This Month in St. Louis History

The rise and fall of the first shopping mall

As proof of how fast things can change in St. Louis, you can look at the rise and fall of the Northland Shopping Center in Jennings. In just over 50 years, the area's first suburban shopping center has risen and declined.

And when St. Louisan William Seward Burroughs patented the nation's first adding machine, he set off a process that changed how U. S. business is conducted.

Then, there's Sam Muchnick of St. Louis who started professional wrestling in the U.S.

And, "bloody island" in the Mississippi River was a focus of deadly duels in the 1800s. Now, "bloody island" doesn't even exist; it's been blended into the Illinois side of the current river channel.

Each month, the Missouri History Museum compiles reports about interesting people and events from the past. Those activities mentioned in this article are from past Augusts.

Young Saint Louis.com then brings that information to you to show the variety of events and people in this area's varied history.

(For more about Missouri history, visit the museum's website at www.mohistory.org.)

Northland Shopping Center

In the 1950s, population shifts from the City of St. Louis to the northern suburbs was in full flight. And the passage of the Interstate Highway legislation in Congress focused urban development on the automobile.

In St. Louis, those developments combined to bring strong growth to the city of Jennings.

In August, 1955, the Northland Shopping Center became the area's first ultra-modern "urban village." Where the town square usually was the focus of small towns, now the center of town was the shopping mall.

The Famous-Barr department store became an anchor store. Many other retail establishments joined.

In 1979, St. Louis magazine listed all the strengths of the Northland center.

But in the early 1990s, Famous-Barr looked further into the suburbs. Northland was unable to find a new anchor and the exodus of smaller stores began.

By 2004, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article talked about a plan to demolish what was left of the Northland Center. By August, 2005, the 50th anniversary of Northland found about half of the original mall demolished.

For a unique history of the Northland mall, visit www.tobyweiss.com/northland.htm.

William Seward Burroughs

St. Louisan William Seward Burroughs received a patent for his adding machine on August 21, 1888. That machine helped to change business record keeping into the precise system it is today.

Although he was born in Rochester, N.Y., and died in Citronella, Ala., Burroughs is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. His Burroughs Adding Machine Company was headquartered in St. Louis.

Burroughs first "calculating machine" was designed to calculate the area of fur skins. But, his mechanical adding machine was the basis of his fame.

The ability to add and subtract with accuracy was a boon to American business. The electronic calculator and later the computer were a continuation of that process.

His company was merged with Sperry to form the computer giant Unisys.

Two generations later, his grandson, William Seward Burroughs II, became one of the authors of the "beat generation." He is listed as an inspiration for writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

For more on William S. Burroughs I, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/adding_machine.

For more on Burroughs II, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/william_s._burroughs.

Wrestling promoter Sam Muchnick

Professional wrestling is big on TV today. The "father" of pro wrestling and the televising of matches was St. Louis promoter Sam Muchnick.

Born in the Ukraine, Muchnick is remembers mostly for his "Wrestling at the Chase" matches at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. They were televised on KPLR-TV from 1959-1983.

Virtually all of the "first generation" of pro wrestlers were controlled by Muchnick's World Wrestling Alliance. Among the wrestlers were Ric Flair, Harley Race, "Dick the Bruiser" Afflis, Gene Kiniski, Lou Thesz and Ted DeBiase.

The Chase matches are considered to be one pro wrestling's most historic events.

For more about Muchnick's life, visit www.wrestlingclassics.com/fe/sammuchnick.

Dueling on "bloody island"

The fragile piece of land in the middle of the Mississippi River was nothing more than a sandbar with some trees and vegetation. But, it became notorious in the early 1800s for the large number of duels that were held there.

Two duels in 1817 involved the same people, noted St. Louis attorneys Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Lucas. In the first duel, both were wounded. But, a few months later, the two met again and Benton succeeded in killing Lucas.

Benton went on to be one of Missouri's first U.S. senators.

Another duel involving famous people was in 1831. Thomas Biddle, director of the St. Louis branch of the Bank of the United States, fought with Congressman Spencer Pettis. Pettis had been critical of the bank.

In that duel, both men were killed.

During the dueling period, "bloody island" had Mississippi River waters on both sides. But, the eastern channel was filled in to narrow the river. What was river is part of Illinois about where East St. Louis is now.

For more, visit www.eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/guidebook/bloody%20island.htm.

And you can read more about "bloody island" in the Cemetery story on the Home Page.

