StreetScape Magazine Winter 2007

WINTER

2007 A Complimentary Publication Celebrating Local People and Events

160’s

CONTENTS

F E A T U R E S

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Winter 2007 22 30 38 52

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| DRIVEWAYS TO DOORWAYS— Planes, Trains and Automobiles... local pilots, stewardesses, conductors and drivers.

| A LA CARTE— Meet It’s A Grind, a cozy local coffeehouse where you can warm up and relax this winter. | HOLIDAYS— Holiday traditions are a big part of the winter months. Catch up on local traditions and start some new ones this year! | HEALTH WATCH—Cold winter temperatures can be hard on your skin. Learn how to beat Old Man Winter. | SUNRISE TO SUNSET—Catch up on recent local events and get ideas for fun family outings next year.

D E P A R T M E N T S

4 6 10 22 32 38

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| COMMENTARY | FEATURED ARTIST | DRIVEWAYS TO DOORWAYS | A LA CARTE | BEST SHOPPING FINDS

44 46 52 62

| SEASONAL HUNT | YOU CAUGHT OUR EYE | SUNRISE TO SUNSET | CALENDAR

| HEALTH WATCH

ON THE COVER | Art Direction/Styling: Giant Leap Productions, Photography: Michael Schlueter Special thanks to St. Peters Rec-Plex for cover location and to models Mandy and Dan! STREET SCAPE MAGAZINE |3

BEHIND THE SCENES

C O M M E N TA RY

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER

Welcome Winter!

Welcome to the sixth edition of Street Scape Magazine! As always, we invite you to come as our reader and stay as our friend.

Street Scape Magazine recognized twenty outstanding youths on Sunday September 9, 2007 at the St. Charles Foundry Art Centre. The purpose of the Xtreme 20 Awards is to recognize successful youth and to encourage them to continue to balance their lives with volunteering, sports, church, theatre, part-time employment, entrepreneurship, education and more. By recognizing them, we hope to encourage others to step out of their comfort zones and go to the extreme to accomplish their goals. Special thanks to the committee members and sponsors, including Barat Academy, for their assistance in making this event a reality.

Our other fall event, Urban Attitudes: A Vine Affair, was a huge success and showcased fashions from various local boutiques worn by locals and celebrities alike. This event benefitted The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, which is a cause that is near and dear to all of our hearts. Again, thanks to the sponsors, including New Town and many others, and the committee members who made the event a reality.

We couldn’t have done it without you!

Xtreme 20 Sponsors:

TOM HANNEGAN Tom, Co-Owner of Hannegan Real Estate & Construction, LLC holds a master’s degree from Lindenwood University. Hannegan shares his passion for real estate, community volunteering, and his appreciation of St. Charles in Street Scape magazine.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON Robin has been a writer/journalist for more than 15 years working in print and electronic media. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from UM–St. Louis, with minors in writing and criminal justice.

ANN HAZELWOOD Ann is the owner of Patches, Etc. on Historic Main Street in St. Charles, Missouri. Hazelwood is an accomplished quilt author, historian, and appraiser with several titles to her credit.

MONICA ADAMS Monica is a certified personal trainer and hosts a health and fitness show Sunday afternoons on KMOX Radio, and is the traffic reporter for FOX 2 News in the Morning. Monica is a St. Louis native who enjoys entertaining family and friends, and doing charitable work.

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS MICHAEL SCHLUETER Michael photographs people and places for advertising and corporate accounts locally and nationally.

“The exploration and discovery process is what keeps photography so exciting for me.”

BREA MC ANALLY Brea is currently an art major with a focus in photography. She specializes in portraiture, blending artistic and professional shots.

She sees photography as a way to tell a person’s story through a single image.

CREATIVE DIRECTION / EDITOR AT LARGE

Be Thankful, Be Passionate, Life is not only Good it is GREAT! See you in the spring of 2008!

TRACY BROOKE Tracy is the owner and principal artist of Giant Leap Productions, providing creative design for many different industries and applications from print to environmental and beyond.

GIANT LEAP PRODUCTIONS tracy@giantleapproductions.com www.giantleapproductions.com

4|STREET SCAPE MAGAZINE

BEHIND THE SCENES ADVISORY BOARD Deborah Alessi Mary Banmiller Susan Berthold Nadine Boon Diane Burkemper Erica Butler Jody Cox Ann Dempsey Barbara Drant Cindy Eisenbeis Sally Faith Lorna Frahm Bill Goellner Sheryl Guffey Mary Lou Hannegan Grace Harmon Ann Hazelwood Chris Hoffman Jason Hughes Jan Kast Mike Klinghammer Martha Kooyumjian Caryn Lloyd Jeremy Malensky Nancy Matheny

Denice McKeown Bob Millstone Sandy Mohrmann Suzanne Matyiko Maurice Newberry Craig Norden Grace Nichols Toekie Purler Sue Riddler Kathy Robertson Marc Rousseau Rocco Russo Richard Sacks Keith Schneider Bob Schuette Teri Seiler Joyce Shaw Kelley Scheidegger-Barbee Scott Tate Karen Vehlewald Aleece Vogt Brian Watkins Brian Wies Mary West Gail Zumwalt

This may be the best time ever to start a membership with the St. Peters Rec-Plex.! The Rec-Plex has nearly doubled in size to 230,000 square feet. The expansion includes a new cardio-theater and strength training room that have tripled in size. This new workout space has state of-the-art machines that offer a fitness club-quality workout—all at the same friendly Rec-Plex.

Spacious new adults-only locker rooms will provide adults a more relaxed experience after a good workout. Those locker rooms will also feature dry and steam saunas.

ADVERTISING CHRISTINE ADAMS Christine has worked in sales for over 11 years and we are very pleased that she has joined our family as Account Manager for Street Scape.

Contact Christine to discuss your advertising needs at christine@streetscapemag.com or 636-219-7358. Download a media kit online at www.streetscapemag.com.

DISTRIBUTION Call Tom Hannegan at 636-916-4386 or via email at tom@streetscapemag.com

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Volume 2, Issue 4 • Winter 2007 TPH Media 223 North Main Street, St. Charles, Missouri 63301 PHONE 636-916-4386, FAX 1-866-231-6159 WWW.STREETSCAPEMAG.COM Any reproduction of Street Scape magazine or its contents requires publisher’s prior written consent. Street Scape magazine aims to ensure that information is accurate and correct at all times but cannot accept responsibility for mistakes. Street Scape magazine reserves the right to refuse any advertisement and assumes no responsibility for submitted materials. Unsolicited material must include a self-addressed stamped envelope. © 2006 TPH Media. All Rights Reserved.

The new Rec-Plex South building is already providing a home to area sports teams. The new building has two ice rinks (one with 1,200 seats and another with 300-400 seats), a large hardcourt gymnasium, a multipurpose gym, a High Intensity Training center, concessions, and more.

Even with all these great upgrades, most prices are holding steady and some rates have even been lowered. Check out the Rec-Plex’s rates online at stpetersmo.net or by calling 636.939.2FUN. A new Quick Start program also gives people an opportunity to try out the Rec-Plex for a few months before committing for a full year.

For as little as $95 a three-month Quick Start pass provides access to the Rec-Plex and all its amenities, such as: • An Olympic-quality natatorium, which has adult swimming lanes and an inside waterpark with a waterslide and current channel • Public ice skating on an NHL-sized rink, open and free to members. sholders.

• Free aerobics classes for all passholders. mbers • The Rec-Plex gym, open to members to play basketball and volleyballll and use the elevated track.

• Tot Drop babysitting, concessions, arcade games and more for every member of your family.

636.939.2FUN 5200 Mexico Road • St. Peters

STREET SCAPE MAGAZINE |5

When Ron Hauser lost partial use of his left side in a work-related injury six years ago, he thought life as he knew it was over. The injury resulted in the loss of his job, six surgeries and depression.

Retirement wasn't something the 20-year veteran district marketing manager had considered.

Fortunately time does heal wounds and answers do come. “I was shocked. I wasn't ready to retire and throw in the towel yet,” Hauser said. In the midst of his apparent suffering was his daughter Julie Miller and her son, Christian, who had been born with a severe birth defect two years before.

Christian was a quadriplegic and had lived his short life on a ventilator.

“This was in the background when all of that happened to me,” Hauser said. “We never knew what hill we were going to have to climb.”

As time passed, Hauser's wife of 44 years, a retired teacher, was sympathetic but nonetheless tired of Hauser's mood. “She said, 'Stop moping around the house and go downstairs and paint',” Hauser said. “She meant for me to paint the basement.”

The Canvas Cowboy Ron Hauser

Before he knew it, Hauser owned a paint set and began working through his emotions on a canvas.

“Something happened along the way. Next thing I know I started painting and people wanted to buy them. I didn't want to sell them. I said, 'They're mine'.”

What Hauser, or “The Canvas Cowboy” as he is now called, had begun to create was a collection of Native American and western art including paintings and sculptures.

Hauser joined the Oak Leaf Artist Guild and began displaying his art at local shows. Giclee canvas prints of Hauser's works soon began selling at shows, local art fairs and small galleries in the St. Louis area.

American Cowboy Magazine picked up Hauser's work in their January/February 2005 issue. He has been the featured artist at the National Hopa-long Cassidy Festival in Cambridge, Ohio, and Silver Dollar City purchased about 150 prints to sell at the park.

Then the reasons for his former hardships became clear. At the end of the day, it was all about his

F E AT U R E D A RT I S T

grandson, now eight years old. Today, Christian depends on a wheelchair and a ventilator but also Therapeutic Horsemanship of Wentzville.

The organization has provided equestrian therapy programs for people with disabilities in St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln County and surrounding areas since 1975.

Hauser started “Painting for a Purpose” after painting an emotionally-charged portrait of his grandson sitting proudly atop a small horse named “Stony”. Hauser said the painting, called Cowboy Up, reminds him of Christian getting back up on the horse, not crying or giving up, but getting back on.

tenfold. Do something for somebody else and do something good.”

Hauser said that goes for everyone. “You know what? It's great that God looks down on this world and says, ‘As different as you all think you are, I created all of you and you're sitting at a round table and the table is full of all the abundance I've created for you. You're not as different as you think you are'.”

Hauser said he knows his emotional recovery and his ability to help others came from God and from the accident that at the time

crippled his body and spirit. He said the problem with his body was in his C-1 and C2 vertebrae. Not so ironically, he said, that is precisely where the bone spur formed in his grandson during his daughter's pregnancy.

“It was a genetic disorder. The calcium deposit formed at the C-1 and C-2 vertebrae and pinched his brain stem to a thread.”

Although Christian cannot speak in a way that others would understand, Hauser said he holds a special bond with his grandfather.

“Him and grandpa can talk.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

In between paintings, Hauser became a certified nurse assistant so that he could fill in caring for his grandson. But his ties to his grandson would go deeper still.

Painting for a Purpose is Hauser's show on the road and another contribution to his grandson's welfare. The Traveling Western Art Gallery that supports Therapeutic Horsemanship and other charities has been to 13 western states, and several horse-related shows such as the American Royal Stock Show in Kansas City. Some of Hauser's works have been purchased by restaurants such as the Golden Ox Steak House in Kansas City, MO and other locations around the country.

Western sculptures have recently been added to his works, as have historical paintings of well-known situations and icons of the American West. Each sculpture is a solid bronze handmade casting with a custom black Cowboy Patina finish. A special hand cut black marble base has been made to fit each sculpture.

Hauser's kinship to the Old West was formed through early childhood experiences in Oklahoma, Texas and Southwestern Missouri along with his Native American Heritage. He said he was always interested in art and naturally took after his mother who was also an artist. He minored in art in college.

Hauser said he believes a person gains perspective when they help others. “You get your life back by doing something for somebody else. It will come back to you

8|STREET SCAPE MAGAZINE

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is now avaliable for online viewing in PDF format.

Check for this edition and previous editions online today at www.streetscapemag.com!

STREET SCAPE MAGAZINE |9

Planes While September 11, 2001 changed the landscape of the country in so many ways, the friendly skies were forever altered as well, as were the people who navigate them.

Thousands of pilots and airport support personnel found themselves in a quandary—wait on the airlines to revamp their situations or look for new opportunities elsewhere.

Dan “Cooper” Doelger of St. Charles was one of the nearly 3,000 pilots who were furlowed after September 11.

The 37-year-old TWA and then American Airlines pilot was in the air when the towers were hit.

“I was flying the day of September 11,” Doelger said. “I was in the air when all this went down. I was flying Seattle to St. Louis with TWA.” Doelger said he remembers the center air traffic controller coming over the radio.

“I'll never forget her voice. She said, 'I need everyone in my sector to let me know where they want to land,' Her voice was cracking.

I remember a Delta pilot saying, 'What's going on?' She said, 'We're experiencing a national emergency.' I didn't know what was going on.”

Doelger said he heard at that point that two planes had hit the towers, and he knew it was no accident. “We were flying 47,000 pounds of gas on the airplane. That was definitely spooky. It was a beautiful day around the country. There was no reason for two planes to fly into those towers.”

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Following the 9-11 tragedy, everything changed, Doelger said. “It was not unlike the tension the whole country was feeling.

