Maplewood History: My Own Family Story – The Lindbergh Letter

By |

Or My Baby, He Wrote Me A Letter
(apologies to the Box Tops). All right.  Maybe you’ve been thinking, he’s carrying this a bit too far with all of these posts from his own family’s history.  I do have some more posts about the history of Maplewood in mind.  Previously unpublished, as well.  I know of several, large archival deposits that I have yet to tap. The problem is sunshine and 80+ degrees wins every time over the conditioned air spaces that the archives inhabit.  The longer days don’t help, either.  I rarely head indoors while it is still light out. Anyway, take a look at this post and then tell me, “Is this cool or what?”

This is an undated photograph of my grandfather, Lowell Hobart, my mother, Dolores Jane and my grandmother, Ora Marguerite Jackson.  They are standing in front of their home at 6329 Elm in Wellston, Missouri.  My mother was born on November 20, 1921.  I have no skill in guessing how old she was when this picture was taken.  But I include it because I think it is as close as I can get to how their family looked around the time the letter was written in 1928. This is the fourth post of images from my own family archive.  The other three can be liked here.

Maplewood business announces closing brick & mortar, says shopping hasn’t returned

By |

Owner of The Roughneck Grooming & Beard, Brad Jackson, says it’s time for a change, which includes closing his brick and mortar shop, at 7282 Manchester Road, after this weekend. Hey, Maplewood! After 7 amazing years, we’re making the hard decision to evolve and close The Roughneck Grooming & Beard Store in downtown Maplewood. This may come as a surprise to some of you (and not to alot of you), but the reality is that physical retail shopping just hasn’t come back to pre-pandemic levels like we’d hoped. We endured the pandemic closures and a couple years of holding our breath to see how the world would look on the other side, and here we are.

Maplewood History: My Own Family Story – My Mother – Dolores Jane Jackson Houser

By |

My mother was 27 years old when she married my father in 1948.  He was 22.  They both were intelligent, sensitive, articulate, kind, caring, artistic, friendly, outdoorsy, non judgemental, unpretentious, tool users with well developed senses of humor. Of course, they were much, much more than what I have just written.  How could I possibly sum them up in just a few sentences or paragraphs?  Mama was 5 years older than Pop.  We lost them both at the end of 2020.  She lived one month longer than he did. My brother, sisters and I were truly fortunate to have had the parents that we did.  To try and write about them now is to start grieving once again.  I just couldn’t get this post out on Mother’s Day.  Mama would understand. This is Mama’s own handwriting.  Her beautiful penmanship would last nearly her whole life. From memory, I think she was 18 months old when this image was made.

Chiropractor Dr. Madosky announces future retirement

By |

Area chiropractor, Dr. William Madosky, announced through a recent email to clients and on social media that he plans to retire at the end of June. His message is below. There are those moments when it becomes clear that a change needs to happen.  For me, today is one of those moments.  After conversations with Sharon about our future, I have decided retire on June 28, 2023. For the past 20 months I have been searching for another chiropractic physician to take over the daily operations of the office allowing me to work part time. Unfortunately that has not happened and I am saddened by this fact.

Taste of Maplewood coming — in its 15th year

By |

The 15th annual Mid County Taste of Maplewood is May 19 and 20. The info below is from the chamber’s website. See more here. The festival is a culmination of Maplewood and Richmond Heights’ most renowned restaurants, beloved boutiques, and unique specialty stores. In its 15th year the event’s vibe is distinct and unmistakable, radiating the culture and character of the businesses in the area.

Prioritized Pastries to open Saturday, say folks in line

By |

There was a line on the sidewalk outside Prioritized Pastries Saturday morning. Those in line said it was due to open, but they weren’t sure when. The new bakery is at 2719 Sutton, the former location of Pie Oh My. The bakery is a dedicated vegan, gluten- and peanut-free facility, according to its website.

