Of All the Blogs in the World, You had to Walk into Mine

Did you ever have a dream and wake up thinking, "That's a great idea for a blog title!"  No? Maybe it's just me.  But that's how I came up with today's blog title.

I dreamt long-time reader and longer-time friend FrankO had sent me some items he had found and within lay some mystery to solve. All I can remember about the items were they were a gathering of paper; photos, newspaper clippings, etc.  And FrankO wanted me to research and solve something about them.  And so, I wrote a blog about solving the mystery of them and titled the blog as I've done here.  

As I said, I then woke up and thought, "Hey! That's a great idea for a blog title!"  Unfortunately, I didn't have a mystery garage sale find to go with it.  But as I lay there unable to fall back asleep because now my brain was in overdrive, I realized, I kind of DO have a garage sale mystery I recently found.

But first, let's talk about that title.  What does it have to do with mysteries?  At first I thought, well of course, it's a Humphrey Bogart line. I could hear him saying it.  Then I realized, it's a line from "Casablanca" where he is decidedly not a detective.  The actual quote is "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."  But I swear I can visualize a femme fatale walking into a stereotypical detective's office (feet kicked up on the desk) and him uttering a line similar to this.

So where was the detective connection to Humphrey Bogart? Ah yes, "The Maltese Falcon" in which he plays "Sam Spade".  But how did this quote get intertwined with Bogart's portrayal of Dashiell Hammett's private dick? I can only guess that some parody I've seen over the years employed it. Carol Burnett? I know Steve Lawrence played a "Sam Spade" character in "Double Calamity" on her show, but I couldn't find any scene that fit my memory.  Oh well, some mysteries aren't meant to be solved, only accepted.  Now you can see why I have trouble falling back asleep.

Anyway, back to my mystery.

I found this portrait in a box of photographs at a recent sale.

Uncanny Finds: It's 905 Somewhere...

I have hazy memories (and not because I'm drunk) of my Dad drinking 905 beer.  He preferred our hometown Anheuser-Busch products, but when money was tight, 905 would do. I should mention, 905 was cheap.  It was the house-brew for a local chain of liquor stores in St. Louis.

The can featured the Arch and the statue of The Crusader King, Louis IX of France which stands at the St. Louis Art Museum. Classy.

Romper Romance

Wow, January went fast.  Like so many New Year's resolutions, I failed to live up to mine.  I only posted once last month.  Well, let's see if I can beat that record in February, even if it is a short month.

One of my earliest crushes (as far as 4-year olds can have crushes) was on Miss Lois, our local St. Louis Romper Room hostess.  I watched religiously every morning.  I even asked for Romper Stompers for Christmas one year. And I drew her a picture. It was of some stick-figure children playing on a swingset and slide next to a traditional house complete with window, door and chimney.

Original artist's recreation

Houston, the Paper has Landed

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and moonwalk.  I thought I'd celebrate it with a couple copies of newspapers I've picked up from garage and estate sales over the years.  At one time I had quite a few copies of the papers from the week of the moon launch to landing, but I've cleaned them out over the years.  Below are the St. Louis Globe-Democrat's and St. Louis Post-Dispatch's take on the event along with some vintage ads celebrating the landing.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat July 21st, 1969 edition  

I'm No Chicken -- Okay... Yes I am...

I don't know why, but these posts lately all begin with an admission.  For this one, it's that I was a chicken when I was a kid.  Well, let me refine that a little.  After all, I had no problem jumping off the roof of our house (just to see if  it would break my legs) or attempting to jump a creek on my bike a la Evel Knievel (it ended like many of Evel's jumps -- badly).  No, I wasn't a coward.  But I was chicken of roller coasters.

In the 1970's, my family took an annual trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.  At the time, the only roller coaster there was the dark ride "Fire in the Hole".  Actually, "Fire in the Hole" can hardly be called a roller coaster with a top speed of 27 mph and the largest drop being 20 feet. But to me it felt like 100 mph with 60 foot drops. I'm sure the darkness added to the illusion. So I would stand outside the ride and wait for my family to ride. It probably wasn't until the 6th or 7th grade when I got the nerve to ride it again. I laugh now when I see 4-year-olds getting on the ride.

In 1976, America was abuzz with the Bicentennial.  Everything was patriotic, even roller coasters.  Six Flags over Mid-America announced it's latest ride attraction, "The Screamin' Eagle".  It was the last roller coaster designed by Golden Age roller coaster designer John C. Allen. At the time, it was the tallest (110 feet) and fastest (62 mph) roller coaster winning it a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

It was probably this fact that won my dad over in taking us there that summer of 1976.  I rode many of rides including the smaller "River King Mine Train" which was slightly faster and taller than "Fire in the Hole".  I hated it.  So there was no way I would attempt "The Screamin' Eagle".  But my sister was really excited about it and my dad accompanied her.  After completing the ride, riders received the following button.

I really envied my sister receiving that, but not enough to brave the coaster.

