July 29, 2015
A ride into history Recipes
Super Spritzers
Community Voices
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By Brenda Mahr
Business Members of the American Association of Railroaders (from left) Ralph Blaszkiewicz, Rich Eichhorst, Kevin Smith and Lin Blaszkiewicz stand with driver Bud Anderson in front of a historic passenger bus identical in year and model number to the one the Freedom Riders used in 1961.
Photo by Sara Hardin
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Hawthorne Players “Carousel”
Historic bus tour through city honors legacy of the Freedom Riders By Sara Hardin The gray weather on the morning of July 19 wasn’t nearly enough to dampen the spirits of the members of the American Association of Railroaders (AAR), who sat protected from the rain under a tent across from St. Louis City Hall. A large, silver, 1950’s model interstate bus sat idle on the side of the road, with a step stool placed thoughtfully between the curb and the bus’s threshold. Looking at the bus, I tried to imagine the courage and determination of the Freedom Riders, who took their steps onto a very similar bus in 1961. “So many people read about or hear about something in history, but they can kind of get an experience here today of what the Freedom Riders went through,” said Rich Eichhorst of the AAR. “This bus is identical in year and model number to the one the Freedom Riders used in 1961.” Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban segregated public bus travel, the Freedom Riders rode into the segregated states. Five Freedom Riders left St. Louis on July 10, 1961 on their
way to Little Rock, where they were arrested for refusing to leave the bus terminal. They were held in captivity, and then released later that week. They were then allowed to continue their travels into New Orleans. Freedom Rides helped end segregation at public facilities and bus terminals throughout the South. Stepping onto the bus was like taking a step back in time; one of the other passengers, an older gentleman, looked around the interior of the bus with a wide smile, and commented on how sitting in his seat was bringing back memories. The driver, Bud Anderson, spoke to us about how keeping up with the maintenance of the bus proved to be a difficulty at times. He pointed to a window by the driver’s seat, and explained that he had to replace it after someone broke it. “This bus is ours to preserve, so we try to keep it looking its best. It’s nice to have things like this bus for people to attach to history, and to have it running, to have people able to ride it – that’s a difficult thing, but it’s important,” said
Anderson. When the bus rolled away from the curb, there were, coincidentally, five passengers total. We listened as Eichhorst spoke knowledgeably about the history See A RIDE INTO HISTORY page 2
Learn & Play
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Christmas in July
Movie: “Ant-Man”
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