St. Louis People 365

Two key dates in civil rights history

Two key events in civil rights history in St. Louis occurred during past Septembers. Local Catholic schools were integrated in 1947 and the legal icon in the fight against slavery, Dred Scott, died in 1858.

These and other key historic items were included in "St. Louis People 365," a book that outlines thousands of items of historic significance in local history.

Among some not so serious items of local September history were: The first use of the forward pass in a college football game and the anniversary of when a "human fly" climbed the Arch and parachuted back to earth.

(St. Louis author Joe Sonderman has given permission to Young Saint Louis.com to quote selected items from the 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 120 items in the September chapter of the book.

Sept. 1, 1894: Union Station opened with speeches by Mayor Cyrus Walbridge, former governor David Francis and Terminal Railroad Association President Dr. William Taussig. About 20,000 invited guests then attended a ball in the Grand Hall. Union Station stands on the former site of "Chouteau's Pond." An early settler, Joseph Taillon, built a mill and a dam across a stream the French called "La Petite Riviere." Auguste Chouteau acquired the property and built a bigger dam. The pond was drained in 1849.

Sept. 1, 1947: Archbishop Joseph Ritter took the unusual step of threatening hundreds of his parishioners with excommunication. A group of parents was threatening legal action to bar admission of Negro students to the Catholic schools. In a letter read at all St. Louis masses, Ritter reminded them of "the equality of every soul before almighty God." The parents quickly called off the legal threat.

Sept. 5, 1906: Coach Eddie Cochems of St. Louis University introduced the first legal forward pass in football. The first pass from quarterback Bradbury Robinson to receiver Jack Schneider in a game against Carroll College was incomplete. Because the Bills were the first to use the pass effectively, they finished with a perfect record and outscored their opponents, 402-11. Cochems had starred for Wisconsin during his college days.

Sept. 8, 1930: The comic strip "Blondie" made its debut. Murat Bernard "Chic" Young's strip featured Blondie Boopadoop, who fell in love with a millionaire's son, Dagwood Bumstead. Bumstead's father disinherited him but the couple wed on February 17, 1933. Young was born in Chicago and grew up in St. Louis, attending McKinley High School. He would draw more than 15,000 "Blondie" strips before his death in 1973.

Sept. 11, 1963: Nine black leaders were arrested for contempt of court for continuing protests at Jefferson Bank. 26th Ward Alderman William Clay, Marian and Charles Oldham, Herman Thompson, CORE President Robert Curtis, Lucien Richards, Reverend Charles Perkins, Norman Seay and Raymond Howard faced fines and jail time. The demonstrations ended on March 31, 1964, when the bank hired five black employees.

Sept. 14, 1818: Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne and The Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart opened a school for girls in St. Charles. In addition to teaching paying students, the school gave free instruction to the children of the poor. The school was unsuccessful at first, and moved to Florissant in 1819. The school moved back to St. Charles in 1828

Sept. 14, 1992: John C. Vincent, a diver and construction worker from New Orleans, used suction cups to climb to the top of the Arch and then parachuted to the ground. He was arrested as soon as he landed, and told reporters he did it "for the hell of it." Vincent was charged with two misdemeanors, even though the U.S. Attorney admitted, "it was clearly a great stunt."

Sept. 17, 1858: Dred Scott died of tuberculosis. After Scott lost his famous case, his ownership was transferred to abolitionist Taylor Blow. Blow freed Scott and his family on May 27, 1857. Scott lived the rest of his days as a porter at Barnum's Hotel here. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

Sept. 23, 1806: The Lewis and Clark expedition arrived at St. Louis. Nearly the entire population of 1,000 met them on the riverbank. After 2 1/2 years, most citizens had given them up for dead. The men would get double their pay and 320 acres of land as a reward. Lewis and Clark received 1,600 acres. Lewis would be named governor of the Louisiana Territory and Clark would be named commander of the militia and Indian agents.

Sept. 26, 1888: Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot was born at 2636 Locust. His 1922 work, The Wasteland, is considered by many critics to be the most influential poetic work of the Twentieth Century. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948, the only Nobel Prize winner to have been born in Missouri. He became a British citizen in 1927, but said St. Louis and the Mississippi influenced him more than any place in the world.