It was bizarre. When you walked through an airport terminal that first two or three months, it was like being in church, not like the hustle and bustle you have now.”

Today Doelger flies for the Isle of Capri Casino and its executives. After a stint flying for Walmart's executives, Doelger heard about the job with the Isle of Capri and said he loves the job. “There are a lot of variables involved in flying. No two days

D R I V E WAY S T O D O O RWAY S

are the same… the weather changes, and you go somewhere different every day. I like the technology too. I'm getting paid to play a kid's game.”

Doelger's grandfather, who got him interested in flying, was a pilot in WWII. “There were always magazines and models around the house. After the war he flew in the reserves.”

Scott Newcomer was also furlowed from American Airlines in 2002.

Today, Newcomer owns and operates “Jake's On Main” in St. Charles, a specialty store featuring the “Life Is Good” line of optimistic lifestyle clothing and accessories.

Newcomer attained his bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle in Daytona, FL in 1994.

His great uncle was an airline captain for the Flying Tigers, a world-wide freight line company. His dad flew the A-10 Warthog anti-tank aircraft or “tank killer” and was an avionics technician for Fairchild Republic.

His grandfather also worked for Fairchild.

Newcomer was new to the world of business when he opened Jake's On Main earlier this year. He said he misses flying but also enjoys his new business which affords him a better balance between work and family— which includes a four-year-old daughter.

Dick Schoene also came from a family of flyers. Schoene said he “sort of ” retired after flying for 38 years. His stone residence marker etched with an airplane at Innsbrook serves as testimony of his passion for aviation. “I grew up in St. Charles,” Schoene said. “As the city grew, I kept trying to move out further, being an old country boy.”

At Innsbrook, Schoene found a place he said he can relax and enjoy life and yet stay connected with friends. “There's always something to do out here or you can do nothing. The fireworks rivals downtown St. Louis. I live on a lake. It's the peace and solitude plus the ability to get together if you want to.”

Schoene began his career with Ozark Airlines and he is a member of the Ozark

Silver Swallows, a not-for-profit Missouri corporation of more than 700 retired and former Ozark employees. The group's aim is to perpetuate the history and commemorate the former employees of Ozark Air Lines.

“The Silver Swallows is a chance to gather with my old friends I grew up with basically at Ozark,” he said. Schoene now works for Flight Safety International training new pilots in Bridgeton, MO. Schoene's father was an early crop duster who went on to be a corporate pilot. “I was always interested in aviation. When I was young my father made me rent an airplane and pay for the gas to learn to fly. He taught me. I needed to be responsible for my own education. I was just thankful he was training me. The military puts so many pilots through. You miss the oneon-one training. My father died this past November. He would have been 81 this past March.” Ironically, Schoene trains on a jet similar to the last jet his father flew.

Schoene went straight to the Air Force in 1968 after graduating college. He stayed for eight years. Like his father, he also went on to be a corporate pilot.

“I miss flying,” Schoene said. pilot misses it, but I don't miss the hassles since 9-11, having to go through the same security as the passengers. It's not the same as it used to be.”

David Ewing never flew commercially.

The 52-year-old pilot and accountant uses his flying skills to reach his clients all over the Midwest. Ewing owns a one-sixth interest in a single engine Piper Archer plane with

“Every

other businessmen locally.

“I always wanted to fly and work provided me the opportunity,” he said.

Ewing earned his license in May of 2006, ironically he received his license on 9-11.

He's been a CPA for 27 years. “It's a very enjoyable hobby and it's a very quick way to get from point A to Point B. I can get to appointments from Central Indiana to Springfield to St. Louis all in the same day.

You couldn't do that commercially. And a thirty-to-forty-five minute trip to Springfield, using 10 gallons of fuel per hour, only costs Ewing about $60.

Certainly not everyone in the air is a pilot and they’re definitely not all male. Diane Schwarz, a retired or “clipped wing” flight attendant has more than her share of stories to offer. Like her former colleague, Schoene, Schwarz is a resident of Innsbrook and a member of the Ozark Silver Swallows.

“Because of my lifestyle, I spend a lot of time in St. Louis and I winter in Florida.

But my very favorite place in the world is Innsbrook. I'm there as much as possible enjoying the natural beauty and the wonderful community of people and many activities. I have named the deer that come to visit. The rabbits, the turkeys, the raccoons come.

It's like a banquet

Diane Schwarz

Dan Doelger

David Ewing

Dick Shoene

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 11

DRIVEWAYS TO DOORWAYS

in the forest.”

didn't see your name on the schedule.”

Corporation.

Schwarz said the Silver Swallows are the largest alumni airline group in the country.

“How wonderful to have the opportunity for all of us to keep that Ozark family feeling.”

One rule in particular is what drove Schwarz to get her wings clipped. “If you were married you couldn't fly.” Schwarz met Bud Schwarz, an engineer, in the airport in 1963. “I loved being a wife and mother of two beautiful little girls but the gypsy was still in my soul.”

The 45-year veteran developer knew a lot of rail road people. His father worked for the Wabash Railroad, and his grandfather for the Terminal Railroad of St. Louis. He's driven many trains and as fate would have it, eventually owned one.

A third-generation St. Louisan, Schwarz was attending college at Washington University when she heard about an announcement from Ozark Airlines that the company was seeking candidates for flight attendants. It was 1958 and the FAA had just awarded several new routes to Ozark. Schwarz was in the largest class to graduate to date from Ozark, she said. “I was also the youngest person in the class to graduate.”

After passing all of the airline's many physical rules of the day, Schwarz flew reserve for a year. The flight attendants in the 1950's were not allowed to let their hair touch their collars. They had to be in full makeup at all times. They had to wear nylons and a girdle. “The check stewardess would get on the plane and pinch your butt to make sure you had on that girdle,” she said.

Flight attendants also had to wear their hats at all times. Their height and weight had to be up, or down as the case may have been, to standard.

“We had to have a yearly physical.

They would weigh you, and if you were three pounds overweight, you

After traveling the world on business trips with Bud, Diane took a job as an international travel director. “I have worked for Maritz for over 20 years. Name it, I've been there,” she said. “I have experienced educational, exciting, harrowing and life threatening experiences. I have survived being on a run-away camel in the Sahara desert, having stones thrown at me in an Egyptian village and being lost in the fog in Alaskan waters on a coast guard boat with a client who had a heart attack on a cruise ship.”

One of Diane's most memorable trips, however, involved a marble bust of Michelangelo's David she had purchased in Italy. “I carried that 30 pounds of marble until I got to the Amsterdam airport. I was so tired after working eight 16-hour days in a row I left him in the gate area and said, 'I just cannot carry you another minute.' I walked down about three gates and looked back. He now graces my home.”

Diane has also worked as a runway model, actress and was the 1960 Miss Missouri Runner Up. She has volunteered her time for Nurses for Newborns, the American Cancer Society and THEOS, an international bereavement support group that helped her through the loss of her husband.

Like all of her aviation colleagues, Diane misses the skies now and again, but has continued to soar in every part of her life.

Trains

Ed Boyce

His fascination with trains began when he was a child. “I sort of grew up in the railroad yard,” said Ed Boyce, chairman of the board of the Innsbrook

Boyce had Lionel toy trains as a child, some of which he still owns. But “the model wasn't as much fun as the real thing,” he said.

One of his fondest memories of trains, though, was when he was given the opportunity to operate one over the River Kwai in Thailand. “My wife and I were traveling and were sitting having a beer,” he said, when someone asked him if he'd like to operate the local train. So Boyce drove the 500-passenger train on its run from the River Kwai bridge to the end of the line near Burma.

Boyce has served on the boards of directors of three railroads in the United States. He has co-owned rail lines in Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas.

Boyce began buying and selling locomotives and railroad cars in the late 1960's. Soon he was selling railroad insurance. He would book trips and entertain clients while he sold them insurance.

By 1976, Boyce was operating private railroad cars—observation and dome cars, diners, sleepers and lounge cars—and continued to do so until last year. He chartered them out and hooked them on the end of the Amtrak trains.

Booking tours on cars and buying them wasn't enough for the would-be conductor.

Boyce purchased his own locomotive and got it approved by Amtrak. Boyce had become one of Amtrak's biggest customers.

He handled special events, corporate charters and many political events. “When Mel Carnahan was senator, we operated his charter train,” said Boyce. “We operated the Kelly/Edwards train.” But his travels were hardly partisan.

Boyce even hauled President George W. Bush and his famous father.

His equipment was spectacular with luxury style cars, complete with thick carpet, wooden interiors, diners and platform cars.

He owned eight cars and four locomotives-all different, all luxurious.

Boyce said being in the railroad business is no simple endeavor.

There are the conductors, the switchmen, the engineers, the regulations, the maintenance and of course the paperwork. “It's a very complex business. You operate 24/7. Imagine operating a business that's 1,000 miles long with all the different complexities. The railroad is the thing that connects those cities of business.”

Boyce said there's no steering wheel on a train, only a throttle, break, whistle and a few other controls. It runs on diesel fuel. “The wheels guide it,” he said. “It doesn't need to be steered.” His train had nearly 7,000 horsepower and could get up to 80 miles per hour.

Fortunately it wasn't all work. Boyce took his wife and six children on a trip around North America by train in 1974. The Boyce family lived on a railroad car, visiting 11 major cities in a month's time.

Boyce sold his train in January of 2006 and stepped back from the railroad business. “I figured I had been in the railroad business for enough years. The costs of operation were getting higher and higher,” he said. “I’ve been all over the world by train-to China, Chili, Russia, Peru, New Zealand, Scandinavia and Europe.”

Boyce continues to serve as chairman of the board for the Innsbrook Corp., a company and site he helped develop some 36 years ago. The property includes 7,500 acres over 11 square miles.

One of Boyce’s proudest accomplishments was the establishment of the Innsbrook Institute Summer Music Academy. Boyce and co-founder David Halen, artistic director and concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, established the Institute with a common vision. The two had common experiences from two different perspectives about music.

They created their model after Aspen, S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 13

DRIVEWAYS TO DOORWAYS

Colorado’s music festival, a community arts activity with an emphasis in music. “That was sort of what we created at Innsbrook,” said Halen. “The quality of the students and the performances are really equal to or greater than most music festivals in the country. To that end, we achieved what we set out to do.”

Halen said the nine-day festival takes place during the second week in June and brings the highest level of music and the finest professionals and students from around the country and abroad together with performances providing instruction and training with three events per day.

“We hire the best possible professional teachers in the country so we automatically attract the best musicians,” he said. “It works because of Innsbrook’s mission— living in harmony with nature. That aspect of the lifestyle at Innsbroook fits very well with the kind of music and activities that the institute entails.”

Automobiles Car Enthusiasts have for years had a tendency to want to show off their hot rods.

These motorheads will take their muscle cars just about anywhere to gather with other car lovers and talk about the metal and motors that used to rule the roads before air pollution and gas prices drove them off the assembly lines.

Garry Latham of O'Fallon has been to hundreds of car shows over the years with his fellow muscle car lover and sister Teresa Latham. The two started in 1984 when Garry purchased his 1968 Ford Shelby GT 500 KR. He said the shows have been a family tradition for he and his sister, as well as his sisters- and brothers-in-law, their kids and even his mother. “You get to meet a lot of people who have the same interests as you and it's a nice way to spend a day,” he said.

“You can just walk around and look at everyone else's cars and they can look at yours and you can talk about this and that.”

Garry said there are two questions that are always asked of him regarding his most prized possession: What's it worth? And, 14 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

how do you change the spark plugs?

“There isn't any room to change them,” he said. “You almost have to take it to the garage to do it. Some people drill holes in the fender wells to get to them, but that's not a very smart thing to do.”

Garry said there are two motor mounts that attach the engine to the frame. Mechanics will loosen the motor mounts on each side and jack up the engine one side at a time.

“On the driver's side you even have to take off the valve covers. There literally isn't any way to get to them. There are four spark plugs on each side.”

As for the worth of the lime gold metallic pony: a recent appraisal set the value at over $100,000.

Attending car shows is just an American family thing to do, Garry said. “I think that's what a lot of people do. It's a nice family thing where mom and dad and the kids can go spend the day together. Many times there is a park near the show with a playground.”

Garry said the car owners usually “frown on” drinking at the shows. “The number one reason is they really spend a lot of time, effort and money on their cars and they don't want to take the chance of drinking and driving or that someone else will do it.”

Part of that effort is getting the car ready for the show. “You have to wash, wax, vacuum and Armor All®,” Garry said. “You want to make it as clean and shiny as possible.”

Chuck-A-Burger on St. Charles Rock Road has been one of the most famous and loved places for cruising since 1955. “The girls still wear the poodle skirts and they still have car hops,” Garry said. “They usually have a live oldies band on cruise nights.”

JJ's restaurant on Duchesne and Chuck-ABurger on Elm Pointe Industrial Drive, both in St. Charles, also hold car cruises.

Many of the car shows are used as fundraisers and area churches have been known to hold them as well. Christian Motorsports, International, headquartered in Arizona hosts “Racers for Christ” across seven regions and multiple ministries to

raise money for the churches and for charity.

