The Bridges of Jefferson County

Pathways to Arnold Since Before the Civil War

Story by Jeff Dunlap for the City of Arnold.

Ghosts of House Springs

Eternal Resting Place for Pioneers & Native Americans in Jefferson County

Story by Jeff Dunlap for the City of Arnold.

Spirits of Christmas Past in Jefferson County

“Ye who now bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.

Arnold’s Two Historic Catholic Churches Serve 3,000 Souls

Immaculate Conception and St. David’s Host a Robust Catholic Community

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.

Jefferson County Law Enforcement dates to 1819

Today’s Police and Sheriff Departments Constantly on Patrol to Catch Criminals

Not all crimes in Jefferson County have been so heinous as some in pioneer days when bandits and criminals got away without arrest and Native American Indians often massacred settlers.

Missouri was a frontier on December 8,1818 when the county was organized. Settlers lived without conveniences of roads, stores, post offices, and blacksmith shops.  “None, however, lived without a gun and at least one dog,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office reports.

The first court session was March 22, 1819, when Andrew Scott was named the county’s first sheriff.  Sheriff Scott was responsible for protecting 1,832 residents.  Herculaneum was named county seat. A small log jail – but no courthouse – was built. Instead, the county paid six dollars to the local coroner to use his house for court cases.

“The first murder trial in that courthouse was of Pierre Auguste Labaume, indicted and tried in March 1825 while Joseph Boring was serving as sheriff.  Jurors returned a verdict of ‘Not guilty’ and $227.75 in court costs… A new Jefferson County courthouse, with a jail, was built in 1840 for $1,500,” according to the Sheriff’s office.

In the 1850s, a slave named John killed a free African American man known as “Free Jack.” When indicted for murder John pled guilty. “The court ordered Sheriff James McColloch to carry out the sentence of (whipping) 39 stripes on his bare back because Jack, the free Negro, represented no value while John, the slave, did and his execution for the crime would have been ‘destruction of property.’”

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.

St. John’s Lutheran Church Nearly 175 Years in Arnold

Founded by pioneers after itinerant preacher named Sabbath didn’t show up

This article quotes excerpts from a booklet published by St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1948, on the occasion of its 100^th anniversary:

“In 1848, gold was discovered in California. That same year settlers in Jefferson County discovered that the ‘kingdom of God and his righteousness’ are ‘more to be desired than gold…’”  In their struggle to live “those stalwart pioneers” did not forget how to live, namely, unto the Lord.

“Their ancestry was German and they continued to speak that language for many years. In the early 1840s an itinerant preacher from St. Louis by the name of Sabbath came at intervals to preach to them in their native language. People came to those services from miles around, meeting in homes. . . An attempt was made to build a log church when sixteen families contributed the necessary logs and other material.”

Rev. J.M. Johannes and wife Carolina St. Johns Lutheran Church

“On a given date the cornerstone was to be laid and the logs raised. The assembled congregation waited long past the set hour for the preacher who was to officiate at the ceremonies.” A settler rode to St. Louis to ask why the man who called himself called Sabbath didn’t appear. The settler was told that the itinerant preacher was not a true clergyman. When the settlers learned this they were so disheartened that they decided not to build.

Their disappointment in the so-called preacher who called himself Sabbath made the Lutheran settlers wary of itinerant preachers. “When they learned of a true Lutheran church in St. Louis, they sent a delegation to the pastor, the Reverend C.F. W. Walther, for consultation and spiritual ministration.” The Reverend Walther was first president of the organized Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri. A very respected man, Reverend Walther arranged with the young Reverend J.F. Buenger, who was then assistant pastor of St. Louis’ Trinity Lutheran Church, to temporarily serve Jefferson County Lutherans. The delegation that rode to St. Louis to make those arrangements was comprised of Jacob Baeumner, Sr., Daniel Mueller, William (Wilhelm) Flamm and John Siepp.

The German-American publication Das Lutheraner on June 13, 1848, noted that St. John’s Lutheran Church was established in the spring of 1848. Services were held in members’ homes, most of which were log structures in what was then called Beck, which was one of the villages incorporated into the City on Arnold in 1972.

German Lutherans

Arnold Community News reported earlier this year that 38 percent of Arnold’s population has German ancestral roots, and German is the number one claimed ancestry on Missouri census forms.

A Lutheran minister named Friedrich Münch helped hundreds of Germans who wanted to immigrate to Missouri make the trip and he influenced thousands of others to do the same.

Germany’s ruling aristocracy was corrupt in the 1830s; the German working class was ruthlessly oppressed. A German journalist named Gottfried Duden visited Missouri. He published reports promoting this region as an idyllic Vaterland (homeland), with resources along the Missouri River similar to Germany’s Rhineland.

Knowing that, Friedrich Münch co-founded the Giessen Emigration Society to transport German citizens across the Atlantic Ocean to Missouri and create a utopia. In 1834, Münch helped 500 German settlers relocate. Those who sailed on the ship Olbers arrived in New Orleans on June 2, 1834. Those who sailed on the ship Medora, arrived in Baltimore on July 24, 1834.  More Germans arrived by the thousands in years ahead.

Allen Flamm, a well-known local historian, says it’s no surprise that 38 percent of Arnold’s population has German roots, according to the U.S. Census, and German is the number one claimed ancestry in the state.

