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Kids influence content of new shopping mall

PBS's Big Bird and Barney, ESPN's Xtreme sports and NASCAR racing cars are coming to a new St. Louis shopping mall.

There's also the St. Louis Blues' practice facility and an 18-screen movie complex. The movie complex will be the first installation by Regal Cinema in the St. Louis area.

All these youth-influenced features are included in the new St. Louis Mills mall because kids' interests are very important to retail merchants. The mall is located off I-370 in northwest St. Louis County. It will open November 13.

Two years ago, St. Louis area kids began telling mall developers what they'd like in a new mall. In 2001, seventh graders at Kirby Middle School collected a "wish list" of mall features in a survey of 246 kids.

Last spring, mall officials gave another group of North County kids a briefing about all the kids-oriented features of the mall.

The emphasis on kids and their families in the St. Louis Mills mall is very strong.

The big mall will be divided into six "neighborhoods." That's their name for sections that include activities and stores into special theme areas.

Two of the six "neighborhoods" are focused primarily on kids and their families.

One is called the "PBS Kids Neighborhood." The mall will be the first in the country where PBS and Mills will cooperate on such a grouping. The local PBS station, KETC-TV, also will be a local collaborator.

The "PBS Kids Neighborhood" will include a play area with climbing structures. Also, there will be interactive computer terminals, a story garden and a video screen. Also, there's a miniature stage where kids can act out their own plays.

The whole area will be themed with characters from the PBS TV shows.

There's a smaller kids area which is themed after the kid's book, "A Place to Grow." That's named after an inspirational kids' book by author Stephanie Blum.

Another big kids-oriented section is the "SportStreet Neighborhood." There's a real ice-skating rink, an indoor skateboard park and both indoor and outdoor car-racing tracks.

The St. Louis Blues are relocating their practice facilities to the mall. Their practices will be open to the public, free of charge. The skateboard park is built to ESPN Xtreme Sports specifications.

When the Blues aren't practicing, the ice rink will be open to the public. The skateboard park will be open to the public for in-line skates and BMX bikes as well as skateboards.

The car-racing tracks will be for miniature NASCAR-type cars. The indoor track will have electric car for the public. There will be three outdoor tracks for use by various sized miniature racing cars.

Retail stores that fit both the PBS and SportStreet themes are grouped around the "neighborhoods."

Larry Costello is a Mills Corp. vice president who is directing the mall construction.

He said designing all these learning and entertainment features into a mall does increase construction costs. But, he said, "We think it's worth it."

He said the new features will "appeal to a broader family." He added, "There is something for everyone. That will mean longer and more frequent visits to our mall."

He gave special attention to the decision by the St. Louis Blues hockey team to relocate to St. Louis Mills mall. "We think that is a win-win-win situation," he said.

He acknowledges that the mall gains by having a popular professional team practice at its facilities. He said the Blues "win" with use of the mall's rink. "And the public wins because practices are open to the public for free," he said.

Young Saint Louis.com has followed how the Mills Corp. has developed its strong kids' emphasis by working with St. Louis school groups.

In April, 2001, YSL.com ran an article discussing the Kirby Middle School survey on what local kids would like to see in the mall. Then, in August, 2002, this website ran another story telling about the collaboration between PBS and Mills Corp.

The PBS-Mills alliance will cover four malls. The first is St. Louis. Future malls with "PBS Kids Neighborhood" sections will be in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

Last spring's briefing for another kids group by Mills officials also focused on the value of kids' ideas in modern retail marketing. These contacts help school kids understand how they can influence developments in their communities.

 

Lifestyle

Ten-year-old Daniel Fenton and 7-year-old Chris Cain last month worked to protect the beauty of the Meramec River. This time, Daniel brought along friends from his Cub Scout Pack to help.

The boys were among hundreds of volunteers who took part in the 36th annual Operation Clean Stream. That's the giant trash cleanup that covers the watersheds of the Meramec and its biggest tributaries.

This year's cleanup has special significance. It also marked the 25th anniversary of a 12-county referendum in 1978. That's when Missouri voters decided they wanted the Meramec to remain a free-flowing stream.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers had been authorized to build three big dams on the Meramec. That was supposed to provide storage of spring and summer runoff water to lessen flooding along the Mississippi River.

But, local protests like the referendum resulted in a reversal of the Corps' dam plans.

Stopping the Corps' plans to flood 23,000 acres of Meramec river valley was one thing. Keeping the river valley beautiful was something else.

That's because people throw all sorts of junk and garbage into the Meramec. They also litter along the tributaries like the Big, Bourbeuse, Courtois and Huzzah rivers.

Chris Cain has been on Clean Stream cleanup efforts for the last four years. His dad, Larry Cain, is on the Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region. That's the group that coordinates clean-up efforts on the Meramec.

Asked about the biggest piece of junk he's ever found, Chris said, "A school bus." The old bus had been parked along the river as a vacation shelter. But, high water had toppled the bus and filled it with sand.

It finally took a National Guard armored tank "puller" to get that cleaned up.

Daniel's biggest junk find has been a car and a washing machine.

This was Daniel's second year on the Meramec cleanup. Last year, he worked with his family. But, this year, he brought along other members of Cub Scout Pack 325 to help.

Daniel and his friends worked along and in the river near Green Tree Park in his hometown of Kirkwood. That's the same section he worked last year.

He said he helps with the cleanup so the river will be beautiful when the family takes its float trips. Last month, he and his mother, Linda, joined three other people on the Meramec near Cuba, Mo.

They floated the river for seven hours on two rafts. He said they had their lunch on a sand bar in the river.

"Usually we use canoes but, this time, we wanted to try something different," he said.

Chris' family did their cleanup work a stretch of the Big River near Eureka. That's the same area they worked on last year. This year, he worked in a crew that included two of his cousins, Nick and Justin Serati of Oakville.

Chris' family has been interested in the condition of the Meramec. His grandfather has a vacation cabin on the river. It's his grandfather's johnboat they use during the cleanup.

Chris has accumulated a "cleanup uniform" for his work. He's got a life vest, water shoes and work gloves. Then, there's a soft hat, sun glasses and sunscreen for sun protection.

He's also got his own small shovel. Chris admits, "I like to dig in the mud."