Garry has been a member of Missouri clubs such as the Show-Me Mustang Club and Shelby Owners of America. At this point, he said the biggest costs he has for repair work are due to letting the Shelby sit without driving it for too long. He has to carry classic car insurance on the vehicle too.

Teresa said car enthusiasts will often meet up and caravan to the show, stopping off to eat together. “They do it because if they have car trouble they're not alone and it looks neat to see all the cars in a line,” she said.

Teresa said young kids can take a history lesson from their parents and grandparents at the shows. “It's a way of teaching young kids about the past. In the 1950's and 1960's America was number one in cars.

Our dads may have been partial to Fords or Chevy's. You don't see much of that today, and it tells a lot about families. Kids now have grown up with all of the imports.

They don't really know how important the U.S. once was to car manufacturing.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

A Safer Missouri Domestic Violence Legislation

Gov. Matt Blunt recently signed bi-partisan legislation to enhance laws protecting women and children harmed at the hands of others. His action significantly strengthens laws governing the rights of domestic violence and sexual assault victims.

committed against them, and that every response affords respectful assistance to survivors and holds offenders accountable,” said Colleen Coble, Chief Executive Officer for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

“It is a fundamental duty of our state government to protect Missourians from violent criminals,” said Governor Blunt. “I am pleased to enact this important, bipartisan legislation that toughens sentences, helps maintain victims' dignity, and protects safe harbors designed to assist those in danger.”

“Bill 583 is a true victory for victims of sexual and domestic violence,” said Pat Reiser, President/CEO of Family Violence Center Inc. “Many victims feel that our system has treated them as if they were the criminals. With the passage of this bill, we now recognize their rights and feelings in addition to protecting confidentiality of their cases and testimonials. With these changes, perhaps more victims will be secure enough to come forward for help.”

“In 2005, nearly 1,500 women reported being raped and nearly 40,000 reported being victims of domestic violence in Missouri. But experts say only 1 out of 10 sexual assaults are reported and only half of domestic abuse cases are reported,” Senate Leader Michael R. Gibbons said. “We must better protect victims so they feel more comfortable and safe to come forward to seek help and justice.”

“By virtue of passing this legislation we are saving lives and helping some of the most vulnerable people at a time when they may not even recognize they need help.” said Rep. Connie Johnson.

“The laws of Missouri will now reflect what we know is right and what is required in every community in our state: to ensure that women who have survived sexual and domestic violence will no longer face obstacles that compound the violence

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House Bill 583, sponsored by Rep. Connie Johnson, changes several state laws to better protect victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Under the new legislation: • Sexual assault victims will no longer be forced to pay for a medical exam, commonly called a “rape kit”, to gather the assailant's DNA and archive the assault • Victims cannot be subject to a required polygraph test as a condition for prosecutors or police to investigate alleged crimes • Domestic Assault in the first degree, which involves attempted murder or serious physical harm, is elevated to a

Class A felony on the second offense and is punishable by ten years to life in prison • Victims’ addresses can be removed from publicly accessible state and local records to help keep women safe by making it more difficult for abusers to find victims’ home or work addresses • Children are better protected by provisions that make it easier to sue for psychological injuries caused by sexual exploitation Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits were also recently awarded to Bridgeway Counseling Services where the credits will be utilized to renovate a 10,000square-foot building located on 2.5 acres adjacent to its St. Charles campus. The center will provide much needed space for program operations and delivery of direct services, specifically for Bridgeway’s adolescent program. Bridgeway will provide space for drug screening and assessment; individual and group counseling; family therapy; aftercare and support groups; intervention training; as well as community-based educational programs, workshops, professional trainings; in-service education for school professionals and alumni meetings.

Support those in your community who provide help, support and education to victims of domestic violence. To financially support Bridgeways local efforts, call 1-877-946-6854. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

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S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 17

They Call Him The Birdman...

He's the man behind the eagle that soars from center field to home plate at Busch Stadium during the singing of the National Anthem. Walter “Stormy” Crawford, founder and executive of the World Bird Sanctuary, taught the bald eagle, “Lewis” to fly across the ball field in a tribute to the nation's emblem.

“The Bald Eagle is right up there with the flag as far as I'm concerned,” Crawford said. “When we fly that bird at the stadium, people go crazy.

People really have this feeling about the eagle.”

Crawford has a feeling for eagles too. As an internationally recognized leader in ornithology, he's spent his career working to preserve and showcase the eagle as well as all bird species.

The son of a field engineer, Crawford spent much of his boyhood in Venezuela. The exotic birds in the jungles of South America caught the attention of young Crawford and his interest in them eventually led him to his life's work—the propagation, rescue, rehabilitation and preservation of birds, especially birds of prey.

For the Birds!

After joining the staff of the St. Louis Zoological Park, he was recognized by the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums for the first captive breeding of the Bateleur Eagle. He was also cited for the first captive breeding of the Mottled Owl. Supported by the Zoo's director emeritus, Marlin Perkins (the star of Mutual of Omaha's “Wild Kingdom”), in 1977, Crawford founded what eventually became known as the World Bird Sanctuary. Today the sanctuary is one of North America's largest conservation facilities for birds.

Perkins took an interest in Crawford and encouraged his work. The two often did presentations together. “One particular incident stands out in my mind,” Crawford said. “We were going to a program in Illinois and walking through a mall when a young boy came up to Marlin and started asking questions. As always, Marlin was a gentleman and took time to answer the young man's questions, sign an autograph and then we went on our way. He turned to me and said, 'If you learn anything from me let it be to talk to the children. They are our only hope. They are our future when it comes to saving species and their environments.” Crawford said he repeats the story often and lives by the advice as he continues to teach children at many schools and elsewhere about wildlife.

“The concept is to get these birds out to where the kids can see them, to connect with nature,” he said. With so many people living the urban and suburban lifestyle, Crawford said kids miss the joy and beauty of witnessing birds of prey in their habitats. “Our common goal is the concern for the environment and the creatures that live in it.”

Crawford works with Schnucks Markets in bringing the eagles to the baseball stadium. A partnership with the Rams is currently in the works. “I like St. Louis. Our aim was to reach out to the different demographics of our society and sports is a huge demographic. We thought it would be cool to have a Bald Eagle fly across the field while the National Anthem was sung.”

This particular eagle, Lewis, was a wounded animal, sent to Crawford from

the state of Washington. But Crawford noticed something special about the bird, a personality that it had like few other eagles.

Crawford trained the bird to complete its flight across the field, much to the joy of sports fans.

The Raptor Rehabilitation and Propagation Project, Inc. (RRPP) was originally founded in 1977 to help birds of prey. In 1992 the name was changed to World Bird Sanctuary to better reflect the organization's increased focus and work with all bird species and their habitats, worldwide.

The sanctuary's mission is to preserve the earth's biological diversity and to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. The sanctuary works to fulfill this mission through education, propagation, field studies and rehabilitation.

Field studies work can be further broken down to include habitat restoration, reintroduction of endangered species, monitoring species population levels and enrichment of ecosystems to enhance bird reproduction.

“In 1970, Missouri had no nesting eagles.

Today we have over 200 pairs,” Crawford said. “It has proved that people getting together for conservation works.”

Eagles used to be on the endangered species list until conservation efforts began. All eagles and birds are protected under the “Golden and Bald Eagle Act” which makes it a federal offense to kill an eagle. They're also protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Hunters can be fined up to $25,000 and face five years imprisonment for killing an eagle, Crawford said.

Surprisingly, bird watching is the second largest hobby in the United States, Crawford said, generating billions of dollars each year.

The first is gardening, he said.

Crawford has been recognized many times for his work in ornithology. In 1982, the Conservation Federation of Missouri named him Conservationist of the Year for his work with endangered raptors in the Midwestern United States. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association

I

t was declared the National Emblem of the United States in 1782, and is the only true sea eagle in the Western Hemisphere. As a top predator in the food chain, it has suffered from pesticide contamination, shooting, human encroachment and habitat loss and is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It's the bald eagle, and Clarksville, MO is one of the best places to see one.

In January, as the waters of the major rivers freeze over, over 2,000 eagles congregate along the Mississippi River below the lock and dam structures spread along the river's length between Missouri and Illinois.

Clarksville is among the top watching spots due to its location in the middle of the Mississippi River Valley close to lock and dam 26. The dam keeps the water free of ice, enabling the eagles to find fish during the cold weather. The waters coming through the spillways are full of feeding fish swimming close to the surface to be in water with more oxygen. The fish provide food for the eagles until the rest of the river thaws.

Each year, Clarksville entertains hundreds of eagle watchers during its annual Eagle Days on the last weekend of January. Naturalists from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set up spotting scopes at the River Front City Park.

The Missouri Department of Conservation also features exhibits, displays and children's activities along with a video “Where Eagles Soar” in the Apple Shed at the southern end of town.

Every hour during the event, the World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis presents live eagle programs at the Apple Shed. The programs cover the Bald and the Golden eagles, answer questions and allow photo opportunities.

The Clarksville Heritage Center provides tourist and eagle information, spotting scopes and binoculars to viewers. The Clarksville Museum, typically closed in winter, is open to share the history of the river town.

Efforts in recent years to reintroduce young Bald eagles brought from other locations into the Missouri Mississippi River system has increased the eagle population. And as the numbers of visiting eagles has grown, so has the number of people who want to see the nation's symbol in its native habitat.

The American Bald Eagle's scientific name, Haliacetus Leucocphalus, literally means “white-headed sea eagle.” Female eagles in North America are slightly larger than males reaching 15 pounds and standing three feet tall with a wingspan spreading up to eight feet.

Bald Eagles have excellent vision, thus the term “eagle eye”, and can see fish from nearly two miles away.

Where Eagles Soar Clarksville, Missouri S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 19

Another Kind Of Eagle Seven boys in the Weber family are Eagle Scouts—four of the six Weber children of the last generation, and three from the newest generation.

Walter “Stormy” Crawford

Kevin Weber with his Uncle Craig

in 1993 for his life's work in protecting the world's bird species.

In 1997, the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council awarded Crawford the International Achievement Award for his work in wildlife conservation and habitat preservation.

The government of Guyana appointed him curator of Ornithology and Avian Research for the Guyana Zoo in Georgetown. As curator of ornithology Crawford is helping the South American country restore its threatened native bird populations.

Crawford said his mother always encouraged his interest in animals. “I could have anything I wanted, but only if I fed and cared for it. That was Mom's rule,” he said.

In 2005, Crawford published his book declaring what all who have met him already know: “They Call Me the Birdman”.

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Long-time St. Charles attorney and civic leader Randy Weber said attaining the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts of America is a worthy goal and somewhat of a tradition in his family. “I believe it's one of the few recognitions you can earn as a youth that has lasting meaning and significance throughout your life,” Weber said. “And the code of conduct that you pledge to guide your life is an important guidepost by which you govern your life.”

According to the Boy Scouts of America, only two percent of all scouts ever attain the rank of Eagle. “It typifies a certain level of commitment, hard work and leadership skills that the Boy Scouts are trying to engender in the youth in this country and a code of conduct by which they should live their lives,” Weber said. “It's why you see over the decades the various churches in this country being often the biggest sponsors of troops or units because they view scouting as consistent with their ministries in imparting to the youth of their congregation the same spiritual orientation and code of conduct they wish to profess as a church. The two are consistent.”

Randy received the same award in 2004, after also serving as the District Chairman.

Bill and Nettie Weber raised six children, four boys and two girls. Not surprisingly, Nettie was a den mother.

Randy received the Eagle in 1966. Craig Weber received it in 1973. Kent Weber received it in 1978, and Brant Weber in 1982. But it doesn't stop there. Randy's son (and the first Weber grandson) Matt Weber, received his Eagle in 1997. His cousins, Kurt's two sons, Drew and Kevin Weber, received their Eagles in 2002 and 2007, respectively.

“There are a lot of Eagles in this family,” Randy said. Even Randy's sister, Margot, married an Eagle, Tom Kyd, in 1967.

The Eagle award can be just the beginning for some scouts, Randy said. “To me, the Eagle award wasn't just the end of the journey.

Really, it's the ticket that opened the door to more opportunities in scouting. All seven of us have attended the Order of the Arrows, an honor camping society for scouts, that you can only be elected to by the other boys in your troop.” All seven also received the Ad Altare Dei Award, the highest award one can receive from a church for the service to their church in scouting.

Eagle is the highest rank a Boy Scout can receive. Typically, seekers of the designation undertake a long and arduous task within their community to earn it. Weber painted the outside of the rectory of the St. Charles Borromeo Church for his project.

Being an Eagle can also raise other possibilities for young men, Randy said.

Some employers take a second look at resumes with the designation listed on them.

“I have literally responded to resume requests by young applicants for jobs to my law firm when they have indicated that they are an Eagle,” he said.

Weber's father, Bill Weber, a retired human resources director, started his four sons in Boy Scouts in the late 1960's. He became a District Advancement Committee chairman and later the District Chairman for the Boone Trails District of the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

He then served more than 25 years on the Eagle Board of Review. In 1989, he was awarded the Silver Beaver Award, the highest award given by the St. Louis Council in recognition of adult leadership and distinguished service to youth.