He says, “In 1836 my great grandfather Wilhelm Flamm arrived from the village of Merseburg, Germany to farm here and plant fruit orchards. Almost everything around was German. Church schools taught in German. My grandfather learned reading, writing and arithmetic in German.  Today, some members of St. John’s Lutheran Church still speak German to each other. So did my parents when they didn’t want kids to understand what they were saying. The German influence is all around Arnold – from cornerstones in old buildings dedicated in German, to gravestone epitaphs honoring dearly departed.”

Arnold Lutherans

St. Johns original 1848 Church Building was renovated and enlarged in 1882

The original St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnold was located on a donated two-acre plot near its current site at 3517 Jeffco Boulevard in the village of Sulphur Springs. At its birth in 1848 the original congregation of about 16 members chose to affiliate with the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, now known as The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.”

One year later at a Synodical convention the new church was formally recognized; Reverend J.M. Johannes became its first official pastor, succeeding the young temporary pastor Reverend J.F. Buenger. Reverend J.M. Johannes was nearly as young as Reverend Buenger. “He was ordained and installed June 4, 1848,” according to the church’s 1848 centennial booklet.

“There was much to be done by the pastor and congregation. Land was acquired and logs were cut that a parsonage and a church might be built. A school was opened that the children of the parish might receive instruction, especially in the Christian religion. Thus they built wisely upon Christ as the chief cornerstone, insuring an intelligent and staunch Lutheran church membership for the future.”

St. John’s Lutheran Church has achieved many milestones and grown mightily thanks to many pastors since its founding congregation of about 16 people. The original log-built church was renovated and enlarged in 1882 when St. John’s had grown to about 350 members due in part to Pastor Peter Weseloh, who was called to the church in 1876. That was three years too late to celebrate the church’s 25^th anniversary, yet Reverend Weseloh helped celebrate the 50^th Jubilee as active pastor and its 75^th Jubilee as Pastor Emeritus. He served St. John’s for 28 years – far longer than any other pastor. He retired in 1904, continued to occasionally preach sermons, and died in 1926 at age 88, outliving his wife and their two daughters.

New Zealander

German born George Henry Hilmer was installed as St. Johns new pastor in 1927

Pastor Henry C. Harting was a native of New Zealand who after emigrating to America attended Concordia College in Indiana; the University of Missouri-Columbia; and then graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1914. After serving small churches in central Missouri he accepted St. Johns’ call in 1920. Pastor Harting is noteworthy for “publishing a history of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran congregation for the Diamond Jubilee in 1923; serving as chairman of the Western District Finance Committee; and preparing to build a new church edifice on two additional acres that St. John’s acquired next to the old church property.” Pastor Harting accepted another calling at a different church in 1927, yet St. John’s Lutheran Church grew to 430 members during his tenure.

George Henry Hilmer, born in Germany, was installed as new pastor in 1927. It became his task to “crystalize plans and preparations for the new church building” that opened in 1929, which he did. He also dealt with the Missouri Highway Department as it built a new, four-lane roadway in front of the new church building. When Pastor Hilmer had assumed his role upon the retirement of his predecessor Pastor Henry C. Harting, the value of St. John’s church property was $6,000 and communicants numbered 260. When Pastor Hilmer retired 13 years later in 1940, the new church sanctuary had been built, communicants numbered 227, and the value of church property was $30,000.

Pastor Jeremy

Jeremy Schultz, Senior Pastor St. Johns Lutheran Church in Arnold

St. John’s current Senior Pastor Jeremy J. A. Schultz was born June 1, 1972, to Reverend Donald and Mary Schultz. He was baptized into the Christian faith that year at Triune Lutheran Church in Sharon, Wisconsin. He attended Concordia University in Chicago, graduating in 1994 with a degree in Elementary Education, and enrolled at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. While there, he was assigned as a field work student at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnold. In 1995, he preached his very first sermon ever in the pulpit of the 1929 sanctuary.

Completing his studies in 1998, he became associate pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri. While later serving as Senior Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Royal Oak, Michigan, members of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnold nominated him for consideration as new Senior Pastor. In 2012, Reverend Schultz was installed as St. John’s Senior Pastor and today “greatly enjoys the ministry and life. My wife Michelle is a nurse at Barnes Hospital in south St. Louis County. Our two kids are Lydia, 23, who teaches high school English in Florida and Elijah, 20, a junior at Missouri State University.” Pastor Schultz’ brother, Jonathan D. Schultz, is president and CEO of Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis.

During Pastor Jeremy’s tenure, the St. John’s congregation purchased additional property that is now home to the congregation’s Care Connections ministry. “The church also recently acquired the four and a half acre adjacent property, formerly known as Keller Farm, for future work in the Lord’s vineyard,” he says.

“Our congregation is extremely proud and supportive of our Care Connections ministry and our school. Many people in Arnold don’t know that our school dates to 1848 when the church was founded. As a faith-based school, we combine faith and family to create an environment of academic excellence.

“Care Connections is a community organization that helps empower our community and members of St John’s Lutheran Church and School by connecting people to resources and support. We offer support groups and counseling for anyone going through a crisis. Care Connections recently received a $20,000 grant from the Jefferson Foundation to help support our  care coordination and Foster Kid Friday programs, which are awesome.”

St Johns Lutheran Church arnold

175^th Anniversary

In 2023, St. John’s Lutheran Church will celebrate its 175^th Anniversary, offering a preview of that milestone during this year’s Arnold Days in September. A commemorative history book, including old and new photos, is being written by church member Jason Christ, whose great, great, great grandfather John Dornshief, Sr. was a founding member of St. John’s in 1848.

