From Missouri Historical Museum

Veterans Day with a Missouri angle

Veterans Day is a national holiday. This year's celebration marks the 50th anniversary of the holiday that celebrates the nation's veterans.

It's also a good time for St. Louis area kids to learn something about the country's military history.

The Library of Congress has a neat website that tells about the country's veterans in their own words and pictures. The War Stories section provides audio and video-taped interviews. To view and hear the stories go to www.loc.gov/warstories.

Some of the interviews were donated by professional folklorists. Those are people who tell stories to audiences. But, many of them are by ordinary people who knew the veterans they are recording.

Another website with some interesting material is Infoplease.com.You can check the Veterans Day material at www.infoplease.com/spot/veteransday.html.

One of the items listed involves a Missourian who wasn't identified as a casualty of the Vietnam War until 26 years after his death.

St. Louisan Michael Blassie was shot down near the Cambodian border in 1972. But, he wasn't identified until 1998 when DNA testing disclosed his identity. His body was then reburied in St. Louis.

The U.S. Army has a website which gives a complete history of Veterans Day. To check out this interesting website go to www.army.mil/cmh-pg/faq/vetsday/vetshist.htm.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first holiday as Armistice Day. That was on Nov. 11, 1919, a year after the end of World War I.

Armistice Day became Veterans Day in 1954. President Dwight Eisenhower signed the name-change legislation on June 1.

This poster was created by Jobs for Veterans National Committee just after the Vietnam War. It is currently part of the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.

Air Pollution in St. Louis

November, 1939, marked one of the worst periods of air pollution ever in St. Louis.

That was one of the by-products of swift population and industrial growth in the area. In 1900, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the whole United States, behind only New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.

The energy source for much of this growth was soft coal.

And soft coal meant dirty air....lots of dirty air.

For nine days in November, 1939, a blanket of smoke covered the St. Louis downtown district.

One of those days was labeled Black Tuesday. The air was so black that city street lights were turned on at midday. People couldn't even see buildings across the street.

Front page editorials in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called for extreme measures to clear the air. Union Electric Co. agreed to put scrubbers on its power plants.

For information, see the website of the St. Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership. The address is www.cleanair-stlouis.com.

"Meet Me in St. Louis", the movie

The old-time favorite movie, "Meet Me in St. Louis," was released in November, 1944.

The film tells the story of a year in the life of the Smith family during the time of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

The movie might seem sort of corny by today's standards. But, it gives a picture of a time 100 years ago and it starred a lot of famous actors and actresses. Judy Garland was in the lead role.

But, others who had strong movie careers include Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, June Lockhart, Marjorie Main, Leon Ames and Chill Wills.

The gift shop at the Missouri Historical Museum still has copies of the film available for sale. You might like to check out what your grandparents were watching nearly 60 years ago.

 

From "St. Louis 365"

Local historic footnotes
include first aerial bombing

The first aerial bombardment happened in Southern Illinois back in November, 1928. That's when one band of crooks tried to wipe out another group with dynamite bombs.

Another odd-ball November first in the St. Louis area history included the first radar speeding tickets issued in 1953.

And, as the St. Louis Cardinals failed to reach the playoffs despite an $83-million payroll, check out this salary note: Cards pitcher Dizzy Dean was offered only $15,000 for next season after winning 30 games in 1934.

These are among the 150 items of St. Louis history listed in the November chapter of "St. Louis 365". That's a book of historical tidbits by local historian Joe Sonderman.

(This book is available in local book stories or at www.booksonline.com. Sonderman has given Young Saint Louis.com permission to quote from his book.)

Here are 10 of the historical entries selected from "St. Louis 365":

November 1, 1855: Disaster struck as Missourians celebrated the completion of the Pacific Railroad to Jefferson City. A special inaugural train carrying dignitaries plunged into the Gasconade River as a bridge gave way. Thirty-four people died and 100 were injured. The mayor of St. Louis was seriously hurt and the president of the City Council was killed.

November 5, 1971: Former Cardinal third baseman and outfielder Mike Shannon was named as Jack Buck's partner on the Redbird broadcasts. Shannon's playing career had ended in 1970, when he learned he suffered from a kidney ailment during spring training.

November 9, 1968: St. Louis was shaken by a 5.5 earthquake. Damage was minimal, and only one person was seriously hurt. A guide told shaken tourists that the Arch "sways all the time" in order to avoid panic at the top. The quake was centered 120 miles southwest of St. Louis and was felt in 23 states.

November 12, 1928: "Ripley's Believe It or Not" says the first aerial bombing on U.S. soil took place in Southern Illinois. Members of the Shelton Gang dropped bombs from an old Curtiss Jenny over the Shady Rest hideout of the Charley Birger Gang. Most of the dynamite bombs were duds, and no one was hurt.

November 16, 1818: The birthday of St. Louis University. The forerunner of SLU, St. Louis Academy, was founded on this date by Bishop William DuBourg in a private home. It closed in 1827. But, Bishop Rosati reorganized the school in 1829. He brought in Jesuits from Florissant to teach. In 1832, the school received its charter from the state. It was renamed St. Louis University, the oldest college west of the Mississippi River.

November 17, 1953: KSD-TV announced plans to bring color television to St. Louis by the first of the year. General Manager George Burbach said the station hoped to broadcast the Rose Parade in color. He admitted that there were probably only about a half-dozen color sets in St. Louis.

November 18, 1953: Four St. Louisans had the dubious distinction of being the first speeders here to be nabbed by radar. The radar unit weighed 40 pounds and was packed in the trunk of a police car on the side of the road. The drivers pleaded guilty to exceeding the 40-mile per hour limit on the Express Highway (U.S. 40) and paid a total of $150 in fines.

November 23, 1934: Dizzy Dean demanded $25,000 to pitch for the Cardinals in 1935. Owner Sam Breadon was offering $15,000 to Dizzy and $7,500 to brother Paul. In 1934, Dizzy won 30 games, while Paul won 19.

November 25, 1820: Governor Alexander McNair signed a bill making St. Charles the capitol of Missouri upon admission to the Union. The building at 206 North Main would serve as the capitol until 1826, when the seat of government was moved to Jefferson City.

November 29, 1901: The birthday of Monsanto. John F. Queeny, a moonlighting purchasing agent for the Meyer Brothers Drug Company, started the Monsanto Chemical Works with $1,500 of his own money and another $30,000 borrowed. The company was named for his wife, Olga Melendez Monsanto Queeny.