Archive for the ‘In Our Town’ Category

Our town’s Dr. Patricia Wolff, wife of Mo. Supreme Court Justice Mike Wolff, got ink in The New York Times for her work in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  In the paper’s Magazine, scribe Andrew Rice quoted Dr. Wolff,  founder of Meds and Food for Kids, the producer of fortified nut paste,  “Poverty is a business. . .There’s money to be made and there are people who have that kind of way of thinking.”  The article continued, “. . .Wolff made a tentative deal for Meds and Food for Kids to become a Nutriset franchisee. In the end, she said she couldn’t afford to battle hunger on her own.”
And, the Center for Rural Development in Milot, which serves impoverished people in and around the village of Milot in northern Haiti, will hold a fundraiser at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 22 at the Schlafly Tap Room. Billed as “A taste of Haiti and an evening of Hatian food and music,” the event is spearheaded by Charles, Louis and Dr. Ted Dubuque,
Dr. Timothy O’Connell, Steve and Susan Reese, Tom Schlafly, Sally Gordon,  Bill Guyol and Milton Wilkins.

It was sort of a kitschy-koo Labor Day weekend, which marked the first anniversary of this online column, with toasts offered at Annie Gunn’s. where a sign near the bar reads, “Beware of pickpockets and loose women.”  Thom Sehnert’s tavern seemed a million miles away from the Convention & Visitors Bureau, which hardly ever grasps Chesterfield in its promotional blurbs.  There was reliable mixologist Eve Perlmutter mixing drinks and gossip with the regulars.  Then, I wondered if she and other bartenders in our town could mix buttered martinis, Americanos or Zombies, which were popular in the days of barflies, lounge lizards and loose women.  Back home,  to surf the channels only to see some old movies – one of which had Jack Nicholson in “Chinatown”, seated in a barber’s chair and saying to a banker, “But, I don’t kick people out of their homes like you do!” Then to “The American President” in which Annette Bening asks Michael Douglas (in the title role), “How do you have patience for Americans who love America less?”  “The nation’s gonna keep flyin’” says Douglas.  Then, a flip to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, “Rear Window,” in which James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Raymond Burr give bravura performances.  Finally, “E.T.” in which youngsters display extraordinary virtuosity in Spielberg’s classic.

Whenever I feel I’m out of touch with reality, I hit the charity circuit and the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon at Grant’s Farm was a must.  Music blaring, a marathon of phone calls, Grant’s Farm gendarmes returning your stare with contemptuous flicks of the dead eyes and KSDK’s Mike Bush and Heidi Glaus, along with staffers from the station, working with desperate vitality.  On the sidelines, the columnist cornered Mike’s wife, Claudia, who offered that her husband recently signed a five-year contract extension “with a reduction in salary.”  So, no entity is immune to budget cuts. With their son, Ryan,  Claudia enthused over Mike’s mom, Lois Bush’s, upcoming reunion with the family in time for Rosh Hashonah.  While Claudia is a Catholic, she intimated that Lois is working on converting the children to Judaism, albeit their son Matthew’s recent marriage in a cathedral.  Daughter Jennifer, 25, is working as a researcher at Columbia U. in NYC, specializing in psychology of eating disorders; son Daniel, 21, is a senior at Mo. State U. majoring in electronic art.  Elsewhere, Jennifer Feldman, Channel 5’s assignment editor, heaped praise on the station’s chief, Lynn Beall, who happens to be national veep for the MD Association, for having plunked down $800 for a Camp Star to be used by the kids afflicted with MD. Heidi Glaus, escorted by vet cameraman Ed Thornhill into the arena of giving, said her day began with her regimen of exercise and a turkey sandwich during the telethon.  MD’s regional director Toni Hails lamented, “Participation (of volunteers) is down this year. Some people are afraid to ask to help.”

