Jazz legend Henry Townsend and "race music"

Jazz legend Henry Townsend

Jazz legend Henry Townsend, who died last September, was a driving force in making recordings for African-Americans and St. Louis was one of the key locations in that development.

In the early days of musical recordings-before anyone even heard of Motown Records-there was Paramount Records. Before Paramount Records, most musical recordings were by white artists for a white audience.

Townsend was born in Mississippi and died in Grafton, Wis. But, for much of his musical life, he lived in St. Louis. In 1929, St. Louis music storeowner arranged for Townsend to audition with Columbia Records.

He was a driving music force for Paramount Records, which pioneered making records for African-American listeners.

The so-called "race records" were primarily of music by African-American musicians for African-American audiences.

A key element in the African-American recording business was record sales through the Artophone Company of St. Louis. The company was a major distributor of Paramount recordings to the southern market.

However, after World War II, Artophone quit selling recordings because it decided more and more customers were listening to their music through free radio stations.

But, Townsend was a force in jazz for African-Americans for nearly eight decades. In fact, when he died in Grafton, he was in town to perform at the first annual Grafton Jazz Festival in 2006.

More on "race records," see www.pbs.org/jazz/exchange/exchange_race_records.htm

Balloon racing in St. Louis

The Great Forest Park Balloon Race has been held in St. Louis in September since 1973. But, St. Louis' involvement in balloon racing goes back much further.

It was in 1907 that the International Aeronautic Tournament was held in St. Louis. It was called the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Club Race. And it was the "first ever" balloon race held in the U.S.

The goal of the early races was to fly the longest distance. In recent races, the winner is the balloonist who lands closest to a "chase" balloon.

Prior to 1960, balloons were lifted by helium. But, present-day balloons are powered by hot air, generated by burners under the bottom opening of the balloon.

You can learn more about the Great Forest Park Balloon Race by clicking on to: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/MO/200003213.html .

WTC architect's St. Louis projects

The collapse of the World Trade Center in New York in a terrorist attack in Sept. 11, 2001, brought attention to architect Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the "twin towers."

In St. Louis, Yamasaki was the architect for the St. Louis Municipal Airport (now Lambert International Airport) and the Pruitt-Igoe Public Housing Project. .

Minoru Yamasaki was born in Seattle, Wash., in 1912 and died Feb. 7, 1986) The St. Louis airport was constructed from 1951 through 1956. It is still operating as St. Louis' primary airport.

The Pruitt-Igoe Public Housing was built in 1955 and was considered to be a model high-rise project for low-income families. But, the high-rise design didn't work and it was demolished in 1972.

Of course, the WTC came down in 2001 when terrorists hi-jacked commercial airliners and crashed them into each of the towers.

For more, visit www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Minoru_Yamasaki.html.

Marie Therese Cerre Chouteau

Marie Therese Cerre Chouteau was married on Sept. 21, 1786, to Auguste Chouteau. She was 17 and he was 37.

Auguste Chouteau and Pierre LaClede were two Frenchmen who traveled up the Mississippi to establish the site of what is now St. Louis.

In 1794, Chouteau convinced the Spanish governor, the Baron de Carondelet, to grant his family a six-year monopoly on fur trading with the Osage Indians of western Missouri.

Chouteau was a skilled negotiator. Not only did he get a fur monopoly but also avoided trouble from other traders, such as Jacques Clamorgan and American John Jacob Astor.

Also, when the Americans assumed control of St. Louis in 1804, Chouteau came through the transition with the family fortune intact.

Young kids can learn more about the Choteaus by visiting the Missouri History Museum's Current gallery. Also, visit http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/StLouis/
BlockInfo/Block34AAChouteauSr.htm.

St. Louis and America's "native spirit"-whiskey

Of course, when it comes to "adult beverages," St. Louis is known now mostly for beer.

But, famed whiskey maker Jack Daniels earned a gold medal for his bourbon whiskey at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair. And he moved his company to St. Louis in 1910 after Tennessee passed statewide prohibition legislation.

The headquarters moved back to Tennessee in 1930. Jack Daniels is the oldest registered distillery in the U.S., starting in 1866.

In 2001, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution designating September as "National Bourbon Heritage Month". The resolution said bourbon whiskey is "America's native spirit" and has a "tradition of family heritage, authenticity and craftsmanship.

Bourbon, Mo., is also the only city in the U.S. named after that whiskey. To learn more about the town's history, visit http://www.bourbonmo.com/history.htm

Excavation is going on at George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Va. Washington had a whiskey distillery on his home grounds. For more information, you can visit www.mountvernon.org/learn/pres_arch/index.cfm.