Maplewood mayor says she running again

By |

Maplewood Mayor Nikylan Knapper posted on Facebook on Friday that it’s been two years since she became mayor of Maplewood, and said she’s running for re-election in April 2024. She said, “I have done a lot of work for our community, but not all of my work is complete. Due to this, I will seek another term as your Mayor.” The 40 South post of her swearing in: Nikylan Knapper makes history becoming 1st Black mayor of Maplewood

Maplewood History: My Own Family Story – Part Two

By |

Ora Marguerite Layman and Lowell Hobart Jackson, my maternal grandparents

If you missed the first post of my historic family photos you can find it here.  Also, I made a late addition of our family tree to that post that you may find interesting. This image is on a postcard. This is my mother’s handwriting.  There is no record of what year the image was made. The back of the previous photo. My grandmother Ora Layman is on the far left in this image also from 1918.  I don’t know what to make of this.  Does anyone know what these young ladies were up to?

Brentwood, MRH school districts ranked among best in Missouri

By |

Fox 2 News reports that Brentwood High School and Maplewood Richmond Heights are in a ranking of the top 20 public school districts in Missouri. The ranking comes from Stacker, which compiled the list of the best school districts in Missouri using rankings from Niche. Niche ranks school districts based on criteria including academics, teacher salaries, expenses per student, and access to extracurricular activities. Niche ranks Brentwood at fifth in the state and MRH at #11. Clayton was ranked at #1.

Maplewood History: My Own Family Story – The Jacksons – Part One

By |

I began putting historic photographs and documents concerning Maplewood online around 2010.  ‘Til now the focus has been on families that once lived in Maplewood.  I haven’t said much about my own family even though I have many interesting documents and photographs which this audience may appreciate. I am aware of the danger of allowing this site to deteriorate into the blog of Doug Houser as one reader put it upon exiting my email list.  Even though I wasn’t born here, I’ve been here for a pretty long time.  Our founding pioneer, James Sutton, moved out here from the city in 1825 then died in 1877 – 52 years later.  I’m working on my 48th year here. Hopefully that gives me a pass to do what I’m about to do.  What follows are some of our most important historic images from the collection of my family.  We’ll start on my mother’s side – the Jacksons. My great grandparents: Mary Stella Bundren (1881-1908) and John Lee Jackson (1872-1935).  Great grandmother’s name is also recorded as Estella.  Some of my Jackson ancestors came from Kentucky and settled around Golconda, IL where John Lee was born.  They moved to Stonefort, IL when he started school. Here they are again.  Both of the images are undated.  Mary Stella Bundren had a sister, Ida, who died when she was 12.  She also had a brother, James Boyd.  She is buried in Zion Cemetery, 3 or 4 miles outside of Stonefort, Il.

New York Times, others, report city of Maplewood to pay $3.25 million to settle lawsuit

By |

The New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and others have reported that the city of Maplewood will pay $3.25 million to settle a federal lawsuit that accuses Maplewood of: “wrongfully jailing at least 7,000 people in a so-called debtors’ prison scheme, in which people arrested over minor infractions were forced to pay exorbitant fines or face more time in jail, court records show,” the New York Times reported. Missouri Lawyers Media — Judge OKs ‘debtor prison’ settlement with Maplewood

New York Times — Missouri City to Pay $3.25 Million to Settle ‘Debtors’ Prison’ Lawsuit

Riverfront Times — Maplewood to Pay $3.25M to Settle Suit Alleging ‘Debtors’ Prison’

St. Louis Post-Dispatch — Maplewood settles debtor’s prison suit for $3.25 million. ‘We got treated bad.’

Steve Rye, Sole Survivor owner, dies at 70

By |

The Mid County Chamber of Commerce has reported that Steve Rye, former owner of Sole Survivor, has passed on. His wife Kay said the cause was a heart attack. She reported his passing on April 5 on the Sole Survivor Facebook page. She said that the business will go on, “of course.” She added that their next event is this weekend: Annual Small Scrap & Hide Sale + the return of: A Back Alley Clearance Sale

Kay also posted on Facebook:
If you had not heard, Steve had a major heart attack and sadly is no longer with us.

Maplewood’s library proposition passes with almost 90 percent yes votes

By |

Proposition L, the bond issue for the library, passed on Tuesday with 87.1  percent of voters voting yes for the proposition. Library board member, Charlie Hinderliter, told supporters of Maplewood’s Proposition L on Tuesday night, that the campaign was well funded, with generous in-kind donations as well. He said 44 percent of the donations came from city council members (new member Matt Coriel donated almost $800 left over from his first campaign for council)  and all but one council member had a sign in their yard. Running unopposed for city council, Krista Garcia won Ward 1, and Shawn Faulkingham won Ward 3. In Ward 2 it was a write-in contest, with Chastity Mattox winning with 19 votes (22.6%) over a total of 39 write-in candidates.