Randy said his years in scouting taught him how to give back to his own community.

“Once you become an adult, you recognize you have to give back. Each of us was profoundly affected by our leaders while we were in scouting. Other men and women made time for me. It's the only way to repay their commitments. There's an old saying that's been passed down in scouting, that the definition of character is what you do when no one's looking.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN

famous for it’s clam chowder and the themed animals in the parking lot, were brought down to applause on Wednesday, August 29, 2007.

St. Louis Crisis Nursery The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery is committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and provides emergency intervention, respite care and support to families in crisis through: • Short-term care for young children in a safe and nurturing environment • Helping families resolve crisis • Follow-up, ongoing education for families

support

and

• Community outreach and awareness • Advocacy for children and families.

For more information on Crisis Nurserys annual events (Summer Soiree pictured) or to help with financial support, please visit www.crisisnurserykids.com.

2007 Legacy Ball Honoree, Mary West Community Living, Inc. (CLI), a not-forprofit agency in St. Charles County providing life-enriching services for people with disabilities, is pleased to announce Mary West as the 2007 recipient of the Community Living Legacy Award. The Legacy Award is presented to an individual whose outstanding service to people with disabilities and the community as a whole leaves a lasting legacy for generations to come. Ms. West has been selected to receive this year’s Legacy Award for her outstanding commitment to the St. Charles County community. Throughout her many years of service, she has given her support to organizations that work to better the lives of families and people with disabilities, as well as organizations that work to strengthen the economic and cultural landscape of St. Charles County.

Record Breaking To u r n a m e n t More than 200 golfers endured scorching temperatures on Aug. 13, 2007, to support Youth In Need’s 10th annual Golfing for Youth Benefit Tournament at Whitmoor Country Club in St. Charles. This year’s tournament, presented by Title Sponsor Smurfit-Stone and chaired by Youth In Need volunteer Dolores Rodrigues, raised $104,000 (a 20% increase from last year!) to support the agency’s children, teens and families.

Youth In Need celebrates its 11th annual Golfing for Youth Benefit Tournament on Monday, Aug. 11, 2008, at Whitmoor Country Club. Save the date to golf for youth!

“Bringing Down the Ark” Longtime residents and visitors alike all know the famed “Noah’s Ark” restaurant that was recently demolished to make way for a new $385 million retail and residential development, including “Show Me Aquatics,” the only “warm water aquatics center of its kind, size and shape in the United States” per Director Lisa Drier.

The building was in such a state of disrepair that demolition was the only option, but developers have promised that elements of the Noah’s Ark theme will reappear in the new development.

To u r o f M i s s o u r i The Tour of Missouri, the state's inaugural elite professional cycling race featuring international cycling teams culminated with two days of racing events on September 15 and 16 in St. Charles and St. Louis.

The Tour of Missouri was a 600-mile, sixday world- class bicycle race patterned after the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California. It featured point-to-point racing. The race began in Kansas City on September 11 and concluded September 16 in St. Louis, including legs to Clinton, Springfield, Branson, Lebanon, Columbia, Jefferson City, and St. Charles. The race featured teams of eight from 15 of the world's top professional cycling teams.

The race, sanctioned by the UCI, the international governing body for cycling, and USA Cycling, the national governing body for cycling was ranked as a 2.1, second in ranking to only the Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California in North American cycling. The event's management group is Medalist Sports of Tyrone, Ga., the organizers of both the California and Georgia races. KOM Sports Marketing of Colorado Springs, Colo., was the event's marketing agency.

The first chunks of the local landmark,

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 21

A LA CARTE

It’s A Grind F E AT U R E D R E C I P E Free Wi Fi, discounts on drinks, cool atmosphere—it's definitely not your everyday grind at It's A Grind coffeehouse in St. Charles.

Manager Luke Chellevold said the franchised coffee shop popularized by Showtime's Weeds is gaining steam in St. Charles.

The coffee house offers six to seven different drip coffees with varying flavors and levels of strength every day, including decaffeinated options.

Espressos include mochas and lattes. All chocolate milk is made fresh at the store with Ghirardelli chocolate.

Frozen drinks over ice or blended include original blended mochas and blended white chocolate. Special drinks like the Road Warrior, a blended mocha with chocolate covered espresso beans ground up within or a Blended 50/50 with orange juice and white chocolate are a cold morning's dream.

Mango, peach, strawberry banana, strawberry lemonade and wild berry smoothies are also offered.

Drinks range in price from $1.63 for a small drip coffee to $5 for a large specialty coffee.

Chellevold said prices are comparable if not 5-to-10-cents cheaper than at other coffee houses. Students get a 10 percent discount on all items.

Specialty drinks, which are featured every three to four months, include the Coconut Crunch, Bavarian Black Cherry and the Funky Monkey, made with bananas and peanut butter.

It's A Grind offers bagels, muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls, dessert bars and croissants, but the list will soon be growing. Chellevold said It's A Grind is

22 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

teaming with IGA to offer fresh baked goods delivered each morning to the store.

Warm Caramel Apple Cider

It's A Grind features local music groups on Friday and Saturday nights. Acoustic, jazz and some Irish bands have played in the past. Wednesday nights are open mike nights with poetry readings and karaoke.

The coffee house has hosted meetings, bridal showers, book clubs and church groups. With its big comfy mix and match chairs in reds, browns, tans and greens, patrons can rest comfortably while using the store's Wi Fi or hosting an event.

Large murals of Bob Dylan and Stevie Ray Vaughn as well as Etta James and Bob Marley surround a warm fireplace on walls that are a mixture of painted drywall and marble tile.

“You get a place with good music, sit down, relax, have a good time or you can have a party. It opens up a door for a lot more things.” Chellevold said.

It's A Grind's “Perk” program offers patrons a chance to be alerted through email about upcoming events and drink specials. Members can get discounts and a free drink on their birthday through the program.

Hours for It's A Grind, located at 3833 Elm (next to Sonic), are 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

The store has a drive-thru and is also available for catering. For information, call 636-916-5282. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

Recipe: 16 ounces warmed apple juice 4 tablespoons of caramel Sprinkle of cinnamon Whipped cream In a large mug stir together warm apple juice and caramel until combined.

Top with whipped topping or whipped cream, and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

This recipe is perfect for those cold winter nights by the fire!

framers gallery 636.300.9400 3758 Monticello Plaza • O’Fallon, Missouri

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 23

MUSIC

One's a technical director for the St. Louis University Institute for Bio Security. One is a an Emmy-Award-winning photographer and editor with KSDK. One owns a multimedia solutions firm. And one is a legally ordained minister.

Together they are Serapis, a B-side playing, rock-n-roll song writing group with a pretty large following in the St. Louis and St. Charles area.

“making it big.”

Fortunately the group did have the best of both worlds. “We didn't want to owe someone,” Carroll said. “As we got older, there were wives and kids and we just continued to do this. There are not as many opportunities here, but it's kind of nice.”

Carroll earned his degree in radio, television and film at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He taught himself audio and

Serapis has been playing since 1982, when its band members were college students spending their weekends playing in clubs and dreaming of tour busses.

“While other kids were working in grocery stores, we were playing on the weekends getting free beer and having fun,” said band bassist Gene Carroll—the bio security guy.

Chambers is the overall spokesperson for the band and handles bookings and other financial matters. Audience members mesmerized by the laser-like precision of the light show may be interested to know that it's the work of Chambers, also an EmmyAward-winning photographer and editor with Chanel 5 in St. Louis.

Bob Gleason, often mistaken for one of the ZZ Top duo with his chest-covering white beard, plays drums, electric guitar and harmonica. He also has a daughter who is a space scientist. He owns and runs IMAGITRAX, experts at CD and DVD duplication and printing.

Todd Luerding the “baby of the group” and resident minister, plays keyboards, drums, percussion, vibraphones, accordion, second bass and conga drums. “So it's 1:30 in the morning, and you've found that perfect mate… come find Todd. He can perform the ceremony!” Carroll said.

After college, the group played seven days a week regionally and in the Kansas City area as well as in Nashville, TN. “Of course we had the dream of being big rock stars,” Carroll said.

“We survived on clubs. I know a lot of people who got signed, many of them ended up owing money.”

Carroll said the recording industry has changed a lot since then. “It's changing for the better. You don't have to sell your soul to get your record played,” he said. “Because of the Internet and iTunes, you can create CDs on demand. It's affordable and you have the ability to market yourself with a website. You don't have to pack up the semis and go to Tulsa.

Bob Seger had to make a million records to get one in every KMart in America. He had to have number ones. That made it hard.

REO Speedwagon didn't make it big til their tenth album.”

Carroll said the group never stopped playing long enough to find investors. As the years passed, so did intentions of

24 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

“Todd has a special brain lobe devoted to useless TV trivia,” Carroll said. “He once stumped Jerry Mathers in a 'Leave It To Beaver' trivia challenge. Oddly, he seems proud of this.”

Still Rockin’: Serapis video and worked for Chanel 11 and Clayton Studios.

Carroll and guitarist and mandolin shortstop Tony Chambers were two of the founding members in 1972 of the Pat Holt Singers in St. Charles.

Serapis can be found playing at Gladstone's in Soulard, Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta, PJ's in Kirkwood, Tuner's in St. Charles, the Kirkwood Summer Concert Series and at the St. Charles Riverfront during the July 4 Celebration.

The group is currently working on its second album to be released in 2008. They produced “Myth” three years ago.

For booking information, www.Serapis.8K.com. ■ ROBIN JEFFERSON

visit SEATON

Make Life Happen Mike Isaacson When an audience settles in beyond the stage of a theater, it expects to be transported into another time, place and perhaps world. Mike Isaacson tries to give that to audiences of the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis with every show. And as the theater celebrates its 25th anniversary, it can boast many successes thanks to Isaacson.

Producer and head of Fox Theatricals with partner Kristin Caskey, Isaacson is currently producing “Legally Blonde, The Musical”, nominated for 10 2007 Drama Desk Awards. The show will also be the first musical to be broadcast on MTV. Isaacson has served as the associate producer for the Broadway, National Tour and West End productions of six-time Tony Award winning “Thoroughly Modern Millie”; the Tony-Award winner “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”, starring Gary Sinise; and “Night Mother”.

Isaacson admits luck has played a role in his climb to the top of the Fox and his attainment of Tony Awards. But the awards and the notoriety aren't what drives the selfmade theater exec.

“As a producer, part of what you do is study the relationship between the show and the audience,” he said. “My philosophy and feeling is that you're there to engage and involve, to take the audience on a journey.

I've never competed with anybody but myself. I want to know what's going on, what can I learn from this?”

Isaacson said that philosophy was particularly true when he worked as an usher at the Fox in his college days and at the Muny producing broadway shows. “It was a really great education. At that level, you're a sponge. You learn from the bad.

As you get older, it gets harder to sit through bad things.”

Isaacson said the question in his mind as a theater attendee as well as a producer is 26 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

always, “'Why have you summoned me here and what do you have to share with me?' Artists have to answer that.”

Isaacson lived in six cities before junior high school in Milwaukee, WI. But even then, he was a “library rat” fascinated by recordings of broadway shows.

By high school he was reading Variety and playing in the band. When he worked on the high school follies and criticized a teacher's scene, he said the teacher asked him if he could do better. “'Well, yeah, actually, I said'. I thought, 'This I can do.

This is interesting'.”

Isaacson rewrote the scene. “That scene stopped the show every night,” he said.

Later Isaacson was awarded an academic scholarship to St. Louis University. A communications professor at the school, Avis Meyer, suggested he work for the school's

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 27

Typical of Isaacson, he came right to the point. He asked Fox co-owner David Fay to dinner. “I knew that because I was a journalist with the Riverfront Times, he would take my call and I was in the same neighborhood at St. Louis University.”

As it turned out Fay did take his call. The two met for lunch and Isaacson came straight out with it, “I said, 'I think I should come work for you'. He said, 'Really?

Why is that?' That was when I thought, 'Go!'” Isaacson proceeded to tell Fay about his experience and experiences. He offered to work pro bono for several months just to show Fay what he could do. In the end, the approach worked.

Fay hired Isaacson as his assistant, and they began producing “Jekyll & Hyde”.

Mike Isaacson

paper, University News.

But even with a past riddled with thoughts of theater and loads of writing experience, Isaacson's passion was hidden even from him as he saw his interest as a hobby for most of his young life. With a bachelor's degree in English and an MBA from St. Louis University, Isaacson tried to quench his thirst for the stage by later working as a theater critic for “The Riverfront Times” and “The West End Word”. He also wrote for “Stagebill”, “St. Louis Magazine”, and the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch”.

Just after college a vice president on the board of St. Louis University, who also served on the board of MacDonnell Douglas, noticed Isaacson's writing and offered him a corporate public relations position with the company.

It was during his two-year stint at the aviation giant that Isaacson began to come to terms with where he would go with his life and his career. As he watched the many MacDonnell Douglas employees lose their jobs through lay-offs, he said he realized it

28 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

was time to make a choice. “I've always believed you try to make your life happen instead of it happening to you,” he said.