Today’s congregation of 2,000 souls eagerly anticipates a year of special events, special sermons, and a joyous all-member gathering at Rickman Auditorium on May 14, 2023. Says Pastor Jeremy: “It’s a glorious time for doing God’s work.”

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.

Arnold’s Incorporation in 1972 Boosted Big Business

Arnold Mayor Ron Counts praises the city’s business growth since incorporating in 1972: “With incorporation, Arnold became better positioned to improve community services, attract new businesses, new jobs, cultural and recreational amenities, and we qualified to apply for more federal and state grants for civic programs and improvements. Our population of successful big businesses reflects Arnold’s workforce strengths.”

Major companies with  operations near Tenbrook Industrial Park now include Arnold Defense & Electronics; Browning Arms Company; LMC Industries, Inc.; Medart, Inc.; Sinclair & Rush, Inc.; Unico, Inc.; Warren Sign Company; and Metal Container Corporation – the Anheuser Busch/InBev can manufacturing operation that is the nation’s largest. In addition, the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency’s 34 acre headquarters is in Arnold.

“Each of those companies employs highly-trained people who work a good job for good pay,” says Mayor Counts. “These companies are important local contributors with good-paying jobs and taxes. We invest in companies that invest in us. It is obvious that Arnold is ‘Open for Business.'”

Here are some of Arnold’s leading corporate citizens:

Metal Container Corporation – https://www.anheuser-busch.com

Metal Container Corporation plant in Arnold … Copyright St. Louis Labor Tribune

Metal Container Corporation, founded in 1973, is a subsidiary of Anheuser Busch/InBev located at 42 Tenbrook Industrial Park in Arnold. Since then Metal Container Corporation (MCC) has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in production expansion projects at its Arnold facility. The company manufactures metal cans, lids, bottles, and other packaging materials, supplying more than 45 percent of the brewer’s beer cans and 55 percent of its lids for the U.S. market. The operation also produces cans and lids for major U.S. soft drink companies, including PepsiCo. and Monster Beverage Corporation. MCC makes more than 25 billion cans and 27 billion lids annually with plants in Arnold and six other U.S. cities. Arnold plant expansions were made possible through a property tax abatement program in collaboration with the City of Arnold and Jefferson County.  The bond program encourages business recruitment and expansion, provides incentives for different industrial projects and helps generate new jobs.

LMC Industries, Inc. – https://lmcindustries.com

LMC ARNOLD photo aerial view of LMC Industries in Arnold

With two plants on its corporate campus in Arnold comprising more than five acres under roof – one for plastics operations, one for metal stamping/tool and die – LMC Industries successfully serves medical, electrical, electronics and consumer products industries in addition to automotive, agriculture and more. The family owned firm conducts a large amount of business with agriculture and automobile industries. LMC manufactures products such as headlight housings, accelerator pedals, brake pedals, and seat belt components, metal and plastic, for every type of vehicle. For agriculture industries, LMC makes feeder housings for poultry and swine among many additional products for farm and home. It manufactures parts and components in virtually every category, from toys to office supplies to military hardware components. More than 250 employees design, build, maintain and operate metal stamping dies, plastic injection molds, jig guides and fixtures to create top quality products. Many trained at Jefferson College as part of Missouri’s Certified Work Ready Community initiative, which increased efficiency and productivity, and many have worked at LMC for more than 20 years.

Medart Engine – https://www.medartengine.com

Mike Medart CEO of Medart Engine

Medart Engine is a wholesale distributor headquartered in Arnold that represents more than 100 manufacturers in the engine industry. Founded in 1912 in St. Louis, its six distribution locations across the nation now have more than 40,000 different part numbers in stock covering a huge range of products. Medart’s deep selection of products can meet the needs of every customer. J.R. Medart started with the company in 1925 by selling automotive parts and delivering them on his Indian motorcycle with big leather saddlebags. Today, Medart’s more than 240 fulltime associates offer value solutions to every customer. In 1995, Mike Medart became CEO and President. He moved headquarters to Arnold from St. Louis by building two facilities totaling 121,000 square feet. “Being in Arnold has been a positive for our company,” Mike Medart says. “A number of capable and skilled people who live in this area have joined our workforce. The community is a good place to live and work. Our most important goal is customer satisfaction, and we believe that commitment is one reason why we have been an industry leader for more than a century in business.”

Sinclair & Rush – https://www.sinclair-rush.com

Sinclair & Rush CEO Bradley Philip

If you visit a Lowe’s or Home Depot store, many if not most rakes and shovels have grips on them made by Sinclair & Rush in Arnold and sold nationwide. Big home and garden stores are just one of numerous industry sectors for Sinclair & Rush. The company’s full line of complementary processes and products positions Sinclair & Rush as one of the world’s leading multi-processors of plastic components. What began in 1950 as a small molding company in St. Louis making vinyl products is now a global operation with manufacturing and distribution operations on four continents supplying more than 20,000 customers. Three brands currently operate under the Sinclair & Rush name: StockCap, VisiPak and GripWorks. In 1994, the company built and moved into a 125,000 square foot headquarters at 123 Manufacturers Drive in Arnold that is being expanded by 45,000 square feet where employees work in manufacturing, sales, customer service and financial operations. In addition, the firm recently took over the 111 Manufacturers Drive building for manufacturing. Sinclair & Rush now has 470 employees in the U.S., 670 employees worldwide, and wants to hire more says President and Chief Operating Officer Bradford M. Philip. He was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager. How many Sinclair & Rush products are in use around the world today? “Billions.”