When I got older, I did ride "The Screamin' Eagle", but they were no longer handing out buttons.  I also became a roller coaster fan, although that was a fairly brief window before I aged out.  These days, my back and neck can't take them and the wilder ones induce vertigo and motion sickness. I guess I'm still a chicken at heart.

I Want My MTV 1912

The 1912 Mt. Vernon, Illinois High School Band.  Taken from an interior photo of the Jefferson County, Illinois "Facts & Folks" book published in 1978.  This morning's find for seventy-five cents.

ESPecially Yours

I'm a sucker for paranormal shows. Ghosts, UFO's, Bigfoot, Chupacabras, you name it, I'm in, especially this time of year.  I'm sure it dates back to my childhood spent watching Leonard Nimoy's "In Search Of...", Jack Palance's "Believe It or Not!" and Robert Stack's "Unsolved Mysteries". Back then, I fell for everything hook, line and Gellar. I like to believe I'm a little more skeptical these days, but reality aside, it's just fun to believe something undiscovered still exists.

Gordon Hoener did too. So much so that he started St. Louis' first "Ghost Busters" group "Haunt Hunters" in 1965.  This brochure I found oddly blends his two passions: Investments and the paranormal; in this case ESP. 

Photo Finished

Warning: This post will not interest anyone outside of the 1970's St. Louis viewing area.

Are you still with me?  Okay. While perusing a tightly packed local estate sale, I observed an elderly gentleman walking through the house with a cane, casually watching the shoppers, but not really looking at anything.  I dismissed him as someone who was drug along to the sale unwillingly.  Having looked over the entire house and not finding anything of interest, I started to leave when I noticed some photos sitting on the table near the cashier.  They were pictures of the St. Louis Variety Club telethon. During the 70's and 80's, the Variety Club held an annual telethon and raised money for children with "physical and mental disabilities".  I recognized Monty Hall immediately. Based on the clothes, this is solid '70s.

Leftovers Day 18 -- South St. Louis County Yesterday & Today

Today's post is one of those that will be interesting to only a few. Hey, that is NOT every post!

Anyway, I found these aerial photos of south St. Louis County (my stomping grounds) from when Interstate 55 was being developed near Lindbergh Boulevard.  You can see South County Mall with the famous Famous & Barr dome to the right.  It's parking lot is still under development. You can also see how much of the land was still farm land and residential at that time.  Interstate 55, still in development, dead ends South of Lindbergh.

Leftovers Day 6 -- Hot Air

Since 1973, Forest Park here in St. Louis (not to mention the skies over St. Louis) has hosted an annual hot air balloon race. I don't think it's really a competitive race, considering you're at the mercy of the winds.  It's become a fairly big event with large crowds gathering for the "balloon glow" the night before.  Apparently, in 1978, The Colonel entered the fray as is evidenced by this character glass.

J. H. Waldeck Vienna Bakery & Confectionery

The annual Canterbury Manor subdivision sale was this weekend (always the weekend after Labor Day).  I've been going for at least 15 years and I always find something interesting. This year was no exception. I was at one sale and about leave after having bought a couple books when I noticed a box of old photographs. Looking through the photos, I found a few that piqued my interest.

Chimpanzoo

St. Louis boasts one of the best public zoos in the country, consistently earning a place in the Top 10, and it's free (the $20 parking fee notwithstanding).  That alone should be enough, but at one time, you could also see a chimp ride a high-wheeled bicycle.

The Sealtest Food Adviser, Number 71

Another recipe booklet from my last find.  From 1948, the early spring edition of The Sealtest Food Adviser, brought to you from the fine folks at St. Louis Dairy.

Bring a girl roses and she'll reward you with crackers and dairy products.

Merry Christmas from Vandervoort's

I found this promotional Christmas record for Vandervoort's Department store at a sale this past summer.  It promises music and a Greeting from the Jolly Man himself.

Noah's Ark

My parents didn't go out to dinner too often when I was a kid, but one of their usual places to go when they did was Noah's Ark in St. Charles, Missouri.  I was always asleep by the time they got home, but I was always assured of finding swizzle stick giraffes to play with when I woke up in the morning.

I found this brochure for Noah's Ark at an estate sale last week.  I love the Noah's Ark mobile.  I also never knew it was a Motor Inn as well.

What'll it be, Mac, the Musial?

I found this set of glasses at a garage sale a couple weekends ago.

I picked up 2 of these "Stan Musial and Biggies" cocktail glasses.

Cardinals legend Stan Musial bought into Biggie Garagnani's steakhouse restaurant in 1949.  Surpringly, I could find a single image of it on the internet.

I believe that image is supposed to be the stylized heads of a baseball player and a chef, but to me, it just looks like a pair of...er...women's attributes.

At the same sale, I bought a set of 4 1967 World Series Cardinals glasses.  Stan had retired as a player in 1963, but was General Manager when the Cardinals won their 8th World Series against the Boston Red Sox and his name appears on the glass as well.

A Bird in the Hand...er...House...

