St. Louis People 365

Odd history trivia in past Februarys

Some items of local history aren't very significant. For instance, the first cow to fly in a plane took its flight in a past February. And then there's the ordinance that let a wife to stop her husband from buying an alcoholic drink.

Or there was the rash of deaths caused as inventors came to St. Louis to experiment with new ways for people to escape from burning hotels.

Many of the items in St. Louis author Joe Sonderman's trivia book, "St. Louis People 365," have historic significance. But, others are just odd.

But, significant or not, they all add to flavor and scope of this area's colorful history.

(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 117 items in the February chapter:

Feb. 4, 1923: The Globe-Democrat called it "the biggest baseball story in years" as the Cards' owner Sam Breadon announced he had signed manager Branch Rickey to an unprecedented five-year contract. In 1925, Breadon moved Rickey to the front office, where he developed the "farm system" that turned the Cardinals into a powerhouse.

Feb. 5, 1878: Since the deadly Southern Hotel fire a year earlier, St. Louis had been invaded by a hoard of inventors. They all claimed to have perfected a foolproof fire escape. At least 18 people had died while trying out the contraptions, prompting a Globe editorial writer to say "a more deadly thing than a hotel fire is a patent fire escape."

Feb. 6, 1934: An ordinance passed by the Belleville City Council gave wives veto power in the dispensing of liquor. No booze could be sold to a man if his wife put a request in writing to the proprietor of the saloon.

Feb. 7, 1867: Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin. The family faced frontier hardships after moving to the Oklahoma Indian Territory, Minnesota and Dakota. In 1893, she moved to Mansfield, Missouri. It was at her beloved Rocky Ridge Farm where she began writing the famous Little House on the Prairie books. They told of her childhood experiences on the frontier.

Feb. 11, 1805: While serving as a guide for the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacagawea gave birth to a baby boy. He was named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, but called "Pomp" or "Pompey" by William Clark. Pompey's father returned to trapping after the expedition and left the child in the care of Clark back in St. Louis. Pomp, carried on a cradleboard by his mother, is featured on the reverse of the one-dollar Sacagawea coin.

Feb. 11, 1962: Sheryl Crowe was born in Kennett, Missouri. She went to school at Mizzou, then taught at Kellison Elementary in the Rockwoods District. She sang backup for local group PM and did commercial jingle work here before heading to California in 1986. She sang backup for Michael Jackson, Don Henley and Rod Steward before her breakthrough came with 1993's "Tuesday Night Music Club."

Feb. 18, 1930: A cow flew in a plane for the first time. As part of the St. Louis Air Exposition, Elm Farm Ollie made the 72-mile flight from Bismark, Missouri. Elsworth W. Bunce of Milwaukee became the first man to milk an airborne bovine. The milk was sealed in paper containers and dropped by parachute. The event is marked each year as Elm Farm Ollie Day at the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum near Madison, Wisconsin.

Feb. 23, 1929: Elston Howard was born in St. Louis. The star athlete at Vashon High School became the first African-American player to wear the New York Yankee pinstripes in 1954. In 1963, he became the first black player to win the American League MVP award. He played for 10 pennant-winning teams in 13 years.

Feb. 25, 1943: Talk show host Sally Jesse Raphael was born. The former disc jockey's talk show began as a half-hour local production on KSDK Channel 5 in 1983. She went national a year later, becoming known for her shows on relationships and her trademark red frame glasses. The show was the longest running of its type when cancelled in May 2002.

Feb. 29, 1960: The talk radio era opened, as KMOX aired the first At Your Service program. Jack Buck hosted the show with Mayor Raymond Tucker as the first guest. Eleanor Roosevelt also appears on the first show. The idea of newsmakers taking calls from listeners was given little chance of succeeding. But, Robert Hyland was so convinced that he ordered the station's record library given away.