UNICO, Inc.  https://www.unicosystem.com

UNICO headquarters

Unico, Inc., founded 1985 by Joe and Sharon Intagliata, comprises two manufacturing facilities with more than 150,000 square feet of manufacturing and storage space with sales distribution in North America, Europe, Africa, Central and South America, India, and China. Unico  is a global leader in Small Duct High Velocity (SDHV) heating and cooling systems that are popular space saving solutions for custom homes and historic preservation. In 2004, Unico led the effort to get SDHV air conditioner systems approved by the U.S. Department of Energy as a unique class of product. In 2007, Unico opened its metal fabrication division SGI Manufacturing, which provides metal parts for its blower and coil cabinets and parts that go into each unit. Today, SGI also manufactures parts for other large companies.  In 2018, Unico moved its corporate offices into the SGI facility after a $2 million expansion to the property.

Warren Sign Company, Inc. – https://www.warrensign.com

Retired CEO of Warren Sign Company David Warren

Warren Sign, established in 1929, moved to its modern Arnold headquarters production facility in 1998. With more than 40,000 thousand square feet of space, Warren Sign is the largest and most experienced sign company in the metro Saint Louis area. The company is known for the loyalty and stability of its customer base and new clients seeking top quality products that are designed, manufactured, installed and serviced by skilled union craftsmen vested in pride of workmanship. Warren Sign’s  passion, management style and dedication to top quality service helped fuel its growth for more than 90 years. The company’s skilled experts design, manufacture, and install all types of illuminated electric and non-illuminated signs for all types of business and organizations. Its capabilities include computer aided design, CNC machines; vinyl cutters; aluminum and steel welding; channel letter building; low-voltage energy efficient LED lighting; neon bending and repair; spray paint booths; custom paint mixing stations, high-rise boom trucks; and truck bays for shipping and receiving large cargo. Recycling and energy efficiency are priorities at Warren sign, whose top quality signs are backed by a worry free warranty.

Mayor Counts asserts, “Arnold is a municipality where people enjoy life, work, and play. The presence of major corporations like these and others in Arnold enhances  our commitment and distinguishes our reputation as a business-friendling city.”

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.

News Commentator Paul Harvey Loved His Jefferson County Farm

Local radio listeners protected his family privacy

Radio newsman Paul Harvey was one of the nation’s most beloved broadcasters. His twice-a-day broadcasts reached an estimated 24 million people every week thru 1,200 ABC News stations, 400 Armed Forces stations, and columns in 300 newspapers.

PHOTO Paul Harvey in his ABC Radio network broadcast booth. The Atlantic Magazine.

He became the undisputed voice of America’s heartland starting in the 1950s, opening every broadcast with his upbeat greeting: “Hello Americans, this is Paul Harvey… Stand by for news!”

He was the voice that stopped people spinning the radio dial. For millions, Paul Harvey was part of their daily lives.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, he descended from five generations of Baptist preachers. His father, a policeman, was murdered by thieves. Yet Paul Harvey’s distinctive voice was always upbeat, friendly, and clever. He captured peoples’ attention like no one else. On April 1, 1951, the ABC Radio Network debuted Paul Harvey News and Comment. Every day he rose at 3:30 a.m. at his Chicago home to scan national wire reports for unusual, humorous  or heartwarming reports he could re-kindle for his national broadcasts.

Cheery comments such as, “I am fiercely loyal to those willing to put their money where my mouth is” and “Tomorrow has always been better than today, and it always will be” favored him with advertisers and listeners. His enormously popular feature “The Rest of the Story” preceded his show-closing catchphrase, “Now you know The Rest of the Story. I’m Paul Harvey. Good Day!”

The Reveille Ranch

1938 Nash Lafayette Custom similar to one enjoyed by Paul and Lynne Harvey . (c) Barrett-Jackson

For decades he owned a farm in Jefferson County nicknamed The Reveille Ranch. He and his wife Lynne, whom he always called Angel, visited on weekends from Chicago. Their son, Paul Harvey, Jr., owner of two additional farms in Missouri, often accompanied them.

Paul Harvey, Jr., told Missouri Life Magazine in 2017, “My dad met my mom in St. Louis in 1940 when they were both working for radio station KXOK. She was a well-known radio broadcaster and personality, and my dad came on to KXOK as program director. They actually met on the elevator and my dad, thinking fast, asked if she could give him a ride to the airport. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say but agreed and they stepped into her 1938 Nash Lafayette Coupe. On the way to the airport, she asked Paul, ‘What time does your flight leave?’ and Paul replied without a hitch, “What flight?’ They were married within the year, in June 1940.”

Angel, formerly known as Lynne Cooper, grew up in University City and was a Washington University graduate. When they met, Harvey was attracted by Lynne’s white 1938 Nash Lafayette coupe. They maintained it in mint condition throughout their marriage. The Harveys could often be seen driving that car on Arnold’s Highway 61 as local phone lines burned with chatter that the famous couple was cruising around town.