St. Louis People 365

Lambert Field events figure in local history

St. Louis' Lambert Field has figured prominently in the city's past history-for both better and worse. In past Augusts, two events involving flying machines stand out.

In 1930, two fliers kept their plane aloft for nearly 27 days to set a world endurance record. In 1943, a glider crash at Lambert killed the St. Louis mayor and a number of other city officials.

On the light side, baseball great Dizzy Dean had a setback in his announcing career because of his frequent use of "ain't" in his sometimes-erratic vocabulary.

These are some of the events from past Augusts in St. Louis' history listed in St. Louis author Joe Sonderman's book, "St. Louis People 365."

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

Here are 10 of the 125 items listed in the August chapter of the book:

August 1, 1702: Missionary Pierre Francois Pinet died at a village established by the Jesuits on the north bank of the River Des Peres. Pinet's death and burial are the first recorded on Missouri soil. The settlement was abandoned in 1704, 60 years before Auguste Chouteau began construction of St. Louis.

August 1, 1943: A crowd of 5,000 at Lambert Field watched in horror as a Robertson CG-4A glider carrying Mayor William Dee Becker plunged to earth. The crash also killed Major William B. Robertson, president of Robertson Aircraft; Harold Krueger of Robertson Aircraft; Thomas Dysart, president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce; Max Doyne, director of public utilities; Charles Cunningham, deputy comptroller; Henry Mueller, St. Louis County court presiding judge; Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hazelton; pilot Milton Kiugh, and mechanic J.M. Davis.

August 5, 1811: William Greenleaf Eliot was born in Massachusetts. He founded the first Unitarian congregation here. In 1853, Eliot and Wayman Crow co-founded Eliot Seminary, which later became Washington University. He served as chancellor from 1872 until his death in 1887. Poet T.S. Eliot was his grandson.

August 8, 1954: Mayor Raymond Tucker announced a giant slum clearance project for the Mill Creek Valley. A 330-acre area between 20th Street, Grand Avenue, Olive Street and Scott Avenue was cleared so completely that the area was know as "Hiroshima Flats" before it was redeveloped. About 20,000 people, mostly African-American, were forced to re-locate. At least 800 businesses, churches and institutions were leveled.

August 9, 1936: Helen Stephens, "The Fulton Flash," set a world record and won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Olympics in Berlin. She was the only American athlete Adolph Hitler asked to meet and congratulate. Helen asked him for his autograph.

August 17, 1930: Dale Jackson and Forrest O'Brine landed their "Greater St. Louis Challenger Robin" after establishing a new aerial endurance record for a second time. They stayed over Lambert Field for 647 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds. (That's nearly 27 days.) This record would stand for nearly five years.

August 18, 1906: One of the first high speed chases was recorded in St. Louis. Patrolman James Cooney was injured while chasing a speeding motorist through Forest Park at 35 miles per hour in the Police Department's new car. He was thrown from the vehicle after hitting a tree and was hit by the second police car.

August 21, 1924: John Francis Buck was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He began his radio career at Ohio State, where a professor told him he should find another way to make a living. In 1950, he became the announcer for the Cardinals Triple-A team in Columbus. His first TV job was also in Columbus, where comic Jonathan Winters was a co-worker. Promoted to Rochester, he auditioned for the Cardinals in 1953. He was number three on the broadcasts, behind Harry Caray and Joe Garagiola. He became number two in 1961 and took the top job when Harry Caray was fired in 1969.

August 23, 1958: Teddy Nadler, a 47-year-old, $70-a-week supply clerk from St. Louis, became the all-time TV quiz show winnings champion. He raked in $252,000 on the CBS show "The $64,000 Question." Nadler had an amazing ability to memorize facts that he read, but he repeatedly failed the civil service examination because he lacked reasoning skills.

August 24, 1944: The Sporting News reported that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis would not allow Browns broadcaster Dizzy Dean to announced the World Series. Landis called Dean an embarrassment to baseball and "unfit for a national broadcaster" for his use of the word "ain't." Diz said, "I ain't never met anybody that didn't know what ain't means."

Places to Go, Things to Do

County fairs, home movie day and more

If you'd like to visit a rural county fair, Washington, Mo., has one in early August. If you're more interested in an urban fair, St. Louis County has one early in September.

There are lots of other area outdoor activities for you and your family during the last month of summer vacation.

Each month, Young Saint Louis.com puts together a list of events and activities for the current month that you and your family might like to attend. YSL.com focuses mostly on events where admission is free or inexpensive.