So Isaacson took a job with his alma mater, St. Louis University, as the head of media.

He went on to become assistant to the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, S.J. “I always found that the guys who were most happy and engaged were in the best place. The best place to be is the closest to the core of why the organization exists.”

Isaacson was in that place at St. Louis University—in the president's office— when Biondi was reshaping and redeveloping the school. After seven years with the school, he was offered the job of vice president of development—another defining moment in his life, Isaacson said.

It was at dinner one night with a friend that Isaacson got his answer. His friend asked him when he was going to live his lifelong dream and work in the theater. Isaacson said it was at that moment that he realized what his passion was and why he had been toying with his hobby for so many years.

Although he loves his job and his travels from St. Louis to London and then on to New York, Isaacson said he isn't the important one in the process. “At the end of the day, no one cares about producers.

They care about the artists. Your job is to find a place for these people. They are the real gift to my job. It's these artists I work with. I'm proud and lucky I get to do this every day.”

These days Isaacson is more careful about what he goes to see in the theaters. He said it's actually “painful” for him to see a show flop. “You have to protect that which inspires you,” he said.

And while Isaacson doesn't know what his next path will be, he isn't really looking for the turn. All he does know is that if “my heart doesn't beat a little faster when the overture starts,” he's in trouble. “I've won awards. I've lost awards. I had show hits and I've had shows that were not hits.

Eventually it all comes down to that thing between the audience and the stage.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

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Medieval Traditions Pam Loesel, has taught at Immanuel Lutheran for 11 years. She is assistant director of music.

“I think the appeal is that it captures people's attention and their interest by a re-enaction on an old Christian celebration where the Lord of the manor invites Lords and Ladies from the surrounding area to a Christmas celebration, and the celebration begins with the procession of the Boar's Head on a tray,” Al said.

Rooted in pagan times when the boar was the first dish served at a Roman feast, the colorful ceremony of the Boar's Head became a part of the Christmas celebration in the great manor houses of the Middles Ages. The Christian Church endowed the custom with symbolic meaning and elevated it to the service of God, thereby enriching the lives of all it touched. The ceremony, sponsored by the Lord of the manor, became a service of praise to Jesus Christ.

For more than two decades, Al Loesel, director of music for Immanuel Lutheran Church and School, and his entourage of choirs, actors and volunteers have brought the Boar's Head Festival to thousands of people from around St. Charles County and beyond.

“It's a Christmas celebration unlike any other,” Loesel said.

“We do five performances per year and they are all full.

Three to four hundred people come to the dress rehearsal because they can't get tickets for the show. Busses come from near and as far as Chicago and Effingham.”

In the early years, tickets would be gone in two or three days. Now, with the addition of so many shows, tickets last for a couple of weeks at least, said Loesel, now in his 34th year of teaching at the school. His wife, 30 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

In medieval England the boar was a ferocious beast and sovereign of the forest, a danger and menace to man and therefore the symbol of evil.

The presentation of the boar's head at Christmas time signified the triumph of the Christ Child over sin. No one knows who first planned the Boar's Head Procession, but it is a matter of record that it was in use at Queen's College, Oxford, shortly after the founding of the University in 1340, and it continues there today.

The festival came to America in colonial days where it was first observed in New England. Through Episcopal churches and schools the ceremony was well established by the late 19th century.

“The boar's head is a symbol of the evil in the world. The killing of the boar is the symbol of Christ coming to the world and defeating evil. That's where the Christian meaning comes in,” Al said.

Court musicians, madrigals, court dancers and jesters all perform. Next, the Lord of the manor and his page go outside the manor and notice the beggars coming to pick up the food scraps from the celebration. The Lord then instructs the page and his helpers to get food for the poor. “This too is a symbol of God the Father sending his Son to give blessings and forgiveness to those who are spiritually

poor,” Al said.

More than 400 people of all ages participate as actors and actresses in the celebration, including more than 200 children and at least 100 adults, Al said. Al directs three of the five choirs involved. Pam directs one and Director Ken VonAhsen directs another. The performance consists of four children's choirs, one children's handbell choir, a strings orchestra and an adult handbell choir. Dancing children, or waits, and wassailers, the men, sing throughout the community. The actors and actresses carry steins through the aisles in which audience members can drop coins during the ninety-minute performance.

Al said he started the celebration after a former college professor recommended that he try the performance in St. Charles. Al said the school and church do not charge for tickets so that no one is denied the experience based on their ability to pay.

Donations are accepted however. “By the grace of God we always tend to come up with more money than the festival costs,” he said. “We donate 40 percent of the excess to three other ministries.” These include the River Roads Lutheran School in St. Louis, the St. Louis Christian Friends for New Americans and missionaries.

“It's a great blessing for people of our congregation because we all work together and work hard and just find great joy in sharing the Gospel with our community,” Al said.

In the second half of the festival Mary and Joseph are being taken to the stable. The audience sees the shepherds, hears the angels sing and the announcement of Christ's birth. A child then approaches the stable and dances for the Christ child.

“Probably the most inspiring part of the whole festival comes when all of the actors from part one come in,” Al said. “They are no longer divided by rank or status. They are approaching the manger in their own right and worshiping and bowing. That's where the two parts come together.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

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director. “I just thought there were some things we could do that we could help out,” Kopchak said.

An old-fashioned Christmas festival, Main Street Christmas Traditions features storybook characters, Victorian and early American carolers and Santas and Christmas characters from around the world such as Kris Kringle, Scandinavian Santa, La Befana, Bob Cratchitt, Father Christmas, and the Master of Revels.

One of the newest traditions at Main Street Christmas Traditions is “Santa's Christmas Outpost”, started in 2005.

A large historically accurate tent is set up at 603 South Main Street where kids can enjoy photos with Santa, crafts and storytelling with Mrs. Claus.

New this year will be “Santa Stages”, Kopchak said. Characters will conduct 15-minute performances throughout the day in a couple of locations along Main Street.

An Old Fashioned Christmas As santas from all over the world and local carolers descend on Main Street in St. Charles in December, folks may wonder who puts it all together.

Randall Kopchak is the latest in a long line of organizers of the Main Street Christmas Traditions event. The web designer and owner of R&R Creative took over the job six years ago after Jim Davis, former proprietor of the Main Street General Store, moved to Chicago.

Kopchak started as a caroler after he and his girlfriend—now his wife, Liana—saw an advertisement offering auditions to potential singers. “We were both cast,” Kopchak said.

But it wasn't long before Kopchak signed on for more. He soon became the event's musical director. Now he is the managing 32 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

Jim Phillips as Santa

The tradition began in 1975 with the pulling of the yule log down Main Street. By the mid-1990's the city began paying actors and actresses for their performances.

“There used to be someone walking around in a Santa suit,” Kopchak said. “That was one of the first things. That was the core. It's expanded from there. We've added a lot of characters—Jack Frost, the Snow Queen, the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

Kopchak said he researches a lot of Christmas legends and various ways that people celebrate Christmas in different parts of the world then tries to incorporate those traditions into the St. Charles event. “That's an important part of it too. We try to find some neat ways to add different aspects of different Christmas traditions from around the world. Each character focuses on a country of origin and gives them that flavor and flare.”

Kopchak said the committee for Main Street Christmas Traditions begins meeting in March for that year's celebration and meets monthly through December. “It's almost year-round,” he said. Kopchak basically works full time on the project from September til December. But he hesitates at taking much credit. “A lot of people were working on this before me, like John Dengler and Archie Scott. A lot of people worked really hard on this in the past. I'm just the latest.”

The city of St. Charles provides the money to the South Main Preservation Society to fund the event. “We hold the actors and actresses to a high standard somewhat like the Disney model,” Kopchak said.

Costumes for the show are held in a storage locker by the South Main Preservation Society and cleaned every year, he said.

“No one else in the country does what we do for as long as we do,” Kopchak said.

“Everyone in St. Louis should know about this and come and see what we're doing. We want to become a St. Louis tradition. It's pretty impressive. It’s fun, and it's free!”

■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

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HEALTH WATCH

Beating Old Man Winter As a personal trainer for the last 12 years I have heard every excuse in the book as to why clients give up during the late fall and winter months. This is not a time to pack on the pounds and let the bulky sweaters, jackets and coats cover up the extra weight you put on! Instead it should be a time that you work on alternate exercises that take you right through to spring and summer. When the snow, ice and sleet hit remember that you can train indoors; just take yourself back to your childhood days. Think of the exercises your gym teacher gave you, for instance; jump rope, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, really any type of calisthenics training. To push yourself further as an athlete you can incorporate plyometric training which involves a more explosive movement, like squat thrusts. Before you begin any exercise program remember to check with your physician so you are working within your strengths and not hurting yourself due to limitations you may have from a surgery or past injury.

This should be a time to look into personal gym equipment or renewing that gym membership. You need to determine your goals and sit down with a fitness trainer, nutritionist and possibly even life coach to get you there in the safest and quickest way possible.

38 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

The cold weather does not limit you from training outside!

There are many organizations, including Team in Training which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, that organize marathons, half marathons, hikes and century rides all across the U.S. If you really want to push yourself then start training for a new adventure. The benefit of doing it with a group like Team in Training is that you have a running or biking coach who will take you through every step of your training so you don't overdo it and injure yourself. You will also get the camaraderie of training towards a charity goal and the reward of not only climbing over a hurdle you may have never thought you could do, but also knowing you are helping those who are suffering from a life threatening illness.

Keep in mind you not only need to take care of the physical aspect of your body, but also your skin during the harsh winter months.

Amarra Salon and Spa in O'Fallon is quickly gaining attention in St. Charles County due to their extreme attention to the details of your body, both inside and out. As the seasons change so must you change the way you take care of your skin. Amarra carries the Kobido organic skincare line and offers treatments that incorporate ayurvedic oils.

The green tea in the skin line contains remarkably high levels of vitamins and

minerals. It is an extremely rich source of antioxidants, which makes it 200 times more potent than Vitamin E in fighting free radicals and pro-oxidants. It has been clinically proven to reduce sun damaged skin.

Meanwhile, regular ayurvedic (warm oil) massages will serve as a powerful recharge to rejuvenate the body and mind.

The Abyhanga massage offered at Amarra incorporates the ayurvedic treatment.

Stress is a major factor in an unhealthy body.

Doria Schneider and Sonja Grodeon, owners of Amarra, say "it is proven that stress can cause your skin to look pale and worn. If you engage in regular stress relieving treatments like massage you will see stress reduction, your skin will be free of breakouts and moisture will be put back in your dehydrated or dry skin that you encounter while outside". A lack of sleep can also cause damage to your skin. Collagen and Keratin, the proteins in the top layer of the skin that provide elasticity, are regenerated during sleep. If you deprive yourself of the proper amount of sleep, 6-9 hours a night, your skin can become dull and the dark circles under your eyes can worsen.

For those of you who wash your face regularly, did you know that everyday washing depletes the natural oils on our faces and bodies? This necessitates moisturizing

which will help maintain the hydration of your skin. Amarra has a plethora of facial and massage services unlike any being offered in town. One Fall Special to help with the moisturizing aspects is a Miracle Copper Lift Facial with a lactic acid peel. This is an intensive age defying, skin rejuvenating facial that will lift and firm the skin. Many want to reverse the effects of aging by improving skin tone and renewing tissue, and this facial aids in that by relaxing facial features using the revolutionary copper complex harvested naturally.

"Exfoliating should also become a regular treatment you do to help moisturize the skin as you move from season to season", say Schneider and Grodeon. This helps remove dead skin cells so you can allow new more radiant skin to appear. "You can exfoliate regularly at home and should incorporate monthly treatments of massages, facial and other therapeutic treatments to provide the best results. Don't forget to hydrate regularly as water helps to maintain healthy skin by hydrating from within".

When you incorporate massage with your regular exercise routine it will aid in the elimination of toxins like lactic acid, which is the culprit of delayed muscle soreness. Power and performance is influenced by massage by increasing the body's efficiency and facilitating the muscle building response while enhancing range of motion and flexibility. Massage is also said to help attain weight loss goals through assisting the subcutaneous tissue to exude fat which will become absorbed and not stored.

To find out more information on the treatments offered at Amarra Salon and Spa log on to www.amarraspa.com or call 636300-0045 to set up an appointment. Amarra is located off Highway K at 939 Waterbury Falls Dr in O'Fallon, MO. ■ MONICA ADAMS

with Monica Adams What is the best type of food to eat before and after a workout to help feed the muscles?

There’s a huge list of food you can choose from, but the most important aspect is that you have something in your stomach that consists of a good complex carbohydrate source and whey protein or other lean protein source.

You also want to time it properly.

You don't want to eat just minutes before a high impact cardio session as it will make you sick and possibly cause muscle cramping. You have probably heard that you can exercise on an empty stomach. While this has been researched to help burn body fat first thing in the morning, you don't want to fast before a cardiorespiratory session later in the day. Skipping a meal can cause low blood sugar which will make you feel weak and light headed.