PHOTO Paul and Lynne Harvey . (c) National Radio Hall of Fame

In 1998, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described Paul Harvey’s 350 acre farm a few miles south of Arnold as “raising soybeans and cattle. It was situated down a winding country road, past a trailer park, an ill-tempered spotted dog, a collection of small houses and pickups, and then, the massive entrance gate. It is a collection of well-kept white buildings in the rolling green countryside. The bluffs of the Illinois shore, across the Mississippi River, are in the distance.”

Paul and his Angel often worked together on his scripts, and he typically credited his success to her influence. She was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1997, seven years after her husband. Paul Harvey, Jr., joined the creative team to help his mom and dad prepare scripts for “The Rest of the Story” as they grew older. In 2001, Paul Harvey, Jr., was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, too.

Protecting Privacy

Many Jefferson Countians met or saw the Harveys during the flood of 1993. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote in 1998, “Some of them haven’t forgotten the day Paul Harvey, in his yellow Cadillac, drove over big hoses pumping water out of a flooded village. He did it twice. It gave the National Guard fits…”

“No one, it seems, claims to know for certain just where the Harveys’ place is. They’ll give clues, but to hear them tell it, they just don’t know for sure. It’s a wonderful, small-town conspiracy of silence. But just about everyone has a Paul Harvey story,” wrote Post-Dispatch reporter John M. McGuire.

For example: Mary Hostetter, of the Blue Owl Restaurant, said Paul Harvey loved the Blue Owl’s fresh rhubarb pie. “When he’s here, we don’t give away his identity or whereabouts,” she said. “But then he talks, everybody knows. During the flood, he came here in a boat and shouted, `Hi, Mary! Got any pies left?’ He’s just a neat man.”

Carl Bossert told McGuire that when the Harveys are at Reveille, “everyone knows because of the big, black limousine that cruises up and down the road. I like to listen to him on the radio, I love the homespun yarns,” Bossert said.

Reveille is where Angel Harvey stored her Nash Lafayette Coupe and, also, an antique fortepiano hand-made by the famed Conrad Graf of Vienna in the 1840s, whose pianos were played by Beethoven. It was discovered in the 1950s at a central Missouri farm.

PHOTO 1998 Canary Yellow Mercedes-Benz Kompessor SLK 230 convertible like Paul Harvey had (c) ClassicChrome.net

Paul Harvey’s only child Paul Jr., who as an adult used his father’s real surname, Aurandt, was a concert pianist after graduating from Chicago Musical College. Then, for more than 25 years Paul, Jr. was a big part of the family business, helping to write scripts for “The Rest of the Story.”

“`The Rest of the Story’ is because of my mom,” he told the Post-Dispatch in 1998. “She saw the value of that as something separate from other features in the news.”

When broadcasting for ABC Radio Network from downtown Chicago, the Harveys lived near each other in River Forest, an affluent suburb infamous as home  for some of Chicago’s well-known crime bosses dating to the Al Capone era. Paul and Angel’s River Forest mansion was where Paul, Sr., rose before dawn for a bowl of oatmeal with vitamins before typing his scripts on yellow copy paper.

The 1998 Post-Dispatch story noted that the Harveys used limousines liberally. “Angel Harvey also has a white car parked in the River Forest garage. It’s a Rolls Royce. Next to it is Paul Harvey’s newest toy – a 1998 canary yellow Mercedes-Benz Kompessor SLK 230 convertible. License plate ABC PH. “This is something I drive when I don’t want to attract attention,” Paul Harvey told the reporter, laughing about the sexy Kompessor that Harvey claimed to drive “only on days when the sky is clear and birds aren’t flying.”

PHOTO President Bush gives radio broadcaster Paul Harvey the Medal of Freedom. White House photo

A British newspaper, The Independent, wrote, “Harvey earned his money the old- fashioned way: By doing everything himself. He chose the stories for his shows, wrote his own scripts, and read the commercials on air, insisting that he only endorsed products he believed in. The items he selected had to pass an ‘Aunt Betty Test,’ named after a typical Missouri housewife (in fact his sister-in-law). If the story was unlikely to interest her, he wouldn’t use it.”

Harvey was known as an arch conservative yet there were limits: in 1970 he urged Richard Nixon not to expand the Vietnam war into Cambodia. “Mr. President,” he said on the air, “I love you… but you’re wrong.” In 1982, he announced his support for the Equal Rights Amendment because it would mandate equal rights for women.

“’There are places in the world where women are conspicuously and forever second class,” he said on the air. “But none of those places is any place you or I would want to live. The American legal system forgives criminals, embraces illegal immigrants and kowtows to the gimme-gimmes. Any hophead can get a free ride through three layers of jurisprudence demanding his ‘rights. Without the Equal Rights Amendment, women don’t rate as high as those sleazy night crawlers,” he said. When the Amendment was passed by the U.S. Senate, some pundits said Angel had influenced his opinion. Yet it was never added to the Constitution due to historic political arguments that continue today about women receiving equal pay, serving in the military, and other gender issues.

Lynne (Cooper) “Angel” Harvey died in May 2008. Paul Harvey, Sr., passed away nine months later, in February 2009.The Harveys deeply loved their Jefferson County hideaway. They escaped to it as often as they could. They loved the Jefferson County area and the people. That is obvious when you enjoy these two videos they created. One is a tribute to Jefferson County police officers, the other a tribute to local farmers.

Police Officer

Farmer

Story for the City of Arnold by Jeff Dunlap.  Good day!

Thousands of Osage Native Americans Called the Arnold Area Home

Osage men were tall and wore loincloths, moccasins, and leggings. Painting by George Catlin published by State Historical Society of Missouri.

