Posts Tagged ‘Martin Mathews’

It’s all a matter of fond memory now like the bitter-sweet humor of Noel Coward, Dorothy Parker and our town’s society doyenne Anne Desloge Bates. I’m not talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of terrorists. I’m talking about some of our most precious heritage like the quaint and colorful people who’ve lived here. Then there are civic leaders, empire builders, the developers and the conservationists who are so dedicated they’ll probably be investigated by a Congressional committee. Maybe they should be sent back where they came from except that where they came from is now a Home Depot. Do-gooderism has always been suspect in this misanthropic society of ours, and large segments of the public are inclined to look upon the do-gooder as some kind of village idiot. Martin Mathews. Donna Wilkinson, Virginia Weldon, Blanche Touhil, David Clohessy, Robert Archibald, Steve and Kimmy Brauer, Chris Chadwick, Cheryl Polk, Sam Fox and Roberta Cohen come to mind as today’s leading do-gooders. To a much lesser degree there was businessman David Hanley. In 1972 he crashed his Cadillac convertible into a skyjacked 727 as it was on the tarmac at Lambert preparing for takeoff.  The resident of Florissant was later sued for more than $100k  by his insurance company for damages incurred on the plane’s nose gear. Update: skyjacker Martin McNully has returned to our town after serving 37 years in federal prison for skyjacking and air piracy. Nowadays, he lives on Magnolia Avenue near the south Grand Boulevard district.

Bridget, Olivia and Kyle McClellan

Cardinal pitcher Kyle McClellan, his wife Bridget and their six week-old daughter Olivia, arrived just in time Sunday evening at the Missouri Athletic Club to be welcomed by Martin Mathews’ of the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club at its auction and dinner, billed as “Celebrity Night with the Stars.” The McClellans joined in the celebration honoring the legendary Jack Buck. Before the McClellans joined more than 300 other guests, he spoke of Albert Pujols’ injury and opined, “My guess is that he’ll be back before the end of the season. But, who knows?” Olivia began crying that led Kyle to comment, “It would be great if we could get her to sleep.”  Then, Kennett, Mo. native Bridget recalled her first meeting with Kyle at the Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park. while Kyle was attending Hazelwood West High. After they entered the ballroom, they paused at skipper Tony LaRussa’s table that included Carol Buck, her grandson Matt Brooks and Mary Ellen Cremins.Entertainment was provided by another legend – keyboardist Ernie Hays and emcee chores were handled by KMOX Radio pro and sports chief Tom Ackerman, a proud alum of St. Louis Country Day. Before dinner was served, John Sheehan, the classy veep/market manager of KMOX and KEZK and KYKY-FM,  recalled, “Coming here four years ago from Kansas City, my first goal was to bring back Cardinal baseball. My other goal is to grow the stations.” Bryan Cave attorney Ben Clark was on hand with his wife Libby and their daughter Becky. Clark, a barrister with Bryan Cave, is the son of the late Marsh Clark of Time magazine fame. Ameren’s Richard Mark accompanied his family, Melissa, Melinda and Fontez Mark. Spotted chowing down on chef Bart Phillips’ lavish spread was Billiken Hall of Fame cager,  Chris Braun. The MAC has come a long way since its founding 95 years ago. Not only are women granted membership, but the club will hold its first Women of Achievement do at a luncheon on Oct. 1.

Power Team of Fontbonne University

It was one of those clear days you can see forever, if not from the windows of Eric Heckman‘s Tani Sushi and Area 14 in Clayton.  Where else do you see people driving around in Mercedes with their tops down and heaters on, wearing sunglasses with their overcoats and shivering?  Heckman said, that he is working with a group of New York investors to
create a franchise operation of a combination of lounge, restaurant and club with a technical take on tables, where diners will be able to send messages to others.  He added he’s on the prowl for another space in Clayton for a “vibe big-city style sports bar where women can feel comfortable.”  On the way to the Ritz Carlton, the columnist concluded that Clayton has become the DMZ for urban dropouts. Over at the Restaurant at the Ritz, there was a celebration for the birthday of the Rev. Delix Michel of Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Alton.  A native of Haiti, he explained, “I founded a school for poor children, attended by 283, and located 12 miles from Cap Haitien. It is called Ecole du Sacre Coeur.”  The good priest was accompanied at lunch by volunteer Dorothy Boos.  In the cigar bar the columnist learned that former Dolphins defensive back Troy Vincent was expected in town for confabs with Martin Mathews about taking as a model, Reach Out for Kids at the Mathews-Dickey