He and his family work both along the riverbank and on the river. One year, their johnboat was filled with so many old tires they had to get out and wade alongside.

Although he knows how to swim, he found out earlier this summer how valuable the life vest can be. He was in a race at camp and fell out of his canoe. "The first thing I had to do was catch the canoe paddle before it floated away," he said.

Chris has been fishing, swimming, canoeing and kayaking on the Meramec. For fishing, he said he uses crickets to catch sunfish.

In addition to the August cleanups, Chris and his family go on winter cleanups near Fenton and Arnold. Chris' dad, Larry, said sometimes it's easier to spot junk in the winter because leaves are off the trees and bushes.

If you'd like to get involved in Operation Clean Stream, you can call 1-866-983-9900.

 

Outdoors

Frontiers kids learn about outdoors, conservation

Ten-year-old Rebekah Davis likes to find animals and birds in the outdoors. She even named a baby mocking bird after the bird's mother left it on the deck at their St. Peters, Mo., home.

Her brother, 7-year-old Andrew, is more into chasing the animals, snakes and birds. He said he found two garter snakes in the family's backyard. Andrew admits his sister gets along better with wild creatures than he does.

But, one thing Rebekah and Andrew have in common is their enrollment in the Missouri Department of Conservation's Frontiers program. That's a voluntary program that helps kids learn about the outdoors and also work on beneficial conservation projects.

Young Saint Louis.com ran into Rebekah and Andrew last month at the Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County. They and other new Frontiers members were at Busch earning Frontier points while learning archery.

Although it was Rebekah's first time at archery, she was able to hit a target balloon.

Next month, they'll take a night insect hunt. That project also awards Frontiers points.

So far, the two each have earned about 1,200 Frontiers points. That enough to pass the first awards level. You become a Conservation Tracker after earning 1,000 points for various outdoor activities and projects.

The highest rating in the Frontiers' program comes after you've earned 30,000 points. Although it takes time, that total has been reached by dedicated young people in the St. Louis area.

(In January, 2002, YSL.com profiled two brothers, Josh and Jacob Weller. That was after they both achieved the 30,000-point plateau. To read their story, click here.)

(If you'd like to join the Frontiers program, you can contact the Missouri Department of Conservation at the Busch headquarters at (636) 441-4554.)

Brothers Daniel, James and Michael Maason of O'Fallon, Mo., only have been Frontiers members since last June. Their archery lessons were worth 100 points, giving them 750 points each.

Eleven-year-old Daniel said one of his next Frontiers projects is the ABC walk. That's a hike when they identify something in the outdoors for every letter in the alphabet.

He said the project he liked best so far was writing a report on poisonous plants. The list included such things as poison ivy, poison oak and hemlock.

He also went to Busch to try out his wildlife calls. He made calls to deer, crickets and frogs. Daniel said he got answers back from a robin and a cardinal.

Nine-year-old James said he likes the sounds he hears when on hikes in the woods. He's looking forward to the ABC hike. But, he admits that he "brought back two rashes" when he went on the poison plant hike.

Younger brother Michael, who is 7, said his best experience outdoors was in Georgia. He said the family caught a 40-inch alligator snapping turtle. They caught a fish and fed it to the turtle.

"It snapped the fish's head right off," Michael said.

Twelve-year-old Robby Lass of St. Charles said he's earned "about 2,340-ish" Frontiers points. He and his brother, 10-year-old Eric, have been in the program for a year.

Eric said he's earned 1,300 points so far. "I didn't write the story like Robby did," he said.

Robby said his book was "about a kid who didn't like the outdoors at first. But, he caught a big fish and then turned into being a big conservationist." He said the story book was worth 500 Frontiers points.

Another project involved building and filling bird feeders. "But, most of the time, we just end up feeding the squirrels," he said.

Eric said squirrels are persistent in raiding the bird feeders. "Once, they even tipped over a humming bird feeder and drank the nectar," he said.

Eric said they try to help wildlife. "Once, we took care of a dove that hit our window. The bird finally got better and flew away," he said. He added that birdwatching is his favorite outdoor activity, followed by fishing and "tubing on the river."

Robby said his favorite outdoor activity is fishing. "That, and going to the Bass Pro Shop," he added. The famous outdoor store from Springfield, Mo., recently opened another outlet in St. Charles County.

 

Health

Kids already planning for Red Ribbon Days

Thirteen-year-olds Taylor Horwitz, Tehylor Palley and Paige Johnson already are making plans for their school's Red Ribbon Days. That's a week-long program in October that urges kids to avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

The three 8th-graders are members of the TREND chapter at Parkway Central Middle School. Last year, the chapter won a competition for the best Red Ribbon Days program.

Last month, the girls attended the 4-day 2003 National TREND Conference to learn ways to make Red Ribbon Days more effective.

They don't know exactly what events will be in this year's Red Ribbon Days. But, Tehylor said she's sure there'll be fund-raising. "Our school does lots of fund raisers," she said.

Paige Johnson said last year the Red Ribbon Days featured a lollipop sale, called "Kiss Drugs Good-bye."

Tehylor said kids also sold red ribbons. Proceeds went to "families whose homes had burned down," she said.

One event the girls hope happens again is the appearance on Channel 5's "Good Morning, St. Louis" segment. Last year, Taylor Horwitz was in the group from Parkway Central Middle who were interviewed outside the Channel 5 studios.

She said, "We had a bunch of signs and big posters and were on TV. That was neat."

Advisor Carole Crowell said the TREND kids start planning for Red Ribbon Days soon after school starts. Parkway Central Middle School began its year on Thursday, Aug. 21.

The local TREND officials have scheduled two area planning workshops early in October. One will be on Thursday, Oct. 2, at St. John's United Methodist Church in the city of St. Louis. A second session will be Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Armory in Festus, Mo.

Red Ribbon Days will be held in area schools the week of October 23-31.

(If your school isn't involved in Red Ribbon Days, there's still time. Call TREND's St. Louis office at (314) 962-3456, Ext. 329. Ask for Ginny Shaller or Karen Jones.)

Paige Johnson said the TREND program keeps her "very busy." She added, "If I'm busy, then I don't get in trouble."

Tehylor Palley said, "I don't have any friends who use drugs, tobacco or alcohol."