Osage Native Americans lived along the Meramec, Missouri, Mississippi and Osage rivers in Missouri for thousands of years. At one time, eight different Native American tribes lived in Missouri. The Osage, with a Missouri population of at least 8,000, were fearsome and warlike. They migrated from the Ohio Valley in the 1500s, settling near the  confluence of rivers to find new areas for hunting buffalo.

Soon after launching the Corps of Discovery near St. Louis in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Purchase Territory, Lewis and Clark encountered a group of Osage traveling along the Missouri River. They noted in their journal that the Osage “are large in size and well proportioned, and a very warlike people.” The average Osage warrior stood more than six feet tall.

Lewis and Clark had little to fear. The Osage were the most successful fur-trading tribe in Missouri. With guidance from French traders including the Chouteau family in St. Louis , they had learned to make fur trade profitable and western exploration possible. That is why President Thomas Jefferson wanted to meet them. The Indians Lewis and Clark saw on the Missouri River that day were, in fact, 12 Osage chiefs traveling east for their official visit with President Jefferson, according to the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Presidential diplomacy aside, most Osage turned savage if they felt threatened. Until the Indian Removal Act of 1830, settlers in this area were often attacked by bloodthirsty warriors who considered pioneers interlopers. In many attacks, pioneer men, women and children were scalped and beheaded. Scalping was a sign of power celebrated before battles with  a “scalp dance” in  Osage villages for good luck fighting enemies. In the early 1800s, Osage tribes were constantly at war with other Missouri tribes.

Many ancient Osage arrowheads, tomahawk blades and broken war clubs have turned up on Arnold farms, such as these found by the Flamm family.

Osage villages were spread along Missouri rivers from Arnold to Kansas and beyond. The French called two of the tribes Great Osage and Little Osage – one group lived on a hill, the other on flat land. Artifacts indicate that an Osage village existed near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi rivers, downstream from where two salts licks were located, and where shards of human bone and crude pottery have been found. In addition, Arnold farmers have found many artifacts when plowing fields.

Allen Flamm, a local historian whose great grandfather Wilhelm Flamm settled here in 1836, says his family has found many arrowheads and tomahawk blades on their farm. Some are displayed at the Arnold Historical Society & Museum; Flamm also displays some at his home. Elsewhere in Jefferson County farmers have discovered burial mounds occupied by ancient human skeletons, stone tools and weapons, plus other Indian relics. “It is really interesting to think about how those Indians lived so long ago,” says Flamm.

Children of the Middle Waters

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, the Osage Indians, a very spiritual people, were excellent hunters and brave warriors. Their beliefs were based on what they called Wah-kon-tah, meaning a great mystery spirit. “The Osages believed that the People of the Sky (Tzi-sho) met with the People of the Earth (Hun-Kah) to form one tribe: The Children of the Middle Waters (Nee Oh-kah-shkahn).” Living in villages near rivers, the Osage roamed between the Missouri River to the north, the Mississippi to the east, and the Arkansas to the south. Their western boundary stretched into buffalo territory on Kansas plains.

The Osage farmed, fished, hunted and gathered food to survive, and conducted two buffalo hunts a year – one in summer, one in fall.

President Andrew Jackson . Wikipedia

The summer hunt was to obtain meat and fat. The fall hunt was to get meat, but also thick fur for making robes, moccasins, leggings, breechcloths, and dresses. Only Osage men hunted; women did butchering, prepared meat, and tanned hides. Men too weak or disinclined to become warriors dressed as women and were ignored by the tribe.

When Jefferson Barracks opened in 1826 it became a vital  U.S. Army presence defending against Osage and other Native American raiders in this area. According to U.S. Library of Congress archives, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was approved and enforced by former U.S. Army General Andrew Jackson, elected President in 1829. The act forced removal of Native American tribes from their homelands to locations west of the Mississippi River to make westward expansion easier for colonists.

Jackson offered incentives to make relocation seem appealing. He promised financial compensation and protection by the federal government. Once the act was in place, Jackson did whatever it took to move tribes to assigned land. Many tribes realized they were no match for the U.S. government. Some federal incentives, promises and treaties were broken.

The U.S. National Park Service notes that by the 1830s more than 5,000 Osage were relocated west to “Indian Territory.” Other Native American tribes were relocated west of Missouri and Arkansas boundaries. Federal troops stationed in those “Indian Territories” helped keep the peace.

Osage warrior painted by artist George Catlin. This image published by the State Historical Society of Missouri.

War Paint

The famous artist George Catlin painted Indians from nearly 70 tribal groups in the 1830s. He described Missouri’s Osage as “the tallest race of men in North America, either of red or white skins.” Historian Ron Soodalter wrote an article for Missouri Life Magazine that noted, “Aside from their physically prepossessing appearance, the Osage were fiercely warlike, ready to fight with any tribal group that threatened their domain. Proficient in the use of bows and arrows, lances, knives, clubs, and tomahawks…The Osage waged various types of war, from the nonlethal to outright slaughter.”

According to the website www.PowWow.com, “The painting of a man’s face and body was said to be a form of mental conditioning. Warriors would paint themselves with personal protective designs and colors before they engaged in battle with enemies, inspiring the term ‘war paint.’ This paint would have been prayed over. It was believed that Indians’ prayers were put into the paint and, when applied, the power of the prayers was conveyed. Special songs might be sung when paint was applied. Some warriors applied the paint themselves; others preferred to be painted by a holy person or medicine man.”