What was the quality of our town, that had transformed fur merchants’ dreams into a nationally–renowned city? What outlandish dreams and ambitions enabled those early St. Louisans to build so grandly and so well? Even the old-timers who knew the magic, were no longer sure what it was. Rubbing their chins and watery eyes, they’d say, it was smaller and friendlier. Lots of wonderful saloons, cheap food, cheap wine and it was like a party going on all the time. St. Louis was the City That Was. Reruns of MGM’s “Meet Me In St. Louis” remind us of the gaiety surrounding the 1904 World’s Fair, celebrating the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. There remains unquenchable enthusiasm for structures that remain intact such as the elegant houses in Lafayette Square, the Eugene Field House, Bevo Mill and the Bissell House Mansion. There was a youngster from Ohio, who grew to become a physicist and Nobel laureate – Arthur Holly Compton – who helped take over a program to develop the atomic bomb. He was also chancellor of WashU, when it became the last university in the nation to desegregate students. Who would’ve thought of same-sex marriage in those days? That brings us to opinion researcher and career strategist Anna Navarro and marketing exec Harriet Blickenstaff, who legally tied the knot last month in Iowa. Who could guess then of a dermatologist, let alone one who would focus on itch? That’s right. Leading skin specialist Dr. Lynn Cornelius is hoping to establish an itch center within her practice at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where she serves as WashU prof and chief of the division of dermatology. (Itches are normally caused by infections, kidney and liver diseases,) A female lawyer in the early 20th century? Now we have women on the Supreme Court and some of the best lawyers in America are women, including our town’s esteemed barrister Jessica Liss of Rabbitt Pitzer & Snodgrass, who is slated to become prez of the Women’s Lawyers Association.

The former exec director of The March of Dimes, Deb Kersting, has begun toiling as e.d. of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The agency will hold its final Diamond Ball on Oct. 9, capping 24 years of existence. Expect a fitting tribute to Mary Pillsbury Wainwright, who has helmed the event since it began.

It’s been a great week so far, any way you look at it (provided you weren’t looking at it from Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea or the house of Centene communicator and former television anchor Deanne Lane, who is mourning the sudden death of her husband, consultant and avid golfer Greg Goodrich. . . .A family of restaurants has grown to three with Ellen Schmitz’s just-debuted Mosaic Bistro Market on Central Avenue in Clayton. It features French inspired fare. Her siblings, Frank and Carl Schmitz, own BARcelona and Mosaic Modern Fusion Restaurant. . .Nearby, that big colorful World News is filled with newspapers and magazines from around the world. Some are serious, some scurrilous, some silly, some trashy, some slightly pornographic, but they all seemed to be healthier than the neurotic notions being peddled upstairs under the American flag. How appropriate that the popular American philosophers of the day are those who write for consumers, automobiles and physical fitness. But then there’s St. Louis magazine’s style editor, Nicole Benoist Edgerton, who has chosen the best-dressed townies for 2010: Dawna Sturdivant; Frankie Muriel; Diane Breckenridge; Alex Russell; Beth Davis; Alex David; Retta Leritz DiFate; Mike McMillan; Sarah King and Mark Austin. . . .Metro passenger to a retired employee, “Does this Metro stop everywhere?” Metro staffer to passenger, “Sometimes even oftener Man, do I get sick of being quaint and colorful”. . .Comes Stan Kroenke, the new owner of 60 percent of the Rams to play a game a different way, not necessarily better. . ..Donna Wilkinson is lamenting the loss of her quality assistant, Jim Timmerberg, who has opted to work for a company in Colinsville, IL., after serving our town’s leading fund-raiser for 16 years. . .Nan Fowler, former sales exec with the beleagured NPS, has bowed her own firm to serve funeral homes with products. Her credo? “I believe every life should be celebrated and every service be meaningful”. . .Is it true that a local hospital will dub its baby show as the “Heirport?”. . .And, don’t you love the refrain, “I’ll vote for him even if he can’t win?”

Mike Harman is out as prez of construction at Fred Weber, Inc., succeeded by the affable and savvy Doug Weible. . .Ditto for Deb Kersting, who’s out at the March of Dimes, which will hold its Signature Chef Auction on Oct. 14 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Honorary chairmen are Vince Bommarito, Jr., Thom Sehnert. The planning committee met over lunch at Il Bel Lago and included Mary Trulaske, Erica Jones, Suzanne Dalton, Lorna Wurm, Karen Raskas, Maureen Day, Missy Tillman, Diane Johnson, Kelly Johnson, JoLynn Winer and Lori Hermanson. . . . Former Post-Dispatch copy editor Jeff Herman is calling Gainesville, Fla., his home now that he’s at The New York Times editing center. . .Russ Clark, owner of a Cecil Whittaker’s Pizza in south St. Louis, is now offering an “Obama Special” and “Pelosi Special” – all pork. . .And, birkblog.typepad.com points out that, for once, it’s good that our town is/ not /on the list of top 15 cities with bed bugs. However, three Ohio cities – Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland – are in the ranking. The blog continues, “When the DNC reads it, they’ll be itchin’ to have their convention right here on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.”