If you are lifting weights for 30-60 minutes you want to have that protein/carb mix about a half hour prior to your workout and put the same back in your system to help repair and build muscle within an hour after your workout. If you eat a large, protein, fiber and fat filled meal, wait about four hours to exercise. If you eat a light meal wait just a couple hours. Your body will use the carboydrates as fuel.

How much water should consume when exercising?

you

Hydration is extremely important for your health, as well as beautiful skin.

Your body depletes the water as you sweat so be sure to drink plenty of water throughout your exercise. You should drink water prior to and after your workout, and spread those out by about an hour... don’t gulp the whole amount at once. The rule of thumb stills applies that you drink around eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day.

Keep up your exercise and hydration routine through the holidays and help keep those extra pounds away!

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 39

A Life In Color G.L. “Jerry” Boschert A long time graphic artist and St. Charles father and grandfather has made learning about the St. Charles County community fun for kids. G.L. “Jerry” Boschert, with his “Kid Toons” Community Pride Coloring Books is melding art and social studies to make coloring a fun, yet educational experience for St. Charles County kids.

When Boschert was 12, he set out along Main Street in St. Charles to draw something, anything, for someone. At the last shop on the street, a sporting goods store at the time, he found his mark. He drew a baseball glove for the owner's advertisement. He wanted $10 for his work. The owner said $5. They settled on $7.50.

“That was my first real job,” Boschert said.

“My father thought my real job was delivering papers. He never thought drawing was a real job.”

But Boschert's kindergarten teacher begged to differ.

“Besides talking a lot and music, she wrote that I had a great interest in drawing. I must have been absent or off somewhere when they handed out the spelling and math grades.”

Boschert created his first coloring book for the city of O'Fallon several years ago.

“Mayor Paul Renaud liked to read to kids.

He wanted to leave something of value behind. I decided to do a coloring book, so I started interviewing kids. I usually talk a lot but decided to shut my mouth and open my ears.”

Jerry with Madison and Hannah

What Boschert found was that kids did have something to say about their coloring books. They told him not to make the character's eyes black, as they wanted to color them. They don't like everything printed in black, because it's hard to color over. They wanted the pages perforated so they could tear out their work. And they wanted better paper.

“You have to sort of kneel down like you're tying your shoe to see things from a kid's perspective,” Boschert said.

Boschert's four kids and four grandkids are all his best critics, specifically his five-yearold daughter Madison, who has been a character in some of his work.

To date Boschert has made books for O'Fallon, St. Peters, St. Charles and St. Charles County.

Jerry is always seeking sponsors for his free books. The first book on O'Fallon was sponsored in its entirety by MasterCard International. The St. Peters book was sponsored by T.R. Hughes, Barnes St. Peters Hospital, Taylor Morley Homes, Kaplan Real Estate, Kaplan Lumber, Tom Johnson Construction, First Construction and Triad Development.

“I am in the layout stage for a Community Pride Book in St. Louis County and one for Scott Air Force Base,” he said. “We're also in discussions with two firms for personalized business coloring books.”

Maritz, Inc. a world-wide incentives business based in St. Louis, selected and is featuring Jerry's Personalized Version, The Family Coloring Book in their 2007 Rewards Catalogue. The book is a custom family coloring book featuring an individual's family and the events they deem most important in their lives.

“This is not just another coloring book,” he said. “These coloring books are something of value. My coloring books show parks, places, attractions and recreation, all mixed up with a little historic information about the community—hometown history.”

After a site is selected and photos are taken, Boschert creates composite photographs and begins drawing the illustrations for the backgrounds. While Boschert is working on the backgrounds, Paul Dillon, Boschert's illustrator, is working on the “KidToon” illustrations. “Paul and I then work to create a page layout that is both interesting and fun for children to color.

St. Charles City's book, for instance, features the First State Capitol, City Hall, Borromeo Log Church, the Lewis & Clark monument, the Academy of the Sacred Heart and the Family Arena. The county book features the Katy Trail, Busch Wildlife, Lady of the Rivers Shrine and Daniel Boone's Home. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

40 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

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Bursting at the Seams Irwin Ballard loves Teddy Bears. He also loves Christmas and children. Put the three together and you get a two story, four bedroom house bursting at the seams with toys, trees and teddies galore—some 3,000 Teddy Bears to be exact.

Ballard began his collection in the playhouse behind the home his father built at 2222 Washington Avenue in Alton, IL. His father built the playhouse in 1939 for Ballard and his brother and sister. Ballard restored it six years ago.

The playhouse still contains the toy furniture his father added when Ballard was a child. “He could do just about anything, mechanics, carpentry, anything,” Ballard recalled of his father.

J. Glen Ballard worked for his father-in-law, Frank Davis, as a movie projectionist at the family's Gem Movie Theater in the 1920's.

His mother played in silent movies.

Walgreen's now sits on the property where the theater was located at College and Washington Streets in downtown Alton.

The theater was torn down in 2002.

Irwin's grandfather Davis organized and founded Davis Piano Company, later Halpin Music, in 1928.

Irwin said the family never got rid of the playhouse. “It just sat for years after we grew up. I didn't want to tear it down. My brother and sister said to just get rid of it, but they don't live here.”

Irwin said he probably inherited the desire to collect things from his mother. “Mother never threw anything away. She kept all of our toys, and she collected miniatures.”

His mother's dolls, now antiques, still sit among Irwin's collectibles, as well as some turn-of-the-century bears. His mother's dolls have porcelain heads and are filled with excelsior straw, which was put into the dolls or bears wet and stuffed tight. The straw expands as it dries.

Irwin taught band and orchestra in the Alton School District until 1992. After his retirement, he worked in the Bear Factory in St. Charles for seven years, where he learned to make bears.

For years, Irwin has opened his home to hundreds of visitors at Christmas and throughout the year. The house is decorated with more than 3,000 Teddy Bears and four Christmas trees adorned with thousands of ornaments, old and new.

“A Teddy Bear isn't just a Teddy Bear, but it can be made for personalities and all sorts of things people wouldn't think about,” Irwin said, displaying a Teddy Bear in a wedding dress made from the actual material from the owner's wedding dress.

Irwin makes bears from fur coats, articles of clothing, quilts and the like for family mementos. He enjoys presenting displays, and talks of the history of the Teddy Bear

and shares his collection with school, community and church groups.

“The good thing about a Teddy Bear is that it always stays put--that we know of—and it doesn't talk back,” Irwin said, “although some people believe that they get up and have parties and play. But they're always good and go back to where they're supposed to be.”

Irwin's collection is extensive as well as expensive. He has bears from two of German's premier Teddy bear makers, Steiff and Hermann. His bears date from the early 1900's to today. He owns numerous groups of bears such as the composer series that contain a tune of a famous classical music piece by the composer it is depicting.

Patriotic bears include “Abearham Lincoln” and the “Statue of Libearty”. Iconic movie star bears include “Audry Hepbearn”, “Lauren Bearcall” and “Humphrey Beargart”. There's even “Albeart Einstein”.

“Other people have said, 'Why don't you sell this or that',” Irwin said. “But sell is not in my vocabulary. It's all part of my life. I couldn't do that. This is my great grandmothers rocking chair, my chair, my mother's doll baby. I could never sell it.”

Irwin's next open house will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. December 16. He also arranges private tours. For more information email Irwin at traveler02@hotmail.com. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 43

SEASONAL HUNT

Hunting for Adventure Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The like have sent Rich Norden on trophy crusades all over the world.

Executive Homes owner and a big game hunter, Norden started hunting with his father when he was a boy in St. Charles.

Over the years, however, he's graduated to Canada, British Columbia, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, China, Europe and Africa, among other locales. He's been to Alaska 25 times.

Alaska is the prime hunting ground for wild dall sheep, goats, moose and black and brown bear. Norden's hunted them all.

“Hunting sheep are one of the most strenuous hunting there is,” he said, pointing out that these aren't the ones on Old MacDonald's Farm. Wild sheep live on mountain tops and sport lofty horns.

Hunters not only have the hazards of hunting the sheep, but the sheer challenge of reaching them.

44 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

Reaching the far corners of the Earth has never been a problem for Norden. “I've hunted elephants in Zimbabwe and Tanzania--all of the dangerous animals in Africa. The experience is the whole thing, the experience of the different countries.

The thrill is not in killing an animal.”

Norden said many people are against hunting of any kind on the mistaken assumption that all animals are on the endangered species list. “Hunters pay for the conservation groups through their licensing.

Like Ducks Unlimited is responsible for keeping the duck population,” he said. Norden is a member of Safari Club International, a world-wide hunting organization headquartered in Phoenix, AZ. Norden said when hunting was banned in Kenya, Africa, the “poachers took over.

Countries use the money from licensing and hunting to fund anti-poaching organizations. In some parts of Africa the money goes to the residents there, so instead

of shooting the animals for food they get a bigger return on the money.”

Norden said an avid hunter can spend upwards of $40,000 to hunt sheep in Mongolia. “That money goes to the people there,” he said. Depending on the animals to be hunted and the difficulty in reaching them, the hunts can cost from $400 to $2,000 per day.

Norden has literally hundreds of mounts in his home, office and vacation home, including black and brown bears and even elephant tusks.

“The only thing you can take from the elephant is the ivory,” Norden said. Laws all over the world prevent hunters from leaving the carcasses of their hunts, however. “The natives keep the meat. There is literally nothing left,” he said. “Alaska has a waste law. You have to pack them out. You can't just take the horns and leave them there.

Elephants are butchered where they are in Africa.”

A typical hunt in one of these exotic locations will necessitate trackers, skinners, guides and outfitters, he said. Hunters will stay in rondolas, or mud huts and grass shacks.

Norden said hunters go through different feelings when they kill an animal. “It's not like a Missouri deer hunter. In trophy hunting, when you've gone a week or two to find this animal, there's not a lot of joy in taking it.”

Norden said the thrill of crossing the globe keeps him going. “I've been to places most people would never go to,” Norden said. “I can't even describe the Okavongo Swamps in Batsuana, Africa. There are diamond and gold mines, skiing and beaches. I've been charged by lions and bears.

It's a very interesting travel itinerary. You can walk in places no one's ever walked before.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

The “Paintings, Assembleges, and Ceramics by Serena Boschert" exhibit at Framations Gallery will feature a complimentary 30 minute audio tour from Nov. 10 Dec. 2, 2007.

Framations is located at 218 North Main Street in St. Charles.

For more information, please call Framations at (636) 724-8313 or visit their website at framations.com.

Check Out That Bedhead! **Look for the winner on our website after November 1, 2007

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 45

YOU CAUGHT OUR EYE

Dynamic Duos Bob and Sissy Fleming Bob and Genevieve “Sissy” Fleming have been married for over 50 years. The two raised 10 successful children and now enjoy 34 grandchildren, with the 35th on the way.

Bob knew was married to another teacher at Ville Duchesne. It was the obstetrician's wife, Liz Ahlering, who told Sissy of the good doctor's interest.

Many St. Charlesans know him as Dr. Fleming, the long-time ophthalmologist (he retired at age 70) who they've trusted their eyes to for decades. What they may not have known, however, is the wife and mother who held down the home fort so that he could grow his business.

“I rose to the ceiling,” Sissy said. “I was so excited.

And it was a three-story high ceiling.”

Bob and Sissy met when a stye in her eye led Sissy to the doctor's office above her father's optical company. Sissy's father, Eugene Erker, owned Erker Bros. Optical Company. Above the company sat Dr. Phil Luedde's office, for whom Bob worked.

The year was 1955.

Sissy was a kindergarten teacher at Ville Duchesne in St. Louis. Bob had already fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. “I went home raving to my dad about this doctor,” Sissy said. “I didn't think about him being someone available, but my mother said, 'Sis, you have to go back to that doctor. He's catholic and he's not married'.”

Bob asked around about Sissy as well. “I asked about her and found out she taught school at Ville Duchesne. I asked a friend to check up on her,” he said.

“It wasn't proper, in those days, for doctors to date their patients,” Sissy added. “I had to find a proper way for him to meet me.”

Liz threw a cocktail party at her home with mutual doctor friends and of course invited Bob and Sissy. “We hit it off right from the beginning.” Sissy said she had been in bed dizzy for three days after going on a plane ride with a trick pilot. “But when mom said Bob was on the phone, I immediately got well.”

Sissy said her father was thrilled that she'd married someone in the eye field. Her mother was just happy he was catholic.

The two spent their honeymoon in Mexico where they visited the Guadalupe Shrine.

“We prayed we could get started on a big family right away,” Sissy said.

And start a big family, they did. When they returned Bob purchased an eye practice in St. Charles and the two moved to the west side of the river. They made their home on Hawthorne Street in St. Charles, surrounded by cows at the time. They went on to have six boys and four girls. Aside from a daughter in Seattle, all of their children still live within a few minutes drive.

So when Sissy's brother Rodger, had an eye ailment, he was sent packing to the Luedde eye practice.

Among the Fleming's children are a priest, a retinal specialist, a neonatologist and professor of pediatrics, a psychologist, a physical therapist, a sales executive, a stayat-home mom, an artist, a nurse and an early childhood education specialist.