This image of Osage Warrior who visited President Thomas Jefferson is shown at lewis-clark.org

Face painting was not always related to doing battle. Different designs signified membership in societies; participating in special celebrations; marks of achievement; and were used in mourning for the dead.

According to www.PowWow.com, “The oldest materials used in paint were derived from animal, vegetable and mineral sources, with earth or mineral paint being most common. White and yellow paint was obtained from white and yellow clays along riverbeds, and buffalo gallstones produced a different kind of yellow. Green paint was obtained from copper ores. One type of blue paint came from drying a certain type of duck manure. Some tribes would combine bluish mud and yellow clay to make green paint. Powdered charred wood and black earth were used for black paint. The base for red paints, probably the most commonly used color, was crimson-colored clay.”

Oil Rich

Chauffer-driven Osage automobile circa 1920. Published by PBS. (1)

Relocated by the federal government to a Kansas reservation in the 1830s, in 1872 the Osage were forced to move again, this time to Osage County, Oklahoma, where they wisely bought the mineral rights to their new property. PBS reports, “This land, it turned out, was sitting above some of the largest oil deposits then in the United States. To extract that oil, prospectors had to pay the two thousand or so Osage tribe members for leases and royalties. In 1923, these Osage received collectively what would be worth today more than $400 million. Many of the Osage lived in mansions and had chauffeured cars.”

As some of richest people in the world at the time, the Osage attracted plenty of attention. “Murders began when royalty checks started pouring in,” a journalist said. PBS reports: “In 1923, after the official death toll had climbed to more than two dozen, the Osage Tribal Council issued a resolution demanding that federal authorities investigate the murders. The case was eventually taken up by the Bureau of Investigation, then an obscure branch of the Justice Department, which was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Newspapers described murders as the Reign of Terror, lasting from 1921 to 1926. Sixty or more wealthy, full-blood Osage Native Americans were reported killed from 1918 to 1931. Newer investigations indicate that other deaths during this time could have been covered-up murders, including people who were heirs to future fortunes. Law enforcement revealed extensive corruption among officials in the Osage guardianship program. Most of the murders were never prosecuted, but some men were convicted and sentenced…”

“Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI” by David Grann became a best-selling non-fiction book in 2017. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DiNiro star in the movie of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese, set for release in November this year.

Article by Jeff Dunlap for the City of Arnold

Resources for this article include Allen Flamm, Arnold Historical Society & Museum; Britannica.com; Missouri Life Magazine; Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); U.S. Library of Congress archives; U.S. Department of the Interior; U.S. National Park Service; State Historical Society of Missouri;   www.PowWow.com; www.lewis-clark.org; Wikipedia.

Arnold’s Starling Airport Played Glorified Role in World War II

Young pilots trained to fly “Yankee Doodle” gliders

Yankee Doodle TG-4A at Starling Airport in Arnold . 1942 photo courtesy of Jack Abercrombie.

Arnold’s Starling Airport played a glorified role in World War II as a site for construction of military gliders for the U.S. Army Air Corps that were used during the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944.

It is easy to imagine young pilots wearing leather flight jackets at the Starling airstrip just south of the Meramec River as orders arrive from headquarters and they dash to their aircraft to fight Nazis.

Glorified, yes, because it’s not true. History has a way of exaggerating as time goes on. In the case of Arnold’s Starling Airport, a little exaggeration has gone a long way.

Gliders known as the Yankee Doodle TG-4, built in south St. Louis by Laister-Kauffmann Aircraft Corporation in the early 1940s, were trucked to Starling Airport in Arnold where they were evaluated for the U.S. Army Air Corps. The government ordered at least 150 of them for active duty overseas, but none made it to Normandy for D-Day. In fact, few if any of those 150 gliders saw action because by the time they were built, the military had selected larger gliders from other companies for the war effort.

Going Glider

The Yankee Doodle TG-4 was designed to train cargo glider pilots. It was 24 feet long with a 50-foot wingspan, steel tube fuselage, wooden wings and tail, all covered with snug fabric. It seated a trainee and an instructor. Six months after the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service bombed Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack on December 7, 1941, the U.S. Army Air Force ordered 500 eight-seat gliders and 500 fifteen-seat gliders and called for 6,000 glider pilots.

TG-4A Yankee Doodle glider at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

If you saw the movie Saving Private Ryan, you know what happens when a military glider in action is shot down.

The Yankee Doodle TG-4 was ultimately rejected by the U.S. military yet grew popular for recreational soaring and sports use. At least 12 restored originals are on display at locations across the nation, including one at The Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Creve Coeur Airport in suburban St. Louis.

Nine months before Pearl Harbor, the Jefferson County Record newspaper dated March 6th, 1941, reported: “Jefferson County will have its first airplane factory soon, according to Murray Whitehead, general manager of the Whitehead Aircraft Corporation. This new Corporation plans to manufacture inexpensive ‘Starling’ planes at a rate of three a day.

“The Company’s factory is to be located at Starling Airport, just south of the Meramec River near Hwy 61 in Arnold. The boundaries are the railroad on the east, Bradley Beach Road on the north, Hwy 61 on the west and Starling Airport on the south.