MRH Open House planned April 15: first since 2018

By |

Maplewood Richmond Heights School District is planning an open house for Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to noon at all of the district’s buildings. It’s the first open house the district has held since 2018. The flyer below is from MRH.

Pot holes on Manchester Road set to be repaired in April; Updated info: work to begin on Wednesday

By |

The pot holes and piles of gravel at the Manchester Road intersections in Maplewood due to the installation of brick crosswalks is set to be repaired—pending on the weather—according to Maplewood city manager, Michael Reese. He said the mill process (removing asphalt) and new overlay on Manchester in downtown Maplewood will take a total of about five days to complete. It was supposed to happen the first week of March but didn’t happen due to cold and wet weather. It’s been rescheduled multiple times as the result of the weather. Weather pending, the asphalt removal and new overlay of downtown Manchester is planned for for first week in April.

Maplewood History: Please Vote Yes On Proposition L For Our Library Tomorrow!

By |

Well, if you live in Maplewood, that is.  Our historic Maplewood Pool/Library building is in need of some attention.  It won’t take a lot to ensure that generations to come can enjoy this building just as many past generations have. So please, Maplewoodians, make it a point to head to our city hall tomorrow and vote Yes On Prop L! Swimming is such a wonderful pastime.  Just look at the crowd it used to attract. In the summer, the windows could be removed to allow the upper level to be used as a pavilion complete with a fireplace.  The lower level held the changing rooms.  The men’s was on the left and women’s on the right. This image was made in the Summer of 1943.

Maplewood History: Two Sarah Harrisons, Three Charles Humphreys and Two William Holmes

By |

Now this is confusing so you’ll have to pay attention.  I’m going to repeat some of the material that I published not too long ago to refresh your memory. One of the daughters of James Compton and Ann Wells Sutton, Miss Sarah Wilgus married Charles S. Humphreys on March 30, 1864.  They lived in a small house at 7478 Manchester which was right across the road from the Sutton mansion at 7453.  They had two children, Mary Isabel (married Samuel Silence) and Charles F. (married Lucretia Hazard of Clayton). Charles, the father, died in 1869. Sarah married again.  Her second husband was Johnson Harrison.  They had four children.  Sarah (who married William Ryder Holmes), Joseph (who married Miss Ollien), James (unmarried) and Edna (Schaffer). Sarah Harrison the younger and William Ryder Holmes had two children, Russell William and Mary E.

Laura Varilek wrote that Russell was her grandfather and her mother was Julie Ann Holmes.  Laura’s uncle is also named William Holmes.  I reported on their visit here in a recent blog post.  To my knowledge, they are the first instance of out-of-state tourists to Maplewood attracted by the information in my blog.  I greatly enjoyed their visit.

New Rock Hill Aldi coming, Maplewood’s is staying, hopefully

By |

The Webster-Kirkwood Times has reported that a new Aldi is scheduled to open on March 30 in the location that was originally Lucky’s Market, which closed in 2020. A ribbon-cutting is set for 8:45 a.m. that morning. The Maplewood Aldi will be unaffected by the opening of the new store, according to an employee there. Hopefully they’re right.

In the news: New restaurants opening; obituaries

By |

Several magazines report that a burger restaurant will be opening in the former Elmwood location. The Business Journals — Burger Champ to open in former Elmwood space – St. Louis Business Journal

Feast Magazine — Team behind Pizza Champ and Elmwood announces new fast-casual concept, Burger Champ

KMOV — Mother asks for public’s help after car stolen with baby’s medical equipment inside

Sauce — Tapped will reopen as Tapped Social House in late March in Maplewood

Sauce — Burger Champ will open in former Elmwood space in Maplewood this summer

St. Louis Magazine – Burger Champ to move into former Elmwood space in Maplewood

St. Louis Post-Dispatch —  Laura Dashke (obituary)

St.