But, she add there also are personal health reasons for avoiding those substances. "I cough a lot when exposed to smoke," she said. In addition, her youngest sister has asthma. "An asthma attack can come at any time," Tehylor said.

Taylor Horwitz said she likes the combination of fun and learning that TREND provides.

She said, "We learn what we shouldn't do. Then, it's important to get those lessons across to other people."

The girls said the Red Ribbon Days at school involve a lot of reminders to kids about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Last year, their TREND chapter members decorated with red ribbons throughout the school. In addition, everyone was urged to wear special red bracelets. There were prizes for those kids who won the bracelets every day.

There was also a school-wide Red Ribbon "noise" event. That was to see who could make the loudest noise with homemade instruments in honor of the anti-drug campaign.

There was also a lunch-time raffle where kids drew out questions and won prizes if they could answer them correctly.

Co-advisor Carole Crowell is a health teacher at the school. She shares the advising with Andy Shanker. Ms. Crowell said, most of the time, school fund-raising efforts that are simple are the most successful.

The three girls also have other things on their mind for the coming year and beyond.

For instance, Taylor acts in plays and takes dance lessons. "Last year, I had dance lessons once a week. This year, I'm going to have two lessons a week," she said.

She's planning a career in medicine. "I like to work with kids and I want to be a doctor. Maybe I can do both by being a pediatrician."

Tehylor and Paige both want careers in business.

Tehylor wants to be a business executive. Paige said she wants to own her own pet store. She's got a head start on pets. Her family has a hedgehog, a rabbit, a bird, two dogs and a snake. "We also want to have a saltwater aquarium," she said.

 

Books

This month's book reviews

It's tough having a famous author
of kids' books as your mom

Harvey Ryan was one fifth grader who really hated it when his mom came to school. She was invited to speak to classes because she wrote books that were popular with kids. The trouble was she wrote about kids who often did dumb things. Mrs. Ryan "credited" her son Harvey for giving her many of her ideas to use in her books. How embarrassing! Harvey wished he had a regular mom just like everybody else.

Harvey's mom was divorced from his dad, who had remarried. He liked his dad's new wife and enjoyed staying with them every other week. The trouble here was that his mom had too much time on her hands to watch everything that Harvey did. And, naturally, she had to write about it in her books. Harvey's best friend was Cecilia Spicer, or Seal for short. Seal had the idea that if they could find a boyfriend for Mrs. Ryan she wouldn't be likely to watch Harvey for things to write about. She might even be too busy to come to school all the time to talk about her books.

There was one unattached male that the two kids knew about. The trouble here was that the male was Mr. Stevens, the principal of the school. Harvey went along with the idea of trying to bring the two grown-ups together in order to encourage a romance between them. It worked. The trouble here was that Harvey came to find out that the only thing worse than having a mom who wrote about him was having a mom that was dating the principal of his school.

Harvey's one-after-another troubles provide lots of laughs for a really entertaining book. Harvey's baseball playing efforts provide an interesting subplot for those interested in sports.

 

A long made-up fairy tale told with tongue-in-cheek humor by a modern-thinking author

Alexandria, an orphaned goose-girl, lives an isolated existence surrounded only by her twelve geese. She was doing okay by herself until she gave the last piece of bread from her lunch to a hungry old crone. The crone, who, of course was a witch, had to reward Alexandria for her generous gesture. Plain Alexandria was made beautiful with long golden hair. When she combed her long hair, glittering gold dust came out of it. And when she cried, her tears turned into precious diamonds.

Unfortunately for Alexandria, others in the neighboring village could see her great beauty and her unusual means of producing wealth. It wasn't long before a mean but powerful king and a nice-looking but stupid prince showed up and demanded that she pick one of them for her husband. They locked her up in a tower until she made up her mind which one she would marry. Alexandria couldn't stand either one of them. All she wanted to do was escape from the tower and go back to her simple life with her twelve geese.

With the help of her geese, Alexandria manages to escape from the tower. But her troubles are not over. In fact, they are just really beginning. She, along with her geese, goes through a series of dangerous adventures which involve cannibalistic ogres, the stupid prince, a jealous baroness, dark dungeons, and, finally, the evil king himself. Believe it or not, a reader stays worried throughout the events and always wonders if Alexandria's story can ever have a happy ending.

If you have ever thought about writing your own fairy tales, this is one you want to read to get an idea how it can be done.

 

Can a lonely kid whose multimillionaire parents buy him anything he wants truly be happy?

The hero in "A Week in the Woods" by Andrew Clements is different from what you would expect from the title. In fact, the first part of the book gives a lot of detail about Mr. Maxwell, a science teacher at Hardy Elementary School in New Hampshire. It isn't until the second chapter that Mark Robert Chelmsley, the main character, is introduced. Mark is a fifth grader. His parents are moving from their mansion in Scarsdale, New York, to an old estate in Whitson, New Hampshire. Mark is to be uprooted from his home and his school, a private school for wealthy kids, and moved to a regular public school near their new home. Mark is resentful and really doesn't want to leave school in the middle of the school year and lose the few friends he has made there.

Mark is joining the fifth grade class in his new school just as they are getting ready to go on a week long camping trip in the woods. Mr. Maxwell, the science teacher, is the leader of the camping experience. He is an almost fanatic outdoorsman and environmentalist. His week long camping experience for the fifth graders has become a tradition at Hardy Elementary School.

Mark is understandably a little sullen when he enters the new school. Unfortunately for Mark, Mr. Maxwell quickly judges Mark to be a spoiled rich kid who is both lazy and smart-alecky. When Mark tries to show more interest and be more friendly, it is too late. Mr. Maxwell has already formed his opinion and won't change it in spite of Mark's best efforts.

Mark had learned to love roaming around in the outdoors. His wealthy parents had bought him all kinds of outdoor equipment. Mark had read lots of articles and books on wilderness survival. So when he gets into trouble through no fault of his own early in the school's week at camp, he simply heads off into the wilderness on his own.

Well, Mark didn't realize what a furor would be created when Mr. Maxwell found out that one of his fifth graders, a son of famous and wealthy parents, had just disappeared from school camp. Somewhat carelessly, Mr. Maxwell takes off on a search without proper clothes or gear for survival. The book becomes an exciting story of Mark's and Mr. Maxwell's efforts to survive in the woods.

