across St. Louis.

April 30, 1928: Charles Lindbergh flew the "Spirit of St. Louis" for the last time. The final flight was from Lambert Field to Bolling Field in Washington, D.C. The "Spirit of St. Louis' was presented to the Smithsonian Institution. The total flying time for the plane since its construction was 789 hours and 28 minutes, (including the flight time by Lindbergh on his solo flight across the Atlantic).