This weekend I attended the estate sale of the home with the log cabin on it that I wrote about here last week.  If you didn't read it (and if you did read it, go back a take another look, I added some more pictures), I had gone to an estate sale next door at this house.

What We Leave Behind

Some finds just can't come home with you. My wife and I went to an estate sale in Lemay a few weekends back.  It was at a property I've driven by for years.  It was a Craftsman style home built sometime in the early 1900's.  

Tucked back among its trees, I never realized how vast the property was.  Both the house and the grounds seemed to go on forever.  

When I saw the estate sale workers digging up plants, prying up stepping stones, and dismantling exterior buildings, I knew this wasn't an ordinary sale.  As it turns out, a developer had bought the property plus several properties flanking either side and was putting in a 60-home subdivision.

Behind the house, we found this building.  I'm not sure if it was a summer kitchen, guest house or a child's playhouse.

Inside was an stone fireplace, oak flooring and original knotty pine wall planks.

The fireplace and paneling were for both for sale at $100 each.  I wish I could have taken the whole structure with me.

The estate sale company said there would be a sale at the  property next door as well.  I know this house well from driving by it so frequently.  It was on my route to my first job and my wife's, then girlfriend's, home.  I always thought it would be a great house to live in.

The best, or maybe saddest, discovery was behind this house.

You can't see this log cabin from the road and I never knew it existed.

  

I don't know the age of the cabin or its history, but it's clearly old and I would guess it was the original residence of the property.

Hopefully, the log cabin will be saved and moved somewhere else.

Near the log cabin is what I'm presuming to be an ice house, probably dating from the same time as the log cabin.

I hate seeing more of the old community and history torn down for new subdivision homes. Whenever I walk through estate sales, it's never far from my mind that they are the sign of the end of something, and the items for sale a story of  a lifetime and what was left behind.  Seeing this sale and the destruction of the properties makes me wonder -- what are we  leaving behind?

8MMusial

I've never been a big baseball fan, or any sports fan for that mater, but I can appreciate the tradition of the game and I've always thought I might have been a fan if I'd been born about 30 years earlier.  There's something about the early players that seems lost to the current generation.  Maybe I'm romanticizing a bit, but the players of the 50's and 60's seemed almost magical, setting record after record and maybe none more famous than the battle of '61 when New York Yankees teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle fought for the home run record held by Babe Ruth.  Maris won by hitting his 61st home run in the final game of the regular season.

In 1961, baseball was being played by the St. Louis Cardinals at the old Sportsman's Park.  And though Stan Musial was nearing the end of his 23 year career (missing the 1945 season and part of the 1946 season while serving in the Navy), he was still the star of the team and worshipped by the fans in St. Louis.

Juxtaposing Musial was a new up and coming pitcher named Ray Sadecki.  After having won the Cardinals' Rookie of the Year for 1960, he was now a full-time starter and held much promise.

Among the 8mm films I bought at the estate sale in St. Louis Hills last fall, I found footage of the 1961 Baseball Cardinals at Sportman's Park.  Titled simply "1961 Stan Musial and Ray Sadecki" it features Stan (#6) and Ray (#37) warming up for a game.  In addition, you see other players milling about the field including #32 Ernie Broglio whose unfortunate footnote is being traded by the Cardinals for Lou Brock in 1964.  Later in the film, the game begins and you see Musial hit a triple.

In honor of the home opener here in St. Louis (although it looks like a rain-out), I offer the the 1961 St. Louis Cardinals.

This second film appears to be from another game.  I'm not sure who the Cardinals are playing here.  Maybe someone out there recognizes the other team.  The highlight of the reel is the footage of Sportsmen's Park and a home run by Stan Musial.  Also seen is the Anheuser-Busch neon eagle.  It now resides on Highway 40/61 in downtown St. Louis, still lighting the night and greeting visitors to St. Louis.

In one scene with Musial, you see a few other players standing behind the batting cage.  A couple uniform number, 21 and 10, are attributed to Curt Flood and Alex Grammas, while two others, 5 and 22 are a mystery as I can find no information on these numbers being used by the Cardinals in 1961.

Although he went on to pitch in the Cardinal-winning World Series of 1964, Ray Sadecki was a disappointment for the team and was eventually traded to the New York Giants in 1966.

In 1968, Stan Musial was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame and in 2011, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Just last month, he was honored with a bridge in St. Louis.  The so-called Stan "the Span" opened February 9th, 2014.

Street Smart

This post will probably only be of interest to readers familiar with St. Louis, particularly South St. Louis County where I grew up in the town of Oakville, and it might not even be of interest to them!  So if that doesn't catch your fancy, I'll see you next time.

Are you still there?  Okay.

I bought an old St. Louis street guide at an estate sale last summer (the same sale where I found these).  The guide is undated, but appears to be fairly old.  Looking at the map, the streets are noticeably different from the Oakville I know.  And looking through the street names, many sporting first or last names, I became intrigued as to their source.  (You'll need to right-click, open in new window or tab for better details.)