 

 

Another middle schooler tries to
figure out how to be popular

Bess Cunningham is just starting middle school. She likes to be independent and do her own thing. But, still, she would like to be popular with her new classmates. Bess had seen some older girls wearing colorful combinations of old clothes they had picked out at a thrift store. Since Bess's mother collected and sorted old clothes for a charity thrift store, Bess had plenty of colorful old clothes to pick from. When she wore long skirts, colorful tops, and wild looking hats, she certainly was noticed by her new classmates.

Her school was known for its elaborate theatrical productions. Bess was picked by the teacher who was directing the upcoming school play to be the stage manager for the production. That meant Bess had to know everything about the play and even know every line for all the actors in it. It was a big job. But since all the popular kids in the school were in the play, they all got to know Bess very well.

Everything was going in the right direction until Bess' mom leaned on her to start giving some of her weekend time to working in the town's soup kitchen for homeless people. It was there that Bess met Gracie Jarvis Battle, an elderly widow who had lost her home and now had to live on the streets. Bess' concern for Gracie and her increasing involvement with her mother's charity efforts started to come into conflict with her responsibilities as stage manager.

The rest of the story is concerned with how Bess juggles all of her increasing responsibilities and not mess up and make everbody mad at her. Can she do what she thinks is right and still remain popular with her teachers and her middle school classmates

 

 

 

 

Science

Local Challenger website opens this month

St. Louis' new Challenger Learning Center won't open until November. But, you can start learning about the space center this month when its website goes on-line.

Tasmyn Front is director of the center that will give St. Louis kids and their families a look at space exploration. The center's grand opening will be Monday, Nov. 17.

The building, now being remodeled, is near the new McCluer South-Berkeley High School in north Saint Louis County.

But, before that building opens, the center's website will give everyone a taste of what's coming. The address will be: www.clcstlouis.org. If the website isn't on-line when you read this story, try later in September.

Director Front promised Young Saint Louis.com the website will be up and running before the end of the month.

One important part of the website's content will be a description of the center's first theme, which is "Voyage to Mars." The center will be set up as if you were preparing for a trip to the Red Planet.

Sending a space probe to Mars is one of the nation's top priorities for future space travel.

Another website function is to allow school groups and even individuals to make reservations to visit the center. The center will be open to school classes as well as groups from community organizations and corporations.

Even individual kids and their families can reserve a time. Individuals and families will be grouped with others to make up study groups of from 18 to 36 people.

A special Resources page on the website will have reservation forms which can be downloaded. Or you can contact Ms. Front by phone at (314) 506-9144 or by e-mail at tfront@fergflor.k12.mo.us.

The website will include a home page with a lot of special features. Other sections, besides Resources, will be Missions, Calendar, Pressroom, and Contact.

One of the special features in the Resources section will be a link to a national index of the 48 other Challenger sites across the country. You'll be able to go to those local sites to see what they do.

The nearest Challenger sites currently open are in Kansas City, Woodstock, Ill., and Paducah, Ky. Another Illinois site at Bloomington, Ill., also is due to open this year.

Ms. Front said, "The Challenger Center is a new, exciting learning opportunity to come to St. Louis. We're glad to be able to offer this to the community."

She said the center is a "living memorial" to the crew of Challenger who died in the explosion shortly after take-off in 1986. Families of the crew members helped to set up a non-profit organization to underwrite the centers.

The first program offered will be "Voyage to Mars." Ms. Front said other "scenarios" will be included in future months. A complete description of the "Voyage to Mars" program will be found on the Mission section of the website.

The Challenger center already has reservations from over 100 school, corporation and community groups. The center has capacity to serve 18 groups per week.

Ms. Front said all available slots have been reserved for November. "There are one or two slots still open in December," she said.

She said the advance flow of reservations has been "very good." The advance registration of 100 groups amounts to nearly 1 1/2 months of programs. School or community groups outside of the immediate St. Louis area also can make reservations, she said.

If a school class makes a reservation, the center also provides a 4- to 6-week study curriculum. That is used in class before the kids come to the center. Teachers can get a 6-hour training session to help them prepare for the class work.

The center will feature a "mission control" room along with a "Mars transport vehicle" work station. When visiting the center, kids will be able to staff both rooms to run their own "Voyage to Mars."

On the Calendar section of the website, you'll be able to keep up with upcoming programs and events. That way you can plan ahead for future visits to the center.

The Pressroom section will be for reprints of press releases or articles on the center. The Contact section will include ways to contact the center's staff. That section also will have a map of the center's floor plan and directions to the center.

 

Sports

Young tennis player excelled this year

Ten-year-old Michelle Kedzierski won the 12-under singles in this year's Sweet 16 Missouri Valley tennis tournament. She and her partner also won the doubles title.

This summer, she split six matches in the Super-National Clay Court tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., again playing in the 12-under division.

Her success against players up to two year older is a good sign for the future. She'll be playing in the same age division for two more years.

But, this fall, she's taking some time off from tournament competition. She said she needs to concentrate on practice with her tennis coach, Bill Kress. She said she needs to develop more consistency in her strokes and footwork.

Her goal in tennis: "I want my strokes to be perfect."

She said she might get back into tournament tennis late this year.

Michelle said she started playing tennis at age 5. "My dad told me to go out on the court and hit some balls. Then I had a lesson," she said.

Michelle often plays against older girls and boys. "In my first tournament, I split all my matches with both girls and boys," she said.

She doesn't have to go very far to get some stiff competition. Her older sister, 14-year-old Jennifer, is the No. 1 player for the St. Joseph Academy tennis team.

Asked if she can beat her older sister, Michelle smiled and said, "I'm getting close."

This fall, Michelle is a 6th grader at St. Ambrose Catholic School on The Hill.

She said her favorite thing about tennis is "hitting the ball as hard as I can." She likes the work involved in improving her game. She said, by concentrating on her game, she doesn't worry about her opponents.

Michelle said her favorite tennis player is pro Justine Henin-Hardenne. She's the player who upset Serena Williams in the finals of this year's French Open in Paris.

Asked why she likes the Belgian pro, Michelle said, "She's really short and tiny. And she's got such good strokes.

"She sticks up for the little people."