Here are some brief write-ups for August Places to Go, Things to Do:

Washington Mo. Town and Country Fair

The Washington County Town and Country Fair will be held in Washington, Mo., Wednesday through Sunday, Aug. 2-6. It features a Family Fun Center and a number of contests for kids.

The fair is one of the largest county fairs in Missouri.

At the Family Fun Center, where are such exhibits as the Swampmaster Gator Show and Family Martial Arts demonstrations. There's also a "mule nuggets toss."

Among the contests for kids are a bubblegum blowing and jalapeno pepper eating.

For more complete information, visit www.washmofair.com.

History Museum's home movie and kite days

The 3rd annual Home Movie Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Hours are 1-3 p.m.

The event is a chance for kids and families to learn more about their own family movies. Experts will tell about preserving the movies and how home movies help to capture 20th Century history.

You'll get a chance to screen your 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm films. No videos or DVDs. You should visit www.homemovieday.com to learn more about signing up for projection time.

Another family event at the museum will be Ben Franklin Kite Day on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free. Kids can celebrate Ben Franklin's most legendary experiment in finding electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Kids can create and decorate their own kites from free Frustration Flyer kite kits.

For more, visit www.mohistory.org.

Live on the Levee and "Eats" Bridge events

The "Live on the Levee" and "Eats" Bridge weekends continue into August. Those are a part of the revised Fair St. Louis. Instead of a giant 4th of July weekend, organizers have changed to a series of smaller weekend events.

The "Live on the Levee" musical entertainment and the "Eats" Bridge combination of entertainment and food will be on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5 and Aug. 11-12.

For more complete information, visit www.fairstlouis.com.

Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day

The Cahokia Mounds Archeology Day will be held on Saturday, Aug. 26, at the Mounds historical site across the river in Illinois. The site preserves the remains of one of the largest Indian communities in North America.

The archeology day event will feature ancient crafts, artifact washing and processing, hands-on activities, tours of the Indian mound excavations and storytelling.

For more information, visit www.cahokiamounds.com.

An Ozark Stream tour and cave exploration

An Ozark stream tour is among a variety of activities for kids and families at Missouri Department of Conservation facilities in the St. Louis area. The stream tour originates from the Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

For kids 7 and up, the tour will be on Friday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon. Kids will tour a shallow shoal on the Meramec River to look for aquatic insects, crustaceans and minnows.

For reservations, directions and information, call (314) 301-1500.

Another outdoor exploration will be of Rockwoods Cave at the MDC's Rockwoods Reservation in western St. Louis County. The hike is for kids 7 and up and will be on Thursday, Aug. 17, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

For information and reservations, call (636) 458-2236.

Two County Parks' kids' camps

Among August activities at St. Louis County Parks are two kids' skill camps.

Kid Fit Sports Camp and DramaRama Theater Camp will all be held Monday through Friday, Aug. 7-11. The fitness camp is at the Affton Community Center for kids 5-13. The DramaRama Theater Camp is at the Kennedy Recreation Center for kids 6-12.

For these and other County Park activities, visit www.stlouisco.com.

"Kid Friendly" bicycle tours

Trailnet has four "kid friendly" Kids Bike Club tours during August. Also, there's one more of the Pedal Series of rides associated with St. Louis cultural institutions.

The Kids Bike Club tours are:

On Sunday, Aug. 6, the Fahrrandtour und Augustfest tour from Mascoutah, Ill.. This is associated with Mascoutah's German Heritage Festival.

On Sunday, Aug. 13, the I Scream for Ice Cream tour from Edwardsville, Ill. This includes a stop at Annie's Frozen Custard where riders get a discount on treats.

On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Peach Pedal from Marine, Ill. At the end of the tours, riders are invited to stop at the Mills Apple Farm for peach treats.

On Saturday, Aug. 26, the Gateway of Hope Bicycle Ride from Forest Park. This ride supports the Lance Armstrong Foundation's fight against cancer. A foundation celebration in Forest Park will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with entertainment and refreshments.

The Pedal Series ride on Friday, Aug. 11, is the Planetary Pedal from the St. Louis Science Center's Planetarium in Forest Park. At the end of the 5-mile ride from 5-6 p.m., riders get a free program and can join the outdoor public telescope viewing.

For information, visit www.trailnet.org.

Missouri Botanical Garden free, reduced-rate admissions

The Missouri Botanical Gardens will feature some free and reduced admission days during August.

