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November 14, 2012
SYLVIASAYS
HISTORY, ARCHITECTURE AND MUSIC
The News-Press’ Sylvia Anderson tries things out so you don’t have to
Jessica Stewar t | St. Joseph News- Press/
Dee Dee and Pat Squires will open their home on Frederick Avenue for the Saint Joseph Symphony’s Holiday Homes Tour.
Saint Joseph Symphony presents Holiday Homes Tour By SYLVIA ANDERSON St. Joseph News-Press
The grand staircase at the entrance of Dee Dee and Pat Squires’ home in St. Joseph will take your breath away. It’s carved out of a dark mahogany and has a rich sheen from all the care and polishing given to it over the years. You can easily imagine a bride walking down the steps, and one has, along with a number of prominent people over the years, including President Harry Truman. “It was in 1934 when Harry Truman was running for the Missouri Senate for the first time,” Pat Squires says. “He was right up there speaking.” President Truman was a good friend of Bartlett Boder, who lived in the home with his wife, Mary, from 1911 until 1989. The three-story Georgian Revival was built in 1902 by Edmond Eckel, a prolific architect in St. Joseph at the time. The architecture was one of the reasons the Squires decided to buy it in 2005. “When we walked in, it was in the evening, the fireplace was lit and we saw the library. ... We thought we were home,” Mr. Squires says. That’s because the couple moved here from Charleston, S.C., Mrs. Squires’ hometown, where there are many homes like it. There was one difference. “A house like this in Charleston would cost millions,” Mrs. Squires says. The home has been a perfect match for the couple because of their love of history and as a place to showcase their large collection of family antiques, paintings and memorabilia
passed down to them over the years. One of their many fascinating treasures is what looks like a small silver bucket the size of a thimble. It belonged to Alexander Duvall Armstrong, a relative who was a prisoner of war in the Union prison during the Civil War. “He tooled this out of a Mexican silver dollar,” Mr. Squires says. Mr. Armstrong also owned a beautifully carved grandfather clock. It was built for Mrs. Squires’ family in England, back in 1770. On the inside door of the clock hangs the provenance (a paper that lists all of the owners), starting with the first, who was Stephen Duvall. You can learn more about the Squires home and their historical treasures (including an 1857 spy glass owned by a blockade runner in the Civil War) on the upcoming Holiday Homes Tour presented by the Saint Joseph Symphony. The homes will all be decorated for the season. Other homes on the tour include: The Schrom-Breese home, 2533 Francis St., a 10,000-square-foot Renaissance Revival home that features an extensive collection of dolls, doll houses, furniture and clothing that Mary Schrom-Breese has acquired during her lifetime. A Christmas village collection is displayed on the first floor porch. The Shakespeare Chateau Inn and Gardens, 809 Hall St., is now open to the public after being a private residence for 10 years. The Nathan P. Ogden House was built in 1885 and features a pair of carved dragons, a bust of Shakespeare over the mantle and
Neilmed sinus rinse may help keep you healthy By SYLVIA ANDERSON St. Joseph News-Press
some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in St. Joseph. The Crawford residence, 2006 Eugene Field Ave., is one of the original Candy Cane Lane homes. Candy Cane Lane was one of the most traveled routes in St. Joseph during the Christmas holidays in the 1950s and early 1960s. It’s now an artist’s “home away from home” as it includes an art classroom area, paintings by local wellknown artist Sherry Crawford and original Christmas decorating ideas. The Murphy Estate, 3000 Ashland Ave., features a grand dining room with glittering prism chandelier, large restyled kitchen area with an Italian garden landscape design, and a back veranda overlooking gardens with an ornate fleur-de-lis motif. The Squires home is located at 2649 Frederick Ave. The homes tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 24; and noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 25. Advance tickets are $15 each; tickets at the door will be $20 each. Directions are available for the homes online as well as on the back of the promotional tour rack card. Homes tour tickets are available at the St. Joseph Hy-Vee store; the Saint Joseph Symphony office, 120 S. Eighth St., online at www.saintjosephsymphony.org, and at each of the homes on the days of the Holiday Homes Tour. There are no refunds. For additional information regarding the tour, call 233-7701 or e-mail info@saintjosephsymphony. org.
I’m generally very healthy, but one thing that takes me down are sinus infections. Then it’s a trip to the doctor, a prescription for antibiotics and a revolving list of sinus medications. I hope to be putting a stop to all that with NeliMed sinus rinse. It’s not new, but it may be new to you. I used to be one who scoffed at squirting a blast of saline water up my nose, but I got fed up dealing with sinus issues and gave it a try. As it always begins, my nose got stuffy, then the drainage got me coughing, then my husband said I needed to go to the doctor. But after a couple of days using the rinse, it all went away. Yes, it feels weird at fi rst to use and it’s even stranger to look at. You mix a saline package with tap water in the bottle, then squeeze the solution in one nostril and it comes out the other. But afterwards your nasal passages feel amazingly fresh and clear. And it’s just saline water, so it’s even safe for kids. Before you try this, however, boil the tap water fi rst or stock up on some distilled water. I was doing a little research about nasal irrigation before writing this article, and I read about the “braineating amoeba” called Naegleria fowleri that killed two people last year. They were both doing daily nasal irrigation. Apparently, this amoeba comes in through your nose and you die in an average of 5.3 days after the onset of symptoms. It’s extremely rare, but for prevention, health officials advise not to use regular tap water and only to use “previously boiled, fi ltered, distilled or sterilized water when making solutions for irrigating, flushing or rinsing the sinuses” according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America. I’m a bit freaked out since I’ve been using tap water. I guess I could die. At least my nasal passages feel great. The bottom line: If you are troubled with sinus problems, try Nelimed Sinus Rinse as soon as you start having issues – just make sure to boil the water. You can fi nd it in most stores that sell sinus medications and online. Prices vary.
Sylvia Anderson can be reached at sylvia.anderson@newspressnow.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ SJNPAnderson.
Sylvia Anderson can be reached at sylvia.anderson@newspressnow.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SJNPAnderson.