This Month in St. Louis History

Local July events include aviation, railroads

Key events in St. Louis aviation and railroad industries happened in Julys past. Also, July was a key date in progress toward integration here.

Another July event was the opening of the first free school west of the Mississippi in 1818. And a World War II movie icon, St. Louisan Betty Grable died in July, 1975.

These are some of the highlights of rich St. Louis history provided to Young Saint Louis.com by the Missouri History Museum. You might like to make a habit of checking the organization’s website at www.mohistory.org.

James S. McDonnell and Donald W. Douglas

Donald Douglas started his aviation company on July 22, 1920. James McDonnell started his on July 6, 1939.

Together, the companies became best known in St. Louis as McDonnell-Douglas. That company had key roles in all sorts of aviation history, from early planes to space exploration. The local aviation history now lives on in the Boeing Company, into which McDonnell-Douglas was merged.

The lives of the two aviation pioneers had many parallels. Both were of Scottish ancestry. Also, both graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They also both were chief engineers for the Glen L. Martin Co., an early aircraft maker.

For a more history of the men and their companies, visit www.boeing.com/history/mdc.

Missouri Pacific Railroad

What is now the giant Missouri Pacific Railroad actually began on July 4, 1851, with the ground-breaking in St. Louis for the Pacific Railroad.

The original charter called for construction of a railroad “to extend from St. Louis via Jefferson City to the western boundary of Missouri and then to the Pacific Ocean.”

The grand plan started pretty small. On Dec. 9, 1852, the first segment of the railroad opened for service. It was four miles long.

But, it did carry the first railroad train operated west of the Mississippi River.

From that modest beginning has grown a huge railroad company with almost 12,000 miles of track. It stretches throughout the Southwest and West of this country. The railroad was important to the growth of the country west of the Mississippi.

For more about the growth of railroading from St. Louis, you can read a history of the Missouri Pacific Railroad at http://skyways.lib.ks.us/history/mp/mphis.html.

St. Philippine Duchesne

St. Philippine Duchesne opened the first free school west of the Mississippi River in 1818 in St. Charles. She also established Sacred Heart education in America with other schools in Florissant, St. Louis and New Orleans.

The key July date was July 3, 1988. That’s the day that she was canonized, becoming St. Louis’ first Catholic saint.

The Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne in St. Charles is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address is 619 N. Second St., St. Charles, MO 63301. For information, call (636) 946-6127.

The shrine stands adjacent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

For more about the history, visit www.ash1818.org/shrine.htm

Lunch counter integration

Civil rights activism took many forms in St. Louis. One of the more visible ones involved efforts to integrate lunch counters in various St. Louis stores.

One key date was July 8, 1947, when 40 black and 15 white women tried to integrate the lunch counter at Stix, Baer and Fuller. The department story closed down the lunch counters rather than serve an integrated clientele.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that integration of department store eating establishments was completed.

Much of the credit for that went to the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).

This chapter of St. Louis’ history is included in the Missouri History Museum’s Seeking St. Louis exhibition. It is Stop No. 10 on the Reflections tour, which tells the stories of St. Louisans who shaped the city’s history.

For more, visit www.mohistory.org. Then, click on African American exhibits section.

Betty Grable (1916-1973)

During World War II, a pinup picture of St. Louisan Betty Grable probably was the most recognized photo in the country. She went on to become one of the most popular actresses in the nation.

Betty Grable was born Ruth Elizabeth Grable in St. Louis on Dec. 18, 1916. She died July 3, 1973.

She made over 40 films. One of the most mentioned events of her life occurred in 1943, when Lloyds of London insured her legs for up to $1 million. She was Hollywood’s main attraction at the box office at the time.

She is one of the St. Louisans with a star on the Walk of Fame in University City.

For more about her life, visit www.mutoworld.com/GrableBio.htm.

 

From “St. Louis World’s Fair 365”

Lots of Fair “firsts” in July, 1904

(Editor’s note: St. Louis author Joe Sonderman has produced a book of trivia from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Sonderman has granted Young Saint Louis.com permission to quote some monthly tidbits on this 100th anniversary of the fair.)

The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair opened on April 30. Before it ended late in the year, a total of 19,694, 855 people had attended the exposition. The highest attendance was on December 1, when 293,101 attended.

There were a number of “firsts” introduced during the fair. A couple of them happened in July, 1904, when this YSL.com feature opens. They included first adoption of fingerprinting by St. Louis police and the making of the first ice cream cone.

The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis also were the first to award gold, silver and bronze placement medals.

(If you would like a copy of “St. Louis World’s Fair 365,” they are available at local book stories or at www.booksonstlouis.com.)

Here are a sample of the 114 items mentioned in the July chapter of Sonderman’s book:

July 1, 1904: The first international competitions at the 1904 Olympics began. Due to the distances involved and the Russian-Japanese war, only 13 nations sent athletes. Over 500 of the 687 competitors were Americans. The games were the first to which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded.

July 2, 1904: Plans for “Negro Day” on August 1 were abandoned. A committee of black men, headed by attorney Walter Farmer, decided not to participate. They were reacting to reports of discrimination at the fair. Many leading black orators and organizations were refusing to come.

July 3, 1904: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company announced that attendance had doubled in June. Total admissions for the month totaled 2,121,836, including 540,340 in the past week. Total admissions for the fair (since the April opening,) topped 3.5 million.

July 4, 1904: The real fireworks of the day came at the Mining Gulch, where nitroglycerin was used to torpedo an oil well. The explosion sent dirt and rock flying through the air. The oil well was not just an exhibit. It was a real rig, with drills in actual operation. The Gulch also offered working copper, turquoise and lead mines.

July 6, 1904: The U.S. Marines claimed they had been under fire at the fair. Over 60 members of the Philippine constabulary assaulted 10 marines on The Pike. The marines drove them off, but the constabulary came back armed. Marine reinforcements arrived and threw them back again as shots rang out. No one was hurt.

July 10, 1904: “The Cascades” by musician Scott Joplin was another popular song during the fair. Fair management frowned on ragtime. Joplin and most ragtime entertainers were exiled on The Pike. But, several white musicians performed his song on the fairgrounds, including John Philip Sousa’s Band.

July 18, 1904: The big electrical convention began. The World’s Fair was a showcase for the electronic marvels of the age, including wireless telegraphy, massive generators, electric ovens, x-ray equipment and hearing aids. Thomas Edison shot a motion picture of a parade on The Pike. The Western and Patterson companies exhibited biograph (motion picture) equipment.

July 27, 1904: Plans were unveiled for a special temporary Police Court near the World’s Fair grounds. The majority of the 150 cases coming before the police court judge each day were of people arrested at or near the fair. The Police Board objected to the plan to use the Mounted Police station at Forest Park.

July 29, 1904: The International Association of Ice Cream Makers says Syrian immigrant Ernest Hamwi invented the ice cream cone on this date. Hamwi sold zalabia, a crisp wafer-like pastry. When ice cream vendor Charles Menches ran out of dishes, Hamwi supposedly plunked a scope of ice cream atop a zalabia. Other ice cream vendors bought his waffles and called the new treat “World’s Fair Cornucopia.” Hamwi was certainly the man who popularized them.

July 31, 1904: The St. Louis Police Department announced it would adopt the fingerprint method of identification on a trial basis. The method introduced at the fair by Scotland Yard would be utilized in conjunction with the Bertillion Method of photographs and measurements. Bertillion superintendent John Shea was to begin lessons in fingerprinting.

(Editor’s note: Watch for monthly features from “St. Louis World’s Fair 365” as the second part of YSL.com’s This Month in St. Louis History. We will run the fair feature through December, 2004.)