But it was a fellow doctor friend who really got the ball rolling with the couple that just seemed meant to be. As luck would have it an obstetrician, Dr. George Ahlering, that

On their children's successes, the Flemings just say they loved them a lot. “I wasn't a disciplinarian, I tell you that,” Bob said.

“They really punished themselves. They felt

46 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

guilty about what they'd done.”

Sissy said she had read somewhere that the more a child misbehaves, the more they need love, “so we just showered them with love all the time,” she said. “We think having children is just the best gift from God, and it's our gift to Him. If we raise them properly in the faith, they will praise God for all eternity. I told them I didn't care what grades they made as long as they made an A in religion. I knew that if they did well in their faith, they would be encouraged to do well in everything else.”

The Flemings still meet with a Bible discussion group they helped form when they moved to St. Charles over 50 years ago.

“Our faith is the glue of our marriage,” Sissy said. “We still go to mass every day.”

Sissy said when she and Bob were dating, he was teaching a course at Dale Carnegie. He encouraged her to take the course also because she was “quiet.” The course focused on being positive and never criticizing, condemning or complaining. “It was a great way to start out a marriage,” she said.

Sissy still believes that Bob was chosen for her. “God handpicked him for me. I had gone to the Shrine of Lourdes and prayed that I would marry someone that went to mass every day,” she said. “I never told him that until we'd been married 15 years. But he went every day. I didn't want him to go just because I wanted him to.” ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

Galleries & Artist Studios with

Ann Hazelwood

What is your fondest memory of Christmas?

Martha Kooyumjian | Manager— St Joseph Hospital Gift Shop Nothing in my mind is more picturesque than the Christmases we had on the farm. Our house was a large white frame house, with a red barn and a lake. Dad would bring out the Victorian sleigh to put in our yard each Christmas. On Christmas Eve, he would take us away so Mother could put out our presents.

Laurie Feldman | St. Charles City Councilperson When my first daughter was born, I wanted to be sure she would always know the real meaning of Christmas, Christ's birth. I began a tradition that we carried through the years, and still today with our grand kids. After our Christmas dinner, we have a birthday cake for Jesus, and sing happy birthday to him. Its a gentle reminder that all the scurry and hurry of the holidays is not for us, but rather for the birth of a very special child so many years ago.

Wendy Rackovan | St. Charles Chamber When I was a kid, I had chicken pox one Christmas, and my sisters dipped cotton balls in calamine lotion and stuck them on my face so I looked like Santa Claus.

Sharon Dolitsky | Fitness Instructor Thanksgiving weekend, we decorate our great room and Christmas tree. My husband & son put up the tree, and my daughter & I decorate... leaving the bottom third as the “sacrificial ornament” section (because of our pets) and putting the breakable, and treasured ornaments on the top.

48 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

636-255-0270 · www.foundryartcentre.org 520 North Main Center · St. Charles, Missouri · 63301

Lea Ann Miller When NBC hosts its figure skating specials later this year, one of St. Charles County's own will be among the credits. Former Olympian Lea Ann Miller is the choreographer and artistic director of eight figure skating specials premiering this year on the network.

Each of the eight specials will feature a top figure skating star coupled with musical artists, including country singing greats Wynonna and Naomi Judd, concert pianist Lang Lang, the Cheetah Girls and Corbin Bleu of High School Musical. Olympians and world class skaters Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi will be among the skaters featured.

“All of the top skating stars are in this show,” Miller said. A skating champion in her own right, Miller was contracted by NBC last year to choreograph the specials. Disson Skating will produce the specials. “The concept of the shows is combining figure skating and live musical performances to create a television special.”

Miller skated in the 1984 Olympics in Yugoslavia. She was among the top three in the nation and was chosen by the U.S. Figure Skating Association. She said the experience opened many doors for her. “It's brought me lots of accolades. Being an Olympian is a lifetime special merit that you have. I was very lucky to have a passion

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Lea Ann Miller, left, Lea Ann and Bill Fauver, above, greeting Princess Diana

for something and turn it into a career.”

Torvil and Dean.

Miller began skating in St. Louis when she was 10 years old. “Most kids start much earlier,” she admits. “I just started skating and took to it very fast. From the minute I put skates on, it was just something I loved to do.”

Since then, Miller has worked as a freelance choreographer. She has trained skaters from all over the world, including Japanese Champion Yuka Sato, who's been with her for 12 years. “She is one of my kids,” Miller said.

By the time she was 15, Miller said she knew she wanted to go to the Olympics.

Soon after, she met Bill Fauver of Cleveland, OH and the two became a pairs team.

Miller said different skaters choose different paths after the Olympics. “I always enjoyed the artistic side of the sport.

The music and the movement always intrigued me. A lot of people enjoyed the technical side of skating. They became coaches. I'm definitely on the artistic side of it.”

Miller said perfecting the skill of figure skating is “sort of like being a musician. It can be isolating and you have to be very focused.”

Nevertheless, Miller doesn't remember any negatives about her experiences as a young person training to be a world-class skater. “I can't remember not enjoying it. I knew it was a sacrifice for my parents and for me in a lot of ways, and I think I always appreciated it. Figure skating brought me so many things. Even if you don't go to the Olympics, it really teaches discipline and self confidence for the rest of your life. It fulfilled me as a teenager and growing up.”

After the Olympics, Miller was on a fast track to even more successes. She turned professional in the late 1980's, traveling around the world twice and skating everywhere she went. She toured with

Miller still considers St. Charles County her home. Her parents still live in Lake Saint Louis. “My parents have always been here.

That's the hardest part of my career, being away from home.”

Miller said her favorite place in the world to visit, however, is Australia because of the warm climate. “It's the most exotic place to go where people still speak English. You look up into the sky and see different stars.

It's strange that you're on the other side of the world, in a different hemisphere.”

Miller married television director Jeffrey Kay two years ago. The couple lives in Greenwich, CT. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

FRENCHTOWN •

S A I N T

C H A R L E S •

Upcoming events in Frenchtown: Model Train Display

November 23rd thru December 30th.

Wednesday & Thursday Noon to 3:00 Friday, Saturday & Sunday Noon to 5:00 Adults $2.00, Children $2, Under 3 are free!

Come and visit the train display and the unique exhibits at the Museum.

Our Museum features the history of the entire St. Charles area.

• Historic architecture & walking tours • A historic museum that chronicles the growth of St. Charles and Frenchtown through the years • Fishing fun, including a bait shop & boat launch • Antique shops & furniture refinishing • Bed & Breakfasts • Restaurants • Katy Trail Access • Ongoing growth and redevelopment w w w . h i s t o r i c f r e n c h t o w n . c o m • 1121 N. Second Street • Saint Charles, MO 63301

Xtreme 20 Awards September 9 | Street Scape’s First Annual Xtreme 20 awards brunch was held at The Foundry Art Centre and featured Keynote Speaker Julie Piekarski-Probst, a heavenly brunch and entertainment along with the award presentations.

20 outstanding young people were honored for their contributions to their schools, communities and others. We’re proud of every one of them!

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

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YOU CAUGHT OUR EYE

Positive Changes Maureen Rogers-Bouxsein Maureen Bouxsein was born in Yonkers, New York. She was raised in The Bronx.

But she's as native as any St. Charlesan on the Missouri river town's borders.

“This is my home,” she said. “I go to New York to get my adrenaline up. I get my New York back and come back here.”

Bouxsein, probably best known for her work in the Frenchtown Neighborhood where she lives, and with the St. Charles Police Department, said New York is her birthplace but St. Charles is her home.

“I like it, but to be honest with you, when I lived in New York it was just so big you were kind of lost. When I moved here I knew it was a community I could participate in and if I had something to give, I would give it. I thought in a smaller community perhaps, I might have skills or talents that I could offer.”

And offer her skills she did—some 27 years worth. Bouxsein moved to St. Charles in 1980 with her husband, Rick Bouxsein.

She worked as a supervisor in the cardiac catheterization lab at St. Mary's for three years, before choosing to work part time as a substitute teacher, stay home with her kids and start her own business “Rogers Real NY Cheesecakes”. Back in New York, Bouxsein had worked at Harlem Hospital as a licensed lab technologist.

The experiences she had in New York and at a medical center in one of the most crimeriddled cities in America rightly prepared her for her first volunteer and later paid efforts with the St. Charles City Police Department. She would go on to serve the department from 1989 to 1999 as its crime prevention specialist and Neighborhood Watch Coordinator.

“The things I was teaching here were things I grew up knowing. That was my life,” she said. “If you worked at HarlemHospital,

you saw everything.”

Maureen was working during what she called the “bad times” of 1971 and 1972, when there were “so many police shootings.” She remembers nights that she could not get home because neighborhoods were blocked off until the shooting stopped.

As a civilian, and not a sworn officer in the St. Charles Police Department, Maureen would give safety talks on how to prevent crime instead of respond to it. She conducted business and home security surveys as well.

When her kids started school at Coverdell, Maureen also started—as a room mother.

When she left, she was president of the PTO. During that time, she also volunteered with the Boy Scouts.

Maureen has, since her move to St. Charles, been on one or another community board or association for Frenchtown including the Frenchtown Neighborhood Association, the Frenchtown Strategic Planning Committee, the Frenchtown Community Corp. and the Historic Landmark Preservation Review Board.

And at 57, she's still going. “Until we discussed volunteering, I did not even think of this as volunteer time, just time well spent for another opportunity to show off my hometown,” Maureen said of her efforts with the Missouri River Greenway— Riverwoods Park & Trail. “It is just my way of serving my neighbors and my community and hoping to help a variety of people, whether I know them or not. I hope through my actions others may experience all the positive things about St. Charles or help to make improvement

if needed.”

Maureen has spent many hours in meetings and doing research for the interpretive signs that describe the view of the St. Charles Riverfront from the new trail across the river. She said her reward for this work is “The knowledge that the information is correct and that it reflects the history, charm and progressiveness of our city.”

Maureen said she is not a proponent of radical change, rather, “I believe that I can implement positive changes and I try to show the love and pride I have in St. Charles by offering my skills when needed.”

Maureen has received many rewards in her near three decades in St. Charles, including the Frenchtown Neighborhood Award, Civil Excellence Award, VFW 2866 Special Safety Award for Neighborhood Watch Coordinator and Criminal Justice Employee of the Year.

Two years ago, she served as the Habitat for Humanity General Chairman for the Celebration of Trees at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles. The event raised $50,000.

Five years ago, Maureen was diagnosed with melanoma and told she had a year to live.

“It really makes you appreciate everything.

God blessed me. I could not volunteer without the love and support of my husband Rick. He has been my rock and has always encouraged me in whatever I am doing. My three sons have, over the years, been incentives for much of the time I have spent volunteering.

I hope that by volunteering I have shown them the value of sharing without the thought of getting something in return. ■ ROBIN SEATON JEFFERSON

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 53

Urban Attitudes: A Vine Affair September 6 | Guests at Street Scape’s First Annual fashion show held at the New Town at St. Charles were treated to a wine tasting, entertainment and urban fashions from several local boutiques modeled by local celebrities and heart survivors. Monica Adams from KMOX emceed the event.

Join us next year for good wine, good food and good fashion! www.streetscapemag.com

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

54 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

SUNRISE TO SUNSET

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 55

SUNRISE TO SUNSET

Mosaics Oct. 14-16 | The Foundry Art Centre once again was pleased to be a sponsor of the Mosaics Festival for the Arts. Mosaics is committed to keeping art and culture in the forefront of our region. The thirteenth annual Festival reinforces the importance of culture and insures that the arts remain vital in our community. www.stcharlesmosaics.org

Fourth Friday Artwalk Sept.-Oct. | On the fourth Friday of September, October, and November various storefronts and shops on North Main Street, along with the Foundry Art Centre, host Fourth Friday ArtWalks from 5:00-9:00 p.m., showcasing the work more than 60 artists.

Galleries, Restaurants, and Coffee Houses complete the setting and artists are on hand to talk to and visit with the public. www.stcharlesriverfrontarts.com

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

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SUNRISE TO SUNSET

Quilts and More...

Various Dates | Historic Main Street hosts an annual unique art show featuring hundreds of colorful quilts.

Local bed and breakfasts also displayed quilts and guests could ride the free trolley to past the inns.

Other quilt/sewing themed events took place recently, including Round Bobbin at the St. Charles Convention Center and the Quilt International Exhibit at the Foundry Art Centre. For more information: quiltsonmain.com, roundbobbin.com.

The Blast Family Fun Day September 24 | Not familiar with The Blast? The Blast is a Chamber event at New Town that offers something for people of all ages.

Activities include a Petting Zoo, Balloon Glow, 5K Run / 1 Mile Family Fun Walk, Wine & Desert Tasting, Food, Beer Garden, Car Show, Cake Walk Live Entertainment, and Tons of Kids Games.

The Blast offers family fun, fitness and more for children of all ages. Check out The Blast next year! www.stcharleschamber.org

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 57

SUNRISE TO SUNSET Festival of the Little Hills June 16 | This Festival runs all weekend and features food, live entertainment, arts, crafts, and more. The festival is all along Main Street and the Riverfront and is one of the largest crowd draws for the region. All of the events are posted by the committee prior to the event on the Festival’s website. Don’t miss it in 2008!

