This Month in St. Louis History

The Great Depression and birth of 7-UP

The stock market crash in October, 1929, is the official start of the nation's Great Depression. But, just two weeks before the crash, the soft drink, 7-UP, was launched by C.L. Grigg in St. Louis.

That is one of the great contrasts of the Depression period of U.S. history. Millions of people were out of work after businesses failed. But some companies that are household names today began in the Depression.

Some prominent St. Louisans were born in October. And, yet-to-be St. Louis Cardinal Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's historic home run record in October, 1961.

These are some of the highlights of St. Louis and Missouri history provided to Young Saint Louis.com by the Missouri History Museum. You can find lots more by visiting the museum's website at www.mohistory.org.

Great Depression and 7-UP

As all major American cities, St. Louis was hit hard by the Depression. One in four St. Louisans was out of work. By 1934, the relief roles included 100,000 idle residents.

On the Mississippi riverfront, the nation's largest "Hooverville" was built. This was a massive collection of ramshackle temporary housing for out-of-work people. The name "Hooverville" was a sarcastic reference to President Herbert Hoover, who was in office when the Great Depression started.

But, amid all that unemployment, there were the beginnings of new businesses.

One of them was the Howdy Company of St. Louis. C.L. Grigg began experimenting with different types of soft drinks as far back as 1920.

But, it wasn't until just a couple weeks before the stock market crash in 1929 that he introduced his "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda." That was the first name for what is now 7-UP.

Grigg didn't have easy sledding with his new product. Not only was the nation's economy very poor but more than 600 lemon-lime drinks were in the marketplace.

But, Grigg prevailed and, by 1936, he changed the company name to The Seven-Up Company. The famous "uncola" advertising campaign helped set 7-UP apart from cola competitors like Coke and Pepsi.

The company has been sold several times and its headquarters has moved out of St. Louis. It is now a part of the Cadbury-Schweppes Co.

As for the name 7-UP, there are several stories. One says it's from Grigg's cattle brand which had a "7" and a "u" in it. Another says it represents the drink's seven flavors.

But, still another says Grigg came up with the name while playing dice, where 7 is a lucky number.

For more about 7-UP, visit www.dpsu.com/brands_7-up.html.

Roger Maris

On October 1, 1961, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season. That broke the major league record set by Babe Ruth way back in 1929.

Maris was a New York Yankee at that time. He joined the St. Louis Cardinals later in the 1960s and helped the Cards win a World Series.

At the time Maris broke the home run record, he set off the first * asterick controversy. That was because he had broken the record in a 162-game season. Ruth set the original mark in a 154-game season.

Maris' record lasted until 1998 when Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire broke the record with 70 home runs. The current record is 73 set by Barry Bonds of the Giants.

David R. Francis

David Rowland Francis was born October 1, 1850, in Richmond, Ky. He would go on to be the mayor of St. Louis and then Missouri governor in 1888. He was also president of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

He came to St. Louis when he was 16 and graduated from Washington University in 1870. From then on, he was closely tied to the growth of St. Louis, as a banker and as a politician.

He later became the U.S. Ambassador to Russia in 1916. He was in Russia when the Tsarist government was overthrown by the Communists.

For more about Francis' exciting life, visit www.flaupp.com/drfrancis.html.

Henry Miller Shreve

Henry Miller Shreve was born October 21, 1785, in New Jersey. He would become one of the most influential men in St. Louis' history because he brought the steamboat up the Mississippi River.

At 21, he bought his first keelboat and began trading as far away as St. Louis. He was the first riverboat captain to travel the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans and back.

Shreve was instrumental in fighting the steamboat monopoly that has been granted to Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston. Fulton is known as the father of the steamboat.

One of his major advances in steamboat travel was a special boat equipped to remove "snags" in the nation's rivers. "Snags" were made up of huge tree limbs and trunks that could disable a boats if they ran into them.

His special steamboat, named the Heliopolis, had a jaw-like device to pick up and remove the "snags." There was also a sawmill on deck to cut up the chunks of wood.

The Louisiana city of Shreveport is named after him. There is a Shreve Ave. in St. Louis and he is buried in Calvary Cemetery here.