On Tuesday, Tuesday, Aug. 13, admissions will be only 35 cents in honor of Dr. Peter Raven's 35 years as president of the Garden. Also included is a drawing for a 35-minute, golf-cart tour of the Garden with Dr. Raven.

The Garden also has extended hours on Wednesday evenings, Aug. 13, 23 and 30, with free admission after 5 p.m. The Garden will be open those evenings until 8 p.m.

For more about Garden events, visit www.mobot.org.

St. Louis' Strassenfest

The Strassenfest celebrates the role of German culture in the area's history. This year, it runs from Friday, Aug. 4, through Sunday, Aug. 6, at the Poelker Memorial Park in downtown St. Louis. Admission is free.

Besides the German music, food and other heritage activities, there's a Pepsi Children's Village with special kids activities such as magicians, jugglers, a petting zoo and storytelling.

Hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

For more information, visit www.strassenfest.org.

 

And now early notice of two events that occur very early in September:

St. Louis County Fair and Air Show

The St. Louis County Fair & Air Show will be held at Spirit of St. Louis airport in west St. Louis County, Friday, Sept. 1, through Monday, Sept. 4.

In addition to daily air shows and fireworks, the fair this year will feature the Dierbergs' Craz E Crew BMX stunt team, the Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, the Boeing "fly-in flight simulator" and the Purina Incredible Dog Team.

For complete information, visit www.stlcofair.org.

Garden's Japanese Festival

The 2006 Japanese Festival will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Saturday, Sept. 2, through Monday, Sept. 4.

This regular feature at the Garden this year will include martial arts, taiko drummers, bon odori dancers and ikebana floral arrangers.

Also, back by popular demand, retired sumo wrestlers Koryu and Sunahama will demonstrate that ancient sport. They have promised to let members of the audience to have a go at them during the one-hour daily event.

For more about the festival schedule, visit www.mobot.org.

 

Kids at "junior keeper" camp for wolves

 

Aces ball kids meet tennis stars

A group of young St. Louis area tennis players have got the best seats in the house when the St. Louis Aces team plays at Forest Park. They are right on the court as ball kids for the matches.

Last month, teenagers Grace Alexander and Ty Merkle worked their first Aces matches. The Sacramento Capitols were the Aces opponent.

The Capitols' star attraction is Anna Kournikova. The former pro tour campaigner now plays only part-time. She's mainly trying to use her beauty and glamour for a modeling and movie career.

Before the matches started, 13-year-old Ty of St. Peters, Mo., was telling other ball kids when they could get Kournikova's autograph on a tennis ball.

But, for 13-year-old Grace of Ballwin, Mo., she'd be more interested in pro player Andy Roddick. She said top-seeded Roger Federer is her favorite player. But, she admits she liked Roddick "for his good looks."

The Aces' matches in the World Team Tennis league are the best chances for young area tennis players to see professional tennis. And for each set of matches, the Aces recruit 18 kids 10-to-14 to police the courts as ball kids.

The Aces-Sacramento match was a good example why they need 18 ball kids. Although the matches started at 7 p.m., the temperature was still well into the 90s and, of course, the courts were in full sunshine.

Corley Ward is the Aces' ball kid supervisor. He said kids can signup to be a ball kid by registering on the Aces website at www.stlouisaces.com.

Mr. Ward said six kids are on the court for a match. Although they work for free, the kids get to meet the pros after the matches, get a free ticket for one parent and also get refreshment tickets.

The kids made good use of the drink coupons between the Aces-Capitols matches.

For most of the kids, the main attraction is the chance to see the pro players close up.

Fourteen-year-old Derek Hamm of Belleville, Ill., said one of his notable tennis experiences involved Andy Roddick. This year is Derek's third as an Aces ball kid.

Two years ago, Roddick was playing a match at the Aces. Derek said, "I did the Roddick match and almost got hit by one of his serves. And it was going fast." Roddick is noted as having one of the fastest serves on the pro tour.

Derek said he pays attention to serve speed. That's because he lists his slow second serve as being one of the weaknesses of his tennis game.

But, he says his favorite tennis player is Jimmy Connors. A former star pro player, Conners is also from Belleville.

Thirteen-year-old Zack Huels of Fenton, Mo., is in his second year as a ball kid. He said his most memorable Aces memory involved almost being hit by a falling scoreboard.

The almost-accident happened last year. An Aces match started at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. But, the action was interrupted by rain.

Zack said the match was taken to an indoor racket club at Creve Coeur. He said the relocated scoreboard was shaky and almost hit him when it fell.