Michelle is 5'3" now but she might not be small much longer. Her older sister is 5'9".

One of her closest competitors in the 12-under age division is Alexandria Lehman of St. Louis.

Michelle met "Alex" in the singles finals in the Sweet 16 tournament. Then, the two joined forces to win the Sweet 16 doubles finals.

Michelle said the Sweet 16 tournament was the "funnest" meet she's played in. She said she liked Kansas City and there was time between matches to "goof off with my friends."

Recently, Michelle was mentioned in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about youth tennis. The article said Michelle was one local player who were doing well in regional meets.

The article talked mostly about the disadvantage local players have because of our weather. Young players in California and across the South have the opportunity to play outdoors all year round.

Michelle meets with her coach at Tower Grove Park's outdoor courts during the spring, summer and fall. She said she "does clinics" indoors in the colder weather.

Michelle said her ground strokes are the strongest part of her game. She uses a one-hand forehand but uses two hands on her backhand. She said she's tried using a two-hand forehand but "it usually goes out of bounds or over the fence."

Her coach puts her through a strong practice schedule. She works on all sorts of different strokes and also does "lots of running." About the part of the game that needs the most work, Michelle said, "Footwork."

When she was younger, Michelle played on a select soccer team as well as playing tennis.

As she got more into tennis, she said she didn't have time for both sports.

But, she does make time to do well in school. Michelle said her grades are "first honors." She said that's one-step below the best grades. "I usually get all A's and one B," she said.

Her favorite class is math. Last year, she said the math teacher let kids sample a wide range of math. "Sometimes, we'd do college math. She skipped around a lot," she said.

 

Profile

Fourth in a series

Illinois teen has sports, college goals set

Freshman Mark Council wants to be a starting defensive tackle for Edwardsville High School when the team wins the Illinois football title in 2007. As a middle-schooler, he was in the stands when the team finished as state runner-up both of the last two years.

Those trips to the state finals also have given him an idea where he'd like to go to college. The games were held at University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. .

"I went to both high school championship games there and I thought it would be nice to go there for college," Mark said.

Of course, those goals are in the future. The 15-year-old is now a freshman at Edwardsville High. But, he already has an impressive background that should help him have success.

Mark's accomplishments earned him a 2003 Young Achiever of the Year award. Those awards are given annually to four elementary, four middle and four high school kids in the metro St. Louis area.

(Young Saint Louis.com announced the 2003 Achiever winners in May. In June, we began running individual profiles of elementary and middle school award winners.

(You can read the May announcement story by clicking here. For the June profile of Kristen Delia, click here. For the July profile of Meghan Biotnott, click here. And for the August profile of Alexander Ecklund, click here.

(If you'd like to know more about getting involved in the Achiever program, visit www.iln-gateway.org.)

Going into high school, Mark carries a 4.0 GPA. "I've had a 4.0 for as long as I can remember," he said.

In 7th and 8th grades, he was on Edwardsville Middle School's math team. In a regional meet at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, his team finished first and he was 7th overall.

The team also finished second in a regional tournament at Florissant Valley Community College; Mark was 11th in that competition.

He also won the school's Geography Bee and won a local Daughters of the Revolution (DAR) history award. He was the male recipient of the American Legion's God and Country award. That award goes to the outstanding boy and girl students in the 8th grade.

He's been playing one type of sports or another most of his life.

Mark began playing baseball before kindergarten. He started with T-ball. Last summer, he played third base on a team in the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Little League Assn.

His basketball playing started in elementary school. But, lately he's shifted more toward wrestling. He had a 17-2 record in 8th grade when he wrestled at 215 pounds. His team finished unbeaten in dual meets.

Football came later but is a main focus now. "I started in 7th grade. I hadn't played anywhere on an organized team before that," he said. After this fall's football season, he is planning to do football conditioning in both the winter and next spring.

Last season, he started at both offensive and defensive tackle on the 8th grade team. He said he was the smallest defensive tackle.

Freshman football practice started in July. He's hoping to play on the defensive line. "I'd rather play defense because there are fewer set rules. Play is more instinctive on defense," Mark said.

Then, there's his music. Practice already has started for the high school's marching band. He's played the tuba for five years. He doesn't have private lessons but does have regular sectional music classes in school. He practices with other "low brass" instruments, such as trombones.

Recently he joined his church choir as a bass singer.

Although he doesn't plan a musical career, he said, "I'd like to play in a community band."

Despite all those activities, Mark also likes to read. "I've got 50 to 60 Star Wars books. I like science fiction," he said. He's also read all five of the Harry Potter books.

His career plans are aimed at dentistry. He'd like to be an orthodontist. That career would put him in the medical field but allow him more control over his work hours. That will mean more time in the evenings and weekends for his family.

But, before that, he's got his eye on Champaign-Urbana. First, he'd like to be in the state football finals and then for his college work.

 

St. Louis History

From Missouri History Museum

First U.S. kindergarten class here in 1873

In September, 1873, St. Louis was the site of the nation's first public school kindergarten class. And teacher Susan Blow of St. Louis became the first kindergarten teacher.

She welcomed 68 young boys and girls to that class at Des Peres School in Carondelet.

Her idea was to introduce kids to creative play and great literature at an earlier age. She felt it was important to start education early. After all, in the 1870s in St. Louis, only half of local school-age kids attended any classes.

She said she wanted kids to get an education early before they learned too many bad habits.

Miss Blow picked up this philosophy while traveling in Europe. She saw how the ideas of German educator Friedrich Froebel were used in kindergartens in that country.

Miss Blow got the attention of St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent William Torrey Harris in a simple way. She offered to teach the class without pay. In fact, her father, a rich industrialist, agreed to fund the entire experiment.

She also taught others the Froebel methods so there could be more kindergarten classes throughout the city.

Her program became a model for schools across the country. Miss Blow was in demand as a speaker and educational theorist. She published five books of educational theory and was active in the International Kindergarten Union until her death in 1916.

You can learn more about Miss Blow and her education ideas in author Katherine T. Corbett's book, "In Her Place." The book also contains much more about history of St. Louis. It's available at the Missouri History Museum and can be borrowed from area libraries.