For more, visit www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/shreve_hi.html

Zoe Akins

Playwright Zoe Akins was born in Humansville, Mo., on October 30, 1886. She was educated at Monticello Seminary in Godfrey, Ill., and Hosmer Hall in St. Louis.

She was a poet, playwright and screenwriter. Her play, "The Greeks Had a Word for It," was written in 1930. Later, it was the basis for the screen play, "How to Marry a Millionaire."

In 1935, her play, "The Old Maiden," won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also set off a controversy because it was an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel. The dispute led to the establishment of the Critics Choice Awards, as an alternative to the Pulitzer.

For more, visit www.umsystem.edu/whmc/mohist/october30/html. Also, see http://members.tripod.com/poetry_pearls/ePoets/Akins.htm.

 

From "St. Louis World's Fair 365"

Big-kite contest, Helen Keller
and a "living school"

Alexander Graham Bell and the founder of the Boy Scouts were entrants in the big-kite competition during October at the 1904 World's Fair.

The famed deaf-mute Helen Keller was one of the fair visitors in October. And kids at the St. Louis "living school" gave their last demonstration during the month.

These are some of the 111 news items listed in the October chapter of "St. Louis World's Fair 365." The book of world's fair trivia was written by St. Louis author Joe Sonderman.

(Sonderman has granted permission to Young Saint Louis.com to quote some of the monthly items. If you would like a copy of the book, check local book stores or visit www.booksonstlouis.com.)

Here are 10 of the October items from Sonderman's book:

October 1: Major B.F.S. Baden-Powell of the British Army (who founded the Boy Scouts) arrived in New York, bringing two man-carrying kites. He hoped to enter them in a big-kite flying competition. The kites were octagonal in shape, 12-feet across on each axis. Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) also was on the way to enter the contest, set for October 17.

October 3: Peace was declared between the Igorots and the Philippine Scouts. The scouts cancelled their full dress drills a week earlier, due to drumming from the Igorot camp. Officials at the Igorot Village promised to halt tom-tom performances while the scouts were conducting their drills.

October 4: Miss Stella Wade was crowned "Queen of Love and Beauty" at the Veiled Prophet Ball. Record crowds viewed the parade. At that time, the ball was the biggest annual event in the city. The Globe-Democrat newspaper devoted four full pages to the ball, most of that space used for detailed descriptions of gowns worn by society women.

October 6: The Moros were measured for winter flannels as the weather turned cooler. The men only wore more than a g-string when it was absolutely necessary. The winter suits were being made on a rush order. The Moros were feeling the effects of living in light bamboo structures on the shore of Lake Arrowhead.

October 12: A record fell in the sheep-shearing contest at the Livestock Forum. Con Pickett of Illinois won by shearing three sheep in 7 minutes, 43 seconds. The sheep show was described as the largest and best ever held. A total of 2,294 head from two continents were displayed.

October 17: Helen Keller, "the celebrated blind and deaf signer," arrived in St. Louis. She toured the fairgrounds by auto. Keller saw the sites through the "touch language" of her teacher, Miss Anne Sullivan. The newspapers reported that she "giggled with delight" as Sullivan described The Cascades and the other wonders of the fair.

October 18: Father Himalaya's Pyrheliophor was put into operation for the first time. The Portuguese priest built a solar furnace that used 6,117 mirrors. It could develop temperatures over 2,000 degrees. From that day on, the device was demonstrated every day at the fair. The Greek name roughly translates to "the fire of the sun I bring."

October 20: The most famous cow in the world arrived from California. Juliana DeKol was a fully accredited delegate to the National Buttermakers Association meeting. She arrived aboard a special railcar, handsomely decorated in green and gold. Juliana often dressed in the same colors. She was famous for giving her weight in milk every two weeks.

October 26: The latest exhibition on The Pike featured the high diving of Kearney F. Speedy. He would leap from a 100-foot high tower into a tank 36 inches deep and 17 inches long. And he did it four times each day. Nine years earlier, Speedy had made a successful dive from the Eads Bridge (across the Mississippi River.)

October 29: The last demonstration of the St. Louis "living school" exhibit at the World's Fair took place. Carl Rathman, assistant superintendent, said the classes would be discontinued due to the cold weather. The working classroom had taken the top prize for exhibits in its class. The children were said to have been eager to continue on despite the chill.