Zack said his favorite tennis player with Andre Agassi. He said he likes Agassi's play because of his foot speed in tracking down shots. Zack said his foot speed is the best part of his tennis game also.

However, Ty Merkle said one of his biggest problems is lack of foot speed. He said his lessons at the Creve Coeur Racket Club feature work on conditioning to try to increase his coverage of the court.

Eleven-year-old Courtney Huels is Zack's sister. She's also in her second year as an Aces ball kid. She said her favorite memory of her Aces work is "just being here with the players." She said, "We get to meet them afterwards."

Most of the ball kids listed their forehand shots as the strongest part of their own tennis game. And almost all of them list the backhand volley as the biggest weakness.

Grace, Zack and Courtney all said they started playing tennis when they were 3. And they've all continued to take lessons since then.

The kids got to participate in a very competitive match between the Aces and the Capitols. The score was tied when Aces' John Paul Fruttero won the last singles match of the night.

The win put the Aces record to 5-3, just behind Sacramento's 6-3. The Springfield, Mo., team is on top of the Western Division of the World Team Tennis at 7-1. New York leads the Eastern Division with a 7-2 record.

• Burr Oak Woods Nature Center
• Cape Girardeau Nature Center
• Columbia Bottom Conservation Area
• Discovery Center
• Lost Valley Hatchery
• Powder Valley Nature Center
• Runge Nature Center
• Shepherd of the Hills
• Springfield Nature Center.

Local golfer in U.S. Kids world meet

Thirteen-year-old Mitchell Rutledge earned a fabulous golfing experience this summer. Last month, he played in the U.S. Kids World Championship at the same golfing complex where the 2005 U.S. Open meet was played.

Rutledge will be a 7th grader this fall at Whitfield School. In June, he won his age group at the local U.S. Kids qualifying tournament at Eagle Springs Golf Course in north St. Louis County.

The win put Mitchell in the U.S. Kids world meet July 26-30 at the Pinehurst Golf Course in North Carolina. Pinehurst bills itself as the nation's No. 1 golf destination.

Famed golfer Arnold Palmer was the honorary chairman of the 2006 U.S. Kids world meet. Over 800 kid golfers from around the world entered after winning local qualifying meets as Mitchell did.

In the three rounds in the U.S. Kids tournament, Mitchell shot rounds of __, __ and __. He finished ___ among _____ qualifiers in his age category.

Mitchell is considered one of the top Junior PGA golfers in the St. Louis area.

For instance, he won two local tournaments played on consecutive days last month. He shot 74 on the par-72 course at Innsbruck. The next day, he shot an even-par 72 at The Woodlands course.

Mitchell has been playing golf since he was 6, when his dad, Robert, gave him a set of children's clubs. He went to his first Junior PGA clinic when he was 8.

He gets individual golf lessons from Shawn Henry, a former pro at the St. Albans golf course. Mitchell's family has a membership at St. Albans.

In an interview with Young Saint Louis.com before going to Pinehurst, he said the North Carolina visit would be his biggest tournament appearance. He said he entered the U.S. Kids competition for a different experience from his PGA meets.

Before the U.S. Kids tournament, Mitchell had rated playing golf in Fort Wayne, Ind., as his best golf experience. His family goes to Fort Wayne to visit relatives and play golf.

"There are lots of good public courses in Fort Wayne," he said.

Mitchell said playing golf is always entertaining, even when he doesn't play well.

For instance, he played a Little People tournament in Quincy, Ill. "It was a fun tournament even though I played terrible," he said.

As he gets older, he continues to use bigger and longer clubs. His irons are from a ladies set of clubs.

"I got a new driver the other day. It's got less loft, only 9.5 degrees. My older driver had 12-degree loft. I was hitting it too high and couldn't get enough distance," he said.

Mitchell estimates he's been getting up to 60 yards more on his drives. He said his average drives are 230-to-240 yards. "I get up to 260 yards if I hit it just right," he said.

Mitchell said driving the ball is the second best strength of his game. "My iron play-both short and long-is the best," he said.

As for things that still need work, he said, "My putting is the poorest part." But, he added, "My coach is helping me." Mitchell said he needs to work on a more consistent stroke.

And, he said preparation before he hits the putts needs work. "I need to read the greens better and I need to line up my putts better," he said.

He said two of his favorite golfers are South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

"People tell me I have a smooth swing like Els," Mitchell said. Els' effortless swing has earned him the nickname on tour, "The Big Easy."