The Des Peres School building is still standing. Located at 6303 Michigan St., it is now the Carondelet Historic Center. The building includes a carefully-restored classroom where the first kindergarten class was taught 130 years ago.

Susan Blow is one of the famous St. Louisans who have stars in the Walk of Fame in University City. You can visit the Walk's website at www.stlouiswalkoffame.org.

Other historic items from past Septembers

* In September 1823, the Native American Keokuk was named by the U.S. to be "Grand Chief of the Sac and Fox Tribe."

In those days before Missouri became a state, Indian affairs were very much on the minds of all pioneer families. In fact, the U.S. government and Indian tribes were still signing peace treaties.

A picture of that famed Indian chieftain is included in the Missouri History Museum's Current Gallery.

* On Sept. 27, 1953, the St. Louis Browns baseball team played its last game at Sportsman's Park.

The Browns started in St. Louis in 1902 and were the dominant local professional team in those early years. However, when the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals, they moved ahead of the Browns.

You can learn lots about the Browns and other major league baseball teams by logging on www.baseballlibrary.com.

* One of St. Louis' founders, Auguste Chouteau, was born in September, 1749, in New Orleans. He and Pierre LaClede would later travel up the Mississippi to found an outpost which would become St. Louis.

When in St. Louis, Chouteau successfully negotiated several peace treaties with Indian tribes. When he died on Feb. 24, 1829, he was the largest landowner in St. Louis.

For more about Chouteau, LaClede and other famous St. Louisans, see Charles Ravensway's big book, "St. Louis: an informal history of the city and its people-1764-1865."

 

From "St. Louis, 365"

Highlights: Union Station opens;
Edison shows phonograph

St. Louis's Union Station opened in 1894. In 1900, Thomas Edison demonstrated to the public for the first time how phonograph records were made.

In 1842, then-lawyer Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel by a Belleville, Ill., attorney. They ended up not dueling. That was several years before Lincoln became president of the United States.

These events as well as several sports records occurred in past Septembers, according to local historian Joe Sonderman. These and dozens of other past incidents are included in his book of local history, "St. Louis 365."

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

Here are a selection of the 151 separate historical items in the September chapter of Sonderman's book:

September 1, 1894: The magnificent Union Station opened. Architect Theodore C. Link's building cost $6.5 million to build, and was twice as big as any railroad depot in the world at the time. The station closed in 1979. In 1985, it was renovated and turned into a unique shopping area. Today, the station is one of the top attractions in St. Louis.

September 5, 1906: Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University threw the first legal forward pass in football. This was the first season in which the forward pass was legal. The first pass in a practice game against Carroll College was incomplete and the Bills lost the ball. The next time, Robinson completed a 20-yarder for the first aerial touchdown.

September 13, 1951: The Cardinals became the first modern era team to play two different teams on the same day at the same ball park. The Cards beat the Giants at Sportsman's Park, 6-4, in a make-up game from the previous night. Then, the Redbirds beat the Braves, 2-0, in a make-up game from earlier in the season.

September 19, 1949: A $100 million plan for development of the Meramec River Basin for recreation was unveiled. Planners assumed that three dams recommended by the army engineers would be built. They already had been approved by Congress. For the next 28 years, a battle would rage over the Meramec Basin. (Eventually, the dam proposal was reversed. For a story about how kids are involved in the current Meramec River Basin, see Lifestyle story on home page.)

September 21, 1948: Benson Ford, vice president of the Ford Motor Company, dedicated the new $12 million Lincoln-Mercury plant on Highway 66 near Lambert Municipal Airport. At that time, Hazelwood did not exist. The village was founded by residents concerned about plans for Florissant to annex the area that included the new plant. (Recently, Ford Motor Company announced it would close the Hazelwood plant soon.)

September 22, 1842: Belleville attorney James Shields challenged Abraham Lincoln to a duel. The two men met on this date, but Lincoln's friends convinced the future president not to fight.

September 23, 1806: Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis after their journey of discovery into the wilds of the Louisiana Purchase. They had traveled 1,700 miles in two years and four months. The people of the village of St. Louis lined the river bank and "Hizzard three cheers" as they landed.

September 26, 1983: Bob Forsch became the only pitcher in Cardinal history to ever throw two no-hitters. He also became the 25th pitcher in major league history to do it. His second was a 3-0 win over Montreal. Only two runners reached base; and Forsch threw just 96 pitches.

September 27, 1998: Mark McGwire blasted home runs 69 and 70 in the season finale at Busch Stadium. Number 69 came off Mike Thurman of the Expos in the third inning. Number 70 was a three-run shot off Carl Pavano in McGwire's last at bat of the season.

September 30, 1900: A huge crowd gathered at the St. Louis Exposition to see how phonograph records were made. Until now, the process was a secret closely guarded by Thomas Edison. Since his patents were about to expire, Edison arranged the demonstration. The crowd watched a recording session by "world famous phonograph singer," Will Denny.

 

Things to do

Places to go, things to do

Lots of outdoor places and things in September

Schools are back in session and many outdoor swimming pools close after Labor Day. But, there's plenty of other outdoor things for St. Louis area kids and their families to do during September.

The Missouri History Museum has a new series of six free Twilight Tuesdays outdoor music concerts. There's a wide variety of musical themes.

The concert series starts Tuesday, Sept. 2. The programs are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the Museum in Forest Park.

Other concerts will be Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30 and Oct. 7.

The first concert will feature Boogie Chyld. The band that plays everything from funk to disco.

Other featured performers are: Sept. 9-The St. Louis Social Club; Sept. 16-Theo Peoples and the Mad Musicians; Sept. 23-"Lady Jazz" Mae Wheeler and Friends; Sept. 30-The Michael Brooks Big Band, and Oct. 7-The Powerplay Band.

For information, you can call the Museum at (314) 746-4599 or log on to www.mohistory.org.

At the St. Louis County Parks

For kids who like to hike, why not join the St. Louis County Parks' Hiking Club. The next quarterly meeting of the club will be Thursday, Sept. 18.

This will be the best time to get details on the many hikes sponsored in various county parks. Membership in the club is $15 per person.

The September meeting will start at 7 p.m. It will be held at the Affton White-Rodgers Community Center, 9801 Mckenzie Rd.

For directions, a copy of the latest newsletter and a membership application, call (314) 416-4374.