John Imo, heir to the Imo’s Pizza chain, was also on hand and boasted about the ingredients used in the pizzas turned out by the firm’s 92 stores in Missouri and Illinois.  “Other pizza makers use copycat provel cheese, but we use the original Hoffman provel,” he said. He noted that some of the stores are franchised requiring a fee of $25,000.  Former broadcaster-turned president of the Centric Group JimTheiss, described the firm as a holding company of Enterprise.  “We manufacture the Swiss Army products and even sell to prison stores,” said Theiss. A sight to behold:  three volunteers, geared up as Lady Gaga (Heather King); Betty Boop (Brittany Johnson) and Audrey Hepburn (Amber Ponder). While Cardwell’s server Joshua Mefford cozied up to St. Louis 6th ward alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett, the columnist was haunted by the refrain, “Into the night go one and all,” and it was onward to join Genya and Jim Human along with Steve Anstey at Chez Leon, where exec chef Marcel Keravel bowed there. He and his wife, Monique, may best be remembered as owners of the famed Cafe de France.

ST. LOUIS CRISIS NURSERY CELEB WAITRESSES & WAITERS NIGHT

If RibFest America is your idea of a unique St. Louis street festival, you are likely to love the Competitor Group’s Rock ‘n Roll marathon series.  Promoters of the cookie cutter event traveled from city to city staging marathon and half marathon races that feature “live bands, themed water stations and cheerleaders every mile along the 26.2 mile course.”  The series will stop at 16 or so other cities next season and if, it can find some deep-pocketed local sponsors, will most likely program itself to go head to head with the homegrown Go! St. Louis  marathon and its many family-oriented events.

Halos on street lamps over empty sidewalks that knew the tread of feet long ago. So I say hail to a long stretch of Manchester, from McCausland to Big Bend.  As the city grows away from itself, it grows more deeply into itself, perhaps in self-protection.  But it is the last of the constants, where one can hardly find the mythical faubourg on a map. It gets high marks in the minds of night crawlers, columnists and real estate agents. In sum, it is a point of view that points to itself with pride. One of the jewels on the avenue is the born-again Monarch Restaurant, which held a private pouring Saturday night before its opening on Monday. The National Chidlren’s Cancer Society (NCCS) benefited from the event, helmed by Donna Wilkinson. Bob and Carol Jones, heiress to the late oil exec Sam Goldstein, were front ‘n center.  Mary Deverman and David Steward, II, of Nicene Brands announced they will aisle walk Nov. 23 in Chicago.  Steward is the heir of David Steward of World Wide Technology fame. The grand dame of flowers and landscaping, Martha Tobin of St. Louis Blooms, arrived with her son-in-law, Mike Mertz.  She recalled an incident years ago, when she worked for the late Jon Prel. “My daughter asked Prel what his function was at his flower shop.”  According to Martha, Prel shot back, “To kick little girls like you out of the store.” Columnist Deb Peterson diligently worked the room, while lights impinged on her dazzler, given by her new husband, Dr. Tom Steinberg. Peggy and Andy Newman were toasted on their eight grandchildren. Food maven Catherine Neville, with her partner, Jennifer Schoemehl, confided to pals, that copies of her new  publication, Feast, went through the roof.  Asked what her favorite restaurant is, Neville replied, “the Persian restaurant, Cafe Natasha.” Robust wine bar owners Stanley and Arlene Browne were there as were: the Beacon’s Bob Duffy with Marty Kaplan; Marilyn and Dr. Steve Teitelbaum, whose son, Aaron, is partnered at Monarch with Jeff Orbin; Stephanie Arndt with Steve Cox and  Joan Quicksilver, who wore what one bitchy guest described, “Mother Teresa is wearing a practical peasant dress.” Past the new modern American dining room and into the kitchen, the columnist cornered celebrated chef Josh Galliano, while he prepared house specialties: crawfish etouffee, lima bean hummus and grilled spicy steak with onions.

