Monthly Archives: September 2016

That’s right. The release party for The Colorful Characters of St. Louis will be from 2-5 p.m. next Sunday, Oct. 2 at the Royale, 3132 South Kingshighway. Clear the calendar and get ready. A week goes by fast.

This week, as the Cardinals fight for a spot in the playoffs, I’ll profile some local sports figures in The Colorful Characters of St. Louis who made their marks in St. Louis Baseball. One was Chris Von der Ahe, the owner of the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s and 1890s. Von der Ahe’s words,Continue reading “Der Boss President”

I love to meet people who enjoy reading my books. Whether it’s at a signing, a talk I’m giving or at my Saturday morning stand at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, it’s what keeps me going. I’ve said as much in each of my four St. Louis interest books with Reedy Press. “Over time, I’veContinue reading “My Definition of Success”

In the 1960s, no St. Louis civil rights leader was more hated than Percy Green.  Many hated Green for his headline-grabbing street theater. Others said it was just what was needed to end discrimination and open up jobs to African Americans. The liberal Post-Dispatch called Green “St. Louis’s most outrageous man.” The conservative Globe-Democrat calledContinue reading “A Most Hated Man”

Guests at the Oct. 2 release party for The Colorful Characters of St. Louis will have a chance to get more than a book autographed by the author, great food and great drink and monstrous servings of fun. They’ll also have a chance to meet and talk to some of the Colorful Characters mentioned inContinue reading “A Day Full of Characters”

For much of the early 1950s, St. Louis papers were filled with stories about how Robert H. Moore raced down county and city streets, avoiding pursuing police cruisers, slamming into cars and exasperating lawmen who tried to keep him off the streets. The newspapers dubbed this young son of a wealthy doctor “Hot Rod” Moore.Continue reading “Rich Kid on a Hot Rod”

    Around the turn of the 20th Century there were few lives as hard as a newsboy. But just by selling papers, Ben and Willie Greenburg entered a world of prosperity. After ten years, the two “newsies” saved enough to buy a stand outside the Merchants-Laclede Building at Fourth and Olive streets. Their storyContinue reading “The Rise and Fall of Two Newsies”

Had the best time ever today talking about The Colorful Characters of St. Louis with Joy Grdnic and Ron Stevens of the website onlstl.com. To see our conversation, press here.

From 1920 to the start of the 1980s, South Side residents didn’t have to cart their lawn mowers, knives, scissors and tools to a store to get them sharpened on a grindstone. Instead, Tony Gagliarducci brought his 250-pound, two-wheel lawn mower, knife, scissors and tool sharpening cart to residents all over South St. Louis. He’sContinue reading “Sixty Years Walking the South Side”

I mentioned last week that I’d post the picture and the name of the first person to buy a copy of The Colorful Characters of St. Louis from me. The winner is (drum roll) Julie Hearnes Sindelar. She hosted an adult education class at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church where I spoke Sunday about one ofContinue reading “I Sold My First Book”