You get the low down on club events and seminars, merchant discounts and club meetings.

Also in the county parks:

* The Faust Folk Festival, Sept. 27-28

The popular Folk Festival at Faust Park in west St. Louis County will be on the last weekend in September, Saturday, the 27th, and Sunday, the 28th.

The Faust Historical Village will be filled with reenactors and entertainment. There are also demonstrations of crafts and refreshments. Blacksmith items will be available for purchase.

For information, call (636) 532-7298.

* Late night fishing at four county parks.

The final Second Saturday Late Night Fishing program will be held Sept. 13 at four county parks. Fishing ends at 11 p.m.

The parks are Bee Tree Park, Creve Coeur Park, Spanish Lake Park and Suson Park. This is the last of six summer night fishing opportunities. They started in April.

For information, call (314) 416-4374.

 

For "first time" hunters, a clinic and hunt

As we head into the fall, there are more opportunities for young hunters. One of the first will be Sept. 12 and 14 at Missouri Department of Conservation's Busch Shooting Range and Training Center.

This event is the Youth "First Timers" Squirrel Clinic and Hunt.

This is one of the department's most popular classes. It's open to kids 11 to 15, who must be accompanied by an adult.

On Friday, Sept. 12, there will be a clinic to help you learn hunting skills and techniques that can last a lifetime. The clinic starts at 6 p.m.

Then, at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14, there will be a first-time squirrel hunt.

For information and reservations, call (636) 441-4554.

 

Advance notice for early October outdoor special

If you want to learn more outdoor skills, the W.O.W. National Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Schools are for you.

The schools are coming to Missouri in October and one of them will be in the St. Louis area.

The St. Louis program will be on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Spanish Lake.

Young Saint Louis.com is giving early notice because you'll want to make your reservations early in September.

There are classes in archery, boating, camping, fishing, hunting, outdoor cooking, nature arts and crafts, natural history, outdoor living skills, outdoor adventures, outdoor photography and more.

To request an information packet, call the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The telephone numbers are 1-800-334-6946 (voice) and 1-800-379-2419 (TDD). Or you can e-mail to moparks@mail.dnr.state.mo.us.

 

Math Puzzler

New, unique Math Puzzler for September

Mr. Math Puzzler decided to use some new and unique puzzlers for September. That's a good way to start the new school year.

With the 2003-2004 school year started, you might think you've already had enough regular math classes. You might tell yourself you don't want to see another math problem.

But, Mr. Math Puzzler, who is math teacher Wayne Hesse of Green Park Lutheran School, has dreamt up some problems that can be fun. And, remember, you don't have to worry about a grade with these.

But, Young Saint Louis.com has designed a type of competition. If you get all six Puzzlers right, we'll publish your name among the winners in next month's YSL.com edition.

In addition, the names of all winners go into a drawing where up to three kids can win $10 Borders book certificates.

This edition marks the start of the third year of Math Puzzlers. YSL.com started the feature in September, 2001.

If this is your first time with the Math Puzzlers, you might like to review past questions and answers to find out how Mr. Math Puzzler thinks.

Using the Past Stories tab on the home page, pick a past issue of YSL.com since September, 2001. That way, you can use past stories to review previous questions and answers. The answers to one month's questions are included in the next month's edition.

(For instance, to see the August, 2003, questions and answers, click here.)

When you think you're ready, come back to this September edition and try your luck.

A reminder: These Math Puzzlers can be quite challenging, especially for younger kids. Remember, we don't mind if you get help from a parent or older brother or sister. In fact, you might want to make this a family activity.

Here's how to enter:

1. Print out the following entry form.
2. Fill out your name, address and telephone number.
3. Give your answers to the six Math Puzzlers.
4. Put your completed entry into a stamped envelope.
5. Mail your entry to:
   
   Math Puzzler Contest
   Young Saint Louis.com
   231 So. Bemiston Ave., Suite 800
   Clayton, MO 63105
   
   
6. All entries must be postmarked by the 15th of the month to be eligible.

-------------Clip here to make entry-------------

Entry for September, 2003, Math Puzzler Contest:

Name: ________________________________ Age: _______

Address: ____________________ School: _______________

City:____________________, State:______ ZIP___________

Contact phone no.(____)____________________

The Math Puzzlers
(September, 2003)

1. Adam and Betty Brown and Charles and Dolores White were having dinner at a restaurant. During dinner, they discussed their weights. Adam said, "I weigh 60 pounds more than Betty." Charles said, "I weigh 40 pounds more than Dolores." Then Adam said, "Together, Betty and I weigh 40 pounds more than you and Dolores." Together the Browns and Whites weight 720 pounds. How much does each person weigh?

 

Answer: _______________

 

2. There are 10 bags of silver coins. Each bag contains a different number of coins of 15 or more. One of the bags contains all counterfeit coins which look exactly like the others but each one weighs 1 gram less than the real ones. Each real coin weighs 10 grams. Using a scale only once, can you determine which bag contains the counterfeit coins?

 

Answer: _____________

 

3. While talking at a barber shop the other day, several old-timers were discussing how tough things were in the Depression days of the 1930s. In the early days of the motion picture industry, to stimulate business during the Depression, tickets for adult admissions were 25 cents and children's tickets were only a dime. With each children's ticket, a free lollipop was given to each child. On one particular evening, the ticket seller reports that he sold exactly 300 tickets and took in $55.65. How many free lollipops were given out that night?

 

Answer: _____________

 

4. Assume that the earth is a perfect sphere and that you have a long belt stretched tightly around the equator which is 24,900 miles long. How much length would you have to add to the belt to raise it one foot away from the surface of the earth all the way around?

 

Answer: _____________

 

5. George now has $1,066.41 in an account at his bank at 8% annual interest rate compounded quarterly. How much money did he have six months ago?

 

Answer: _____________

 

6. Divide this polygon in four smaller polygons of equal size and shape.

 

Answer: _____________

 

Past winners have Mr. Math Puzzler figured out

Four past winners of Math Puzzler competitions got all of the August Puzzlers correct. They ought to be ready for whatever math classes they have for the 2003-2004 school year.

All the August Puzzlers could be answered with numbers.

Unlike July, all August Puzzlers had only one answer. The previous month, Mr. Math Puzzler included some questions which had more than one right answer. Not this time.