Although Mitchell likes to pattern his swing after Els, he said his overall favorite is Goosen. Goosen also has a calm demeanor on the golf course.

Mitchell said most of his golf lessons focus on strokes from 50 yards to the green. Many of those shots can be "trouble" shots, either from the rough or from sand traps.

But, he said his teacher usually leaves a little time in each lesson for working on the tempo of his overall swing. That's to make sure he continues to have good success with his drives and long irons.

Although his summers are filled mostly with golf, Mitchell has other interests. He plays baseball, soccer and basketball. He also takes music lessons on the drums.

As for a career, he'd like to be a pro golfer. But, if that doesn't work, he said he'd probably like to own restaurants. He said his uncle in Fort Wayne owns about a half dozen restaurants.

Kid joins old-time model train club

Ten-year-old Jake Pfeiffer said his grandfather "has been talking to me about trains since I was a little kid." So, two years ago, he got his grandfather to join the oldest continuous model train club in the metro area.

The Big Bend Railroad Club was started in 1938 by 10 kids from Webster Groves High School. Sixty-eight years later, the club is still operating and has an elaborate track layout in a former Webster Groves train station.

Kenneth Rimmel is secretary of the Big Bend club. He said, "One of the original founders of the club-Tim Miller-is still alive." Miller lives in California and still comes to see club members.

But, Rimmel also is excited about kids like Jake Pfeiffer, who is now a junior club member. "We've got four junior members and we hope kids like that will keep the club operating in the future," he said.

Seven-year-old Daniel Kiefel of Webster Groves also might fit into that future.

On almost every first Tuesday of the month, Daniel and his mother, Paula, come to the club's open house. He's even got a three-step ladder that lets him get a higher perspective on the scenic track layout and its moving trains.

The railroad club got permission in the early days to house its track layout in part of the Frisco Railroad's passenger depot. In 1994, the railroad club ended up buying the vacated passenger depot and now it owns the whole building.

The first Tuesday of the month it is open to the public. The depot building is at 8833 Big Bend Blvd. in Webster Groves. To get there, you take I-44 to the Elm St. exit, go north just a couple blocks to Big Bend. Then, turn west for a few blocks.

On other Tuesdays, club members make upgrades to the track and scenery layout.

The club now has over 30 members who are trying to keep alive the idea of model train fun that was part of their lives as kids.

The tracks and equipment at the old passenger depot is on an O-scale. That means everything is built on a ¼-inch per foot scale.

Jake Pfeiffer will be a 5th grader at Oak Brook Elementary and he lives in Ballwin. He has a model train set at home but hasn't unpacked it yet. He and his family recently moved from Kirkwood to Ballwin.

But, Jake has a triple-engine and a "fred" car (that's a substitute for a caboose) as a part of the equipment at the club's depot. His grandfather, Ronald Pfeiffer of Manchester, also has engine equipment at the depot.

Jake and Mr. Pfeiffer share a number of railroad cars when they make up their trains to run on the club's elaborate track system.

Jake had an unusual "real train" experience last month. His step-brother's father is an official of the Alton&Southern railroad. Jake was given a 15-minute ride from Fairmont City to East St. Louis.

He's also been a visitor to the big Museum of Transportation in west St. Louis County. That museum has the largest collection of old-time railroad engines in the country. (For more on the museum, visit www.thetrainmuseum.org.)

"I like it when you can go inside the engines and cars," Jake said.

He doesn't think in terms of making railroading a career. "I want to be an architect," he said. "But, I'd come here every Tuesday if it's around," he added.

Daniel Kiefel also has a model train set at home. He said he's got an engine, a caboose and some cars along with track.

He said he sets up his train track in his room. "I take it up and put it down. It's packed away right now," he said.

Daniel said he had a real train ride earlier this spring when his family was in Chattanooga, Tenn. They went to a transportation museum there. While smaller than the museum in St. Louis, it does provide rides on the Tennessee Valley Railroad.

That's a 6-mile trip. Daniel came back with a T-shirt from the railroad trip.

Daniel and his family also like to go to Kirkwood, where Amtrak has a station.

"We go to an ice cream shop there. We eat ice cream and watch the trains go by," he said.

He's also been to the Transportation Museum. Asked what he likes best, he said, "I like to ring the bell in the engine."

The Big Bend Railroad Club's track layout includes a control room perched over the tracks. From there, club members control movement of more than one model train.

For more information, the club has two websites: www.geocities.com/bbrrclub/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigbendrrclub/.