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

www.festivalofthelittlehills.com

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SUNRISE TO SUNSET Pioneer Days September 29 | This annual twoday celebration of pioneer life at the Daniel Boone Home in Defiance, MO set the stage for visitors and reenactors to experience what pioneer life was like in the picturesque Femme Osage Valley.

Children and their parents watched numerous craftsmen and artisans demonstrate their skills in wood carving, metalworking, braiding wool rugs, open hearth cooking, blacksmithing, colonial gardening, dying and soapmaking. During Pioneer Days, tents were setup throughout the Village with reenactors sharing conversation as they performed chores and answering questions about what life might have been like in the 19th century.

Wendy Richardson Trunk Show September 13 | Friends gathered from 5:30PM to 8:30PM at Stitches Etc., 341 South Main Street in St. Charles for a trunk show by Wendy Richardson. Wendy’s award winning adornments are one-of-a-kind and feature semi-precious stones and metal. Wendy’s jewelry has also been featured at the Meet Me in St. Louis Antiques and Garden Show.

Gail Zumwalt, owner of Stitches and Co-Hostess Joyce Shaw greeted guests with a complimentary martini and wine bar.

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 59

Missouri K.I.D.S. Auction September 12 | The Missouri K.I.D.S. Benefit Auction was held from 5:30 to 8:30p.m. at Grappa Grill, 1544 Country Club Plaza, in St. Charles. Missouri K.I.D.S. provides specialized aid for student athletes suffering from permanent disabling injuries.

Call 636-946-9595, for more information, or to make a donation.

Concert at Bum’s Hollow October 6 | This concert was a trial event to see if residents of St. Charles would like to see the Bum's Hollow area of Blanchette Park revived as a venue for many different types of entertainment.

Entertainment was provided

by The Arbogast Band and Special Guest Mark Moebeck.

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Katie Brown

60 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

SUNRISE TO SUNSET

Failte Irish Festival and Oktoberfest Various Dates | St. Charles and surrounding areas are home to many different ethnic heritages, including strong Irish, Scottish and German backgrounds. Pictured here are photos from our German Oktoberfest and Failte Irish celebrations. You don’t have to be German or Irish to come down to Main Street and have a good time with fantastic food, entertainment, crafts and plenty of activities for the kids!

Photography by Michael Schlueter/Brea McAnally

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 61

NOVEMBER

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Shopping & Lantern Lit Caroling Procession on Historic Main Street, St. Charles. www.historicstcharles.com; www.stcharleschristmas.com Or call for more info. 636-946-7776

| Augusta’s First Fridays | Augusta, Missouri www.augusta-chamber.org 636-228-4005

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Winter

23

Calendar of Events

BOOK CLUB

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THE BOOK THIEF

by Markus Zusak Available at Main Street Books 307 South Main | 636-949-0105

62 | S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E

| Habitat for Humanity Festival of Trees | St. Charles Convention Center 11-25th | MO Wildlife Art Festival | Foundry Art Centre 1-800-575-2322 | New Town Trivia Night Town Hall; 7 pm Must sign up beforehand at Marsala's Market. Space is limited. $80 per table. www.newtownatstcharles.com | "Mom & Me and the Nutcracker Tea" Foundry Art Center (Adults $20 Children $15 Call for more info. 636-255-0270 www.foundryartcentre.org | Habitat for Humanity Festival of Trees thru 11/25 St. Charles Convention Ctr.

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| Fourth Friday Artwalk - North Main Street, St. Charles. 5 to 9pm 636-949-3231 www.stcharlesriverfrontarts.com | Christmas Traditions | Old Fashioned Evening Shopping & Lantern-lit Caroling thru 12/23. www.stcharleschristmas.com | Celebration of Lights (Ft. Zumwalt Park, O'Fallon, MO thru Dec 30th) Cars $9, Vans $15, Buses $1 per person. For more info please call 636-379-5614 www.ofallon.mo.us | Lights on Main (Historic Main Street & Frontier Park thru Jan. 1st) www.mainstreetstcharles.com; www.historicstcharles.com | Thru Dec. 23rd, Old Fashioned Evening

It is 1939 in Nazi Germany. A dangerous time and Liesel Meminger embarks upon a dangerous love affair -- with books and words. Soon she is stealing (or saving) books from Nazi book burnings or from wherever a book can be found. Even more dangerous, her foster family is hiding a Jew in the basement. Most interestingly, Death narrates this story, stealing a few moments from his busy schedule as he waits . . .

| Opening Day for St. Charles Christmas Traditions on historic St. Charles Main Street. www.historicstcharles.com | Train Display on Historic North Main Street. Featuring Santa's Train Land (thru Dec. 23rd) Friday 5-9pm, Sat. 11am-5pm, Sun. 12-5pm www.historicstcharles.com | The Great Train Expo | St. Charles Convention Center | Candlelight Tours | Daniel Boone Home Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 7 & 8, Dec. 14 & 15 636-798-2005 | Foundry Art Centre "Big Red Box" Show and Sale featuring Best of Missouri Hands Artists. Friday 5-pm, Sat 10-5pm, Sun 124pm 636-255-0270 www.foundryartcentre.org

DECEMBER

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| Christmas Train Display at Frenchtown Heritage Museum and Research Center thru 12/30, closed Christmas Eve. Call 636 946-8682 for more info. www.historicfrenchtown.com | Candlelight Christmas 1800 6-10pm, Historic Daniel Boone Home & Boonesfield Village. Adults $25, Children $10 For more info: (636) 798-2005 www.lindenwood.edu/boone | Las Posada procession on South Main Street, begins at the corner of Boone's Lick Rd. and Main and will conclude in Frontier Park with the Lighting of the St. Charles City Tree. www.stcharleschristmas.com | New Town Christmas Tree Lighting at the Town Hall 4 - 6pm, includes lighting of the Christmas tree and a festive holiday band, cocoa, cookies and more. www.newtownatstcharles.com | Augusta's Annual Christmas Candlelight Walk (Friday the 7th & 14th) www.augusta-chamber.org 636-228-4005

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| Sports, Incorporated Tradeshow- St. Charles Convention Center | The Foundry Art Centre and St. Charles County present "Holiday Concert" at Sat. the 15th at 8pm and Sun. the 16th at 3pm.

$20 person, children under 12 free. www.sccsymphony.com (636) 447-8335 or www.foudryartcentre.org 636)255-0270

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| Chesterfield Arts and Rockwood Community Education co-sponsor Alexandra Ballet in this holiday favorite. Kick off the holiday season with this beautiful ballet; a perfect event for the entire family showing at 2 and 7pm. 636938-2302 www.rockwoodcommunityed.com for reservations. | Award Winning Jazz with Erin Bode at The Foundry Art Centre. Show begins at 7:30PM, Tickets $15.00, cash bar. 636-2550270 www.foundryartcentre.org | New Years Eve at the Foundry Art Centre "Broadway Nites" starring Larry Alexander and featuring Barbara Helmer. Cocktails at 7pm, dinner at 8:15pm, performance at 9pm with dancing to follow. Tickets $100 each.

636-255-0270 www.foundryartcentre.org

JANUARY

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nominations for this year’s Xtreme 20 Awards.

Nominations will be accepted through March 14. Winners will be recognized at an awards brunch in April ‘08. www.streetscapemag.com

Ongoing events:

| Fete de Glace (The Festival of Ice) on North Main Street. www.historicstcharles.com; www.mainstreetstcharles.com

Augusta’s First Fridays—1st Friday of each month | www.augusta-chamber.org

| Street Scape’s second annual “The Buzz” coffeehouse crawl, following the Fete de Glace. Participating locations TBD. See our website for more details. www.streetscapemag.com | Historic Frenchtown’s Mardi Gras parade... an alcohol-free family friendly parade on North 2nd Street. www.historicfrenchtown.com

FEBRUARY

10

| Crescendo Concert Series- "Quink" 3pm (Pre-concert talk at 2:30pm) at St. Charles Presbyterian Church www.crescendoconcets.org (636) 724-2507

| Street Scape Magazine will begin accepting

Arch Rivals Comedy—3rd Thursday of every month at Comedy Forum in St. Peters | $5 www.archrivalscomedy.com 636-498-1234

Music On Main—3rd Wednesday of each month on North Main in St. Charles | www.mainstreetstcharles.com Hot Summer Nights—Monthly through October | www.stcharlescity.com Fourth Friday Art Walk—North Main Street | www.stcharlesriverfrontarts.com 636-949-3231

For more information on events in our area, visit these helpful websites: → www.historicstcharles.com → www.mainstreetstcharles.com → www.historicfrenchtown.com → www.newtownatstcharles.com www.augusta-chamber.org www.stpetersmo.com

FIFE & DRUM Put a little fife and drum in your heart this Holiday season! Each year the Lewis & Clark Fife and Drums Corps provides authentic portrayals of early American history and music to thousands of spectators during regular appearances in historic Saint Charles and frequent participation in local, regional, and national events.

The Corps marches in many Saint Louis Parades, hosts the Lewis & Clark Heritage Days muster each May in Saint Charles, performs in August at the Festival of the Little Hills in Saint Charles, and adds a special holiday spirit to South Main Street in Saint Charles throughout the Christmas season.

S T R E E T S C A P E M A G A Z I N E | 63

Give yourself a break this hectic holiday season...

At home or at work, we REALLY deliver!

hes and business events Offering online ordering • Catering large & small lunches Gift Certificates available for holiday gift giving starters & spuds Grilled Shrimp 6 pcs Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings 8 pcs 24 pcs Baked Potato w/Steak Out Buttery Spread & Sour Cream Loaded Baked Potato w/ Cheddar, Hormel® Bacon Bits Garlic Mashed Potatoes

salads $4.99 $5.99 $14.99 $1.99 $3.99 $1.99

entrées Served with crisp salad, baked potato, buttery spread, sour cream & roll.

Sirloin Steak 6 oz $9.99 Ribeye Steak 6 oz $9.99 9 oz $13.49 12 oz $15.99 New York Strip Steak 8 oz $13.99 Filet Mignon 7 oz $15.99 T-Bone Steak $17.99 Sirloin Steak Tips 6.5 oz $9.99 10 oz $12.99 Chopped Steak 10 oz $9.99 with Grilled Onions $10.99 Grilled Chicken Breast Filet 7 oz $10.99 Grilled Shrimp 12 pcs $11.99 Grilled Salmon 8 oz $12.99 Surf & Turf (5 oz steak/6 pcs shrimp)$12.99 St. Louis Style Smoked Ribs1/2 slab$12.99 Add 6 Grilled Shrimp to any meal $3.99

lunch favorites Served until 3pm with crisp salad, baked potato, buttery spread, sour cream & roll.

Chopped Steak 7 oz $6.99 Grilled Chicken Breast Filet 5 oz $6.99 Sirloin Steak Tips 5 oz $6.99 Lunch Shrimp 6 pcs $6.99

kids meal menu Served with Teddy Grahams®, Motts® apple sauce & potato chips Cheeseburger Meal $3.99 Chicken Nuggets Meal $3.99

Grilled Chicken & Sirloin served chilled.

Grilled Sirloin Chef Salad $6.99 Grilled Chicken Chef Salad $6.49 Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad $6.99 Cobb Salad $6.99 A la carte Salad $1.99 Dressings include: Bleu Cheese, Creamy Italian, Fat Free Italian, Olive Oil & Vinegar, Ranch, Lite Ranch, Honey French, Honey Mustard, Thousand Island & Caesar.

sandwiches Served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, s. mustard, mayo, ketchup & potato chips.

Onions available upon request.

Grilled Chicken Filet Sand. 5 oz $5.99 Sirloin Steak Sandwich 6 oz $7.49 Ribeye Steak Sandwich 6 oz $7.49 Steak-Out Cheeseburger 7 oz $5.99 Substitute Baked Potato for Chips $1.79 Substitute Loaded Baked Potato for Chips $2.99

extras Roll, Steak-Out Buttery Spread, Sour Cream or Dressing $.49 Grilled Onions or Mushroom $1.49 Cup of Cheddar Cheese $1.09 Hormel® Bacon Bits $1.09 Potato Chips $.89 Extra Cheese on any sandwich $.29 Steak Sauce Available Upon Request with any meal

Mention th is a to receive d

FREE* Ch with any 2

eesecake

limited time

entrees offer

ad n thies a o i t n Me receiv al to s Meees d i K E* y 2 entrr FRE an ffe with ed time o limit

desserts New York Style Cheesecake slice Add cherry or strawberry topping Chocolate Chip Cake slice Chocolate Chip or 2 cookies Oatmeal Raisin Cookies1/2 dozen dozen

$3.69 $.79 $3.69 $1.49 $3.59 $6.99

beverages Pepsi®, Diet Pepsi®, Wild Cherry Pepsi®, Mountain Dew®, Dr. Pepper®, Mug Root Beer®, Sierra Mist®, Lemonade $1.49 Bottled Water $1.49

*Free offers are limit one per delivery and cannot be combined with any other offer. • A family owned restaurant.

St. Charles 636-947-6888 1456 Bass Pro Dr./Mark Twain Mall fax 636-724-6569

Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season.

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