But, for Drew Fendler, brothers Eric and Phillip Hsu and Thomas Van Horn, they only needed one chance per question.

Then, we put the four winners in a hat and drew for the three $10 Borders book certificates. Thomas Van Horn's name was the one still left in the hat. But, he had been the only winner in the July contest.

Young Saint Louis.com is now starting its third year of Math Puzzlers. Math teacher Wayne Hesse of Green Park Lutheran School agreed to be Mr. Math Puzzler in September, 2001.

YSL.com always is looking for more entrants for the Math Puzzlers. If this is your first time with the Puzzlers, you might like to review past questions and answers before answering. A review would help you figure out how Mr. Math Puzzler thinks.

For review, use the Past Stories tab on the home page to bring up the archives of past issues. Then, using any month since September, 2001, you can check both questions and answers.

For the August Puzzler questions and answers, see below:

The August, 2003, Math Puzzlers

1. Each of three towns was menaced by a dragon living in a cave above each town. The wizards Malefano, Sagareth and Thaumater created these three dragons. Sagareth's dragon will menace its town for the same number of years as the square root of the number of years Thaumater's dragon curse is on its town. Sagareth's dragon curse also will last the number of years equal to half the square root of the number of years Malefano's dragon curse is on the third town. Thaumater's dragon curse will last the number of years equal to twice the square root of the number of years of Malefano's curse. How long will each curse last? (Hint: All curses will be expressed in whole years, no fractions. Also, you need to set up formulas and a table of values for all.)

Answer: M=64 yrs; S= 4, and T=16

The explanation: First you set up a formula for each age.

Then, a table of values:

        4  1   1
       16  2   4
       36  3   9
     * 64  4  16

 

2. Five glubs that tried to enter the town of Galvinchy were slain by 10 Knights of the Golden Sword. The knights laid the five glubs' bodies tail to head with five feet between one tail and the next head. Stretched out like that, the glubs covered a distance of 200 feet. The first, third and fifth glubs were all the same length, as were the second and fourth glubs. Each glub was either 10 feet longer or 10 feet shorter than its neighboring glub. Furthermore, each glub's length was a multiple of 10. What was the length of each glub? (Hint: Make a line drawing featuring the glubs and the gaps between them.)

Answer: 1,3,5=40; 2,4=30

The explanation: First lay out the glubs (marking 3 as X and 2 as Y) in a line with 5 feet between each, and total length at 200 feet (X+5+Y+5+X+5+Y+5+X=200). Then, you subtract 20 feet which represents the four 5-foot spaces between the five glubs. That leaves 180 feet in length left for the five glubs. You need to figure out whether the X glubs or the Y glubs are longer. Assuming the X glubs are longer, we'll subtract 30 feet (equal the 10-feet per glub we need to add to the longer glubs.) That's 150 divided by 5 glubs or 30 feet per glub. If you add 10 feet to three X glubs and put 5-foot spaces between glubs, you get (40+5+30+5+40+5+30+5+40=200.) (If you had figured the Y glubs were longer, you'd have subtracted 20 feet from 180 and divide by 5 to get 32 feet for a shorter glub and 42 feet for the longer. Those lengths aren't multiples of 10.)

 

3. Four cave dwarves, each of whom works at the same rate, were to complete a mining job according to a schedule. However, because of an argument, two of the four quit after working only one day. The remaining two dwarves finished the job, but it required two more days than originally had been scheduled. How many days were originally scheduled for completion of the job? (Hint: Create a table.)

Answer: 3 days

The explanation:

You can figure out the work schedule with a chart. If the 3rd and 4th workers effort was transferred to the first two workers and the job went two more days, you can see by the transferred work that the original job would have taken three days.

 

4. A certain gardener had a number of skilled workers, each of whom was getting $28 a day. He also had a number of semi-skilled workers, each earning $12 a day. This amounted to a combined daily payroll of $264 per day. Since many of the jobs didn't require much supervision, he figured that by reducing the number of skilled workers by one-half and doubling the number of semi-skilled employees, he could actually get much more work done at a cost of only $12 a day more. After making these changes, how many total employees does he now have? (Hint: Set up a system of linear equations and then find the answers by using the addition method.)

Answer: 19 employees

The explanation: This is a problem that can be solved by an addition method formula. Use X for the skilled workers and Y for the unskilled.

-2 (28X + 12Y = 264) ——> -56X - 24Y = -528
    14X + 24Y = 276  ——>  14X + 24Y =  276
                          ————————————————
                         -42X       = -252
                         —————                ————
                            X       =  6/2

                            X = 3 skilled

Using a similar formula for the unskilled, you get 8 unskilled, which when doubled comes to 16. Then, 3 skilled and 16 unskilled makes a total of 19 employees.

 

5. Art, Boyd and Carl were sitting at a bar and, to pass time, Art suggested that they flip coins. Whoever tossed the only head or tail of the three coins thrown wins 1/2 of the money that each of the others then has. They all start out with the same amount of money. Art won the first flip; Boyd won the second flip, and Carl won the third. Carl then counted his money and had exactly $13. How much did each have when they started? (Hint: Use a table and think in terms of common denominators of fractions.)

Answer: $8

The explanation: The best way to figure this is use a table and figure the various steps using decimals.

              A      B       C
            ———————————————————————
Start         x      x       x
First flip   2x    .5x     .5x
Second flip   x  1.75x    .25x
Third flip  .5x  .875x  1.625x

 

1.625X    $13
———————— = ————————   or X = $8
1.625    1.625

 

6. After playing poker for a few hours, George realized that he had lost 3/4ths of his money, so he stopped playing and went to the cafe for a bite to eat. He spent $3 for lunch and then returned to play a few more hours. During this time, he won back 4/5ths of the money he had lost. He stopped playing for the night and discovered that he now had $21 less than when he had started. How much money did he have when he started?

Answer: $120

The explanation: This is solved by using a collecting of like items formula. George started with X amount of money. Before he stopped he was left with 1/4X. Then, he spent $3 for lunch. He came back to win 4/5th of what he lost. The formula looks like this:

   1/4 X  - 3 + 3/5 X = X - 21

 

 17/20 X  - 3         = X - 21
          +21              +21