Eric Heckman

Boys & Girls Club to other cities.  At a large table, Dr. Gregory Taylor, exec veep of Fontbonne University held court with colleagues: Gary Zack; Randy Wilson; Greg Taylor and Joyce Johnson, veep of academic affairs.  She said that Fontbonne is now offering a course in social media as a marketing technique and will soon offer a masters program in non-profit management. Special guest of honor was educator John Baworowsky of Athens, Greece. Alleged party-giver Amit Dhawan‘s name was thrown up by a few diners, while word flashed that Nelly‘s most recent project was abandoned by Universal Records. The word in cyberspace is that it happened on the heels of his rant on Twitter, that the label didn’t back his work. In less than a week only about 46,000 were sold. Conversely, the hottest music record producer and promoter in our town has become Ira DeWitt, ceo of Notifi Records on Brentwood Boulevard.  The wife of

The Rev. Delix Michel with Dorothy Boos

Bill DeWitt, III, Ira’s roster of artists include multi-Platinum winner Ginuwine. For a long time, Clayton seemed to stand still, in a golden glow, unreal and provocative.  But, it will always be there forever, this enchanted city.

Rev. Earl Nance, Clifton Davis, Dan McFadden, Anna Maria Horsford and Sherman Hemsley

If Martin Mathews hadn’t existed, it would have been necessary to invent him. The leader of the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club rallied entertainment headliners, high-powered corporate blue bloods and supporters to the “Say Amen Banquet” Saturday night at the St. Louis Airport Marriott Hotel, raising $150,000 for the club.  With hefty assists by the club’s former CEO chairpersons Ron Fromm of Brown Shoe, Mike Neidorf of Centene, KSDK, the Post-Dispatch and KMOX, the event marked the 50th anniversary of the club, that has remained a cornerstone of our community. Ameren UE’s Tom Voss, with his wife, Carol, said the club “is a treasure for St. Louis.”  The Vosses hail from Eureka, Mo., where he said, “We can see as far as seven miles and the stars at night from our deck.”  He hailed Martin Mathews as, “Our own Mother Teresa.”  Channel 5′s 31-year vet Art Holliday, who served as emcee, said his wife, Linda, didn’t attend. “She doesn’t want to hear me talk anymore,” he joshed.  The Post-Dispatch editorial page editor Gilbert Bailon fielded positive comments about his page and admitted, “With so few resources.”  Then, he flattered the columnist and noted, “Everyone reads your column.” (Blush-blush.)

Had a great reunion with former singer/dancer Clifton Davis, whom the columnist knew as a press agent at The Muny in the 1968 production of “Hello, Dolly!,” in which Davis was a chorus boy in the Pearl Bailey headlined production. Davis, who is now a minister, continues his foray on the stage.  He pointed out, “I’m now negotiating to perform in a play, bound for Washington, D.C., about church folk heading to hell.”  Sherman Hemsley, who portrayed George Jefferson in the teleseries, The Jeffersons”, for 11 years, joined in the chorus of “Amen”, with Davis, Anna Marie Horsford, Barbara Montgomery and Roz Ryan.  Rev. Earl Nance, chairman of Mathews-Dickey and spiritual leader of the Greater Mt. Carmel Church, said the money raised would be used for educational purposes. Catherine and former St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George were toasted on their 39th wedding anniversary.  Meanwhile, Sherman lashed out at the city’s administration. (Remember, he was demoted for refusing to promote firefighters based on testing, that he claimed was faulty?)  George claimed, “There’s no question, that the administration is racist. The mayor, the board of aldermen and its president are on the same page. We need to have a debate on what’s right and what’s wrong with the city.”  He added, that both he and former mayor Clarence Harmon are now on the board of the ACLU.

Faces in the crowd included those of: Good News Baptist Church Rev. Byron Crawford and his wife, Shirley; Maritz veep Dan McFadden; former Miss Black USA Kyria Virshelle with Eyekon Records’ Steve Hart and Eddie Hasan. Ida Goodwin Woolfolk received the Bill Maritz Memorial Award and Judge Richard Webber was recipient of the Benjamin F. Edwards Memorial Award.