But, the highlight of the evening was Donna Wilkinson’s tip, that Goldie Hawn has been signed to highlight NCCS’s Oct. 30 gala at the Ballpark Hilton.  Wilkinson also added, that at the event, the organization will unveil a new toy, “Laffy-A-Lot,” that emits 20 different laughs and is capable of recording children and their parents’ messages.

“You cannot take photos or interview members of the site committee,” demanded Brian Wahby, a force behind the St. Louis host committee to lure the convention to St. Louis.  (Sorry, Brian, by the time you said that, the columnist, a dutiful news gatherer, had already covered the group). The site team, that will make their recommendations to the deciders to hold the 2012 convention here, might have already pored through the 1,000-page proposal, that had been submitted. (St. Louis is one of four cities being considered, including Minneapolis, Charlotte and Cleveland).  A tension-filled, bipartisan gaggle of our town’s leading citizens romanced the committee over cocktails at the Hilton Ballpark Hotel before a concert was to begin in Kiener Plaza. On hand were: Kitty Ratcliff of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commish, who had just returned from Vancouver, where she took the show on the road at a trade show; County Exec Charlie Dooley on the Immigration Bill – “No one should have to carry an ID”; former mayor Vince Schoemehl with his wife, Lois – “It would be a celebration of the renaissance of downtown. It would be guaranteed to carry Missouri in 2012″; Missouri Treasurer Clint Zweifel – “It would be on a Super Bowl level”;  Martin Casas, president of the Young Democrats, with his wife, Katie – “It would be a new identity, a fresh outlook and perception of St. Louis”; GOPer Ray Wagner – “It’s all about showcasing St. Louis to the world, but I cannot further comment. I’m here for Enterprise (Rent-A -Car)”;  State Sen. Robin Wright-Jones – “It would stop St. Louis from being a midwestern, sleepy town”; site committee member Steve Kerrigan, sipping a Bud Select, to former Mo.Lt. Guv Joe Maxwell – “You have an amazing city”; Jerry Feldhaus, exec sect’y. and treasurer of the St. Louis Building Trades Council, turned to the woes of unemployment and moaned, “There is about 30 percent unemployment – across the board”; St. Louis Police Capt. Sam Dotson on the convention – “It’s ours to lose”;  East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks, with his wife, Jo Ann - “It would help boost the economy of East St. Louis through the spillover. We have gambling and entertainment.” . . . It’s a mystery why his Mysterious Majesty of Khorassan  (read that as the Veiled Prophet) banker Joe Imbs was a no-show.

Like they say in baseball – wait ’til next year!  An additional 100,000 conventioneers will head to our town, according to Kitty Ratcliff, prez of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commish. The recently-bagged conventions are: The Missouri Valley Conference with 46,000 in 2012 and 2013; Capitol Sports Center (30,000 in 2011 and 2012); American Foundry Society (10,000 in 2013) and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (20,000 in 2012). It happened at a convention dinner, when the emcee said, “We’ve heard so much about our next speaker.  Now, let’s get /his /side of the story.”

“The cops are giving us s—, because of our last name as well as their racism,” said Nick Trupiano, 29, who, with his family owns the dance club, Lure, on Washington Avenue. One night each week, the club caters to African-Americans, that triggered one police officer, according to Trupiano, to ask him, “Do you like niggers?” Nick is the son of Marlene and the late Mike Trupiano, who served time in prison for playing cards. Mike was always perceived as a gangster by law enforcement, perhaps because he was the nephew of the notorious Tony Giordano. And now, Nick said that Mayor Francis Slay’s office and the St. Louis Police Department are trying to revoke the club’s liquor license over its clientele. Also, Trupiano pointed out that shots were recently fired two blocks away, which might have factored in the efforts to pull the club’s license. “The cops are trying to tie us into that only because of the blacks, who come here,” insisted Trupiano. “We pay about $75,000 a year in taxes to the city and state.” He added, that the family has hired former mayor and attorney Freeman Bosley, Jr., to represent them in the matter.