“Whitehead, who was raised in Kimmswick, stated that his low-wing, two-place cabin monoplane would sell for under $2,000. . . The ‘Starling’ has a wingspread of 28 feet, a length of 20 feet 11 inches, and weighs 1,350 pounds. The fuselage is of steel tubing with combination metal and fabric covering. The wing is of spruce, plywood and fabrics. The seats are side by side. Powered by a 75-horsepower engine, the ‘Starling’ is expected to have a top speed of 145 mph and a six-hour cruising range. Flaps and a warp in the wing are designed to afford stability in landing at a speed of about 30 mph.”

A man named Murray N. Whitehead did, in fact, grow up in Jefferson County and owned the land where Starling Airport stood. People at the airport knew him well yet, for some reason, nothing substantial was published about Whitehead in Arnold after that newspaper story appeared. Whitehead Aircraft Corporation seemingly disappeared.

Perhaps that story was placed as a prank. How and why? A man named Gustave Albin Whitehead emigrated from Germany to the United States late in the 19^th century where, according to Wikipedia, he designed and built gliders, flying machines, and engines between 1897 and 1915. Controversy surrounded Gustave Whitehead because he claimed he flew powered aircraft successfully in 1901 and 1902 – predating the Wright Brothers’ first flights in 1903. His credibility was doubted.

Just as Gustave Whitehead’s claims introduced a new perspective on the history of flight, challenging the widely accepted narratives, embarking on a journey to search here for real estate in Georgia can reveal hidden gems and opportunities that defy conventional expectations. Whether the goal is a serene suburban retreat or a chic urban condo, Georgia’s real estate market is as varied and intriguing as the stories of aviation pioneers. Delving into the listings, one might find that the spirit of innovation and discovery is not just found in the skies of history but also in the homes and communities nestled throughout the Peach State.

Of course, Starling Airport was built in 1942 for pilots learning to fly the Yankee Doodle TG-4. Powerless flight occurs when a powered aircraft tows and then releases a glider into rising columns of air called thermals that enable the pilot to stay in the thermal, gain altitude and soar to the next thermal toward a safe landing.

Flying Stories

Aerial view of Starling Airport from the 1947 MO Airport Directory (courtesy of Joe Gurney)

A story in the Jefferson County Leader in 2012 revisited Starling Airport by probing the memories of local citizens, including Arnold resident Richard Simpson who recalled boyhood visits to the airport to watch planes and gliders.

“During World War II, they would bring gliders out there. They (the gliders) were built in different places in St. Louis, and they would come up to Arnold with two-engine airplanes that would have a long tow cable (for pulling the gliders), and they flew them out here. We could hear the two-engine planes, so would ride our bikes over to Starling Airport and watch them come in. The planes would release the gliders so they could practice landing at the airport,” said Simpson, adding that Starling Airport was quite primitive.

“It had a couple of hangars and a control tower. There were no concrete runways. They had these big trucks, like moving vans, and they would take the wings off the gliders and would push them into these trucks and haul them away.”

Simpson said the gliders played an important role in World War II. “They were used during the invasion of Normandy, France,” he said. “They used them because they could fly in quietly. They would just glide in.”

Sorry, Mr. Simpson. That statement was, and is, simply not true, even though a lot of people believed it after they read it in the newspaper. Now, here is a sad story about a VJ Day celebration – Victory Over Japan Day – recounted by the Arnold Historical Society & Museum:

“On VJ Day August 15, 1945, Randall Chapman, chief engineer for Laister-Kaufmann Aircraft Corp., a veteran glider pilot, was killed while stunt flying before a large crowd during an air show at Starling Airport. His wife, Margaret, was among the spectators.

Missouri Historical Society photo from April 6, 1962, shows developer David Randolph promoting his new Starling Estates subdivision featuring six model homes, county water, a swimming pool, a park area, and no closing costs. Arnold’s Starling Airport was previously located on the property.

“Chapman, 29, was flying a single-place ‘Yankee Doodle’ glider. One of the plywood wings collapsed when the plane was at 2,500 feet, throwing the craft into a vertical dive with a series of violent twists. The glider crashed in a shallow pond at the north side of the airport in full view of the crowd.” Oscar  Waters, who worked part time at the airport, said later, “Randy looked like he was getting out of the plane when he realized that the plane was heading for people who were watching him–including his wife. He repositioned himself in the seat and steered the glider away from the people toward the lake in Arnold City Park.  He died in the glider.”

A few years after that incident, Starling Airport closed forever. Owner Murray Whitehead reportedly sold the land to a man named Carl Stockstrom who, in the late 1950s, sold it to real estate developer David Randolph. Starling Estates subdivision soon replaced the airport’s two unpaved turf runways with scores of tract houses on residential streets named for aircraft and aircraft companies, such as Boeing, Cessna, Constellation, Convair, Douglas, Electra, and Piper.

Paul Freeman, an aerospace engineer and private pilot who lives in Ashburn, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., founded the aviation history website “Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields” (http://www.airfields-freeman.com/index.htm). With historic words, maps and photos it describes more than 2,500 former airfields in all 50 states, including Starling Airport.

Freeman observes, “The post-World War II period was the biggest boom in U.S. general aviation, with hundreds of airports opened, not all of which lasted.”

Only the memories do.

Article by Jeff Dunlap for the City of Arnold

Information for this article was captured from the Arnold Historical Society & Museum; Paul Freeman, aerospace engineer & airport historian; the Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields website; the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum; Jefferson County Leader newspaper; Jefferson County Record newspaper; the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; “Silent Wings – American Glider Pilots of WW II” video produced by Janson Media; Wikipedia.