Charlie Bartold might not have considered himself to be one tough hombre. But if he didn’t it was only because the spaghetti westerns wouldn’t be invented for another 60 something years.
That he was pretty confident of his capabilities will be apparent to you after you read the following article. But one detail we can’t be sure of is if anyone ever called him Charlie.
Searching for an image from a spaghetti western to use to illustrate my story made me realize it has been a long time since I actually watched one of them. Like about 50 years. I found one site that looked particularly appealing. 10 Great Spaghetti Westerns. I think I may have to take a look at a couple of these.
Being quarantined is a bummer. Social distancing – no fun. No swimming pool. No gym. No restaurants. These are trying times. At least it’s getting warmer.
Doug Houser April 19, 2020
Loved reading this Doug !
Glad to hear it, Greg. Thanks for responding.
Dougie Houser, You won’t be surprised to hear that I have found no documents or references that refer to Charles Bartold as “Charlie”. I can only imagine, but assume, calling him Charlie could get one the stink eye and very slow service at the bar?
Charles was the sixth of seven children born to Henry Bartold and Franciska nee Oberfell. He was born on Sept. 14, 1869 in St. Louis County (probably at the Bartold Inn). He helped run and worked as a bartender at the Grove and later operated a soda fountain/lunch counter on Big Bend Blvd. He was a bachelor most of his life but married in Detroit on Aug. 26, 1919 at age 49. His wife was Mamie Kaenter. Her father, Frederick Kaenter was a successful business man that operated a Bar/Restaurant on Poplar Street, located at what is now a part of Busch Stadium?
Charles would move into the Kaenter Mansion at 7715 Big Bend Blvd. after the marriage. This mansion is now gone and has been replaced by the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship. The large mansion was in the same location as the current church building on the property. Charles died shortly after the marriage on Nov 12, 1922. Mamie Kaenter died Dec. 22, 1947. Both are buried at Calvary Cemetery. They had no children.
Davey P.
Hey Dave, You make a good point. Charles may not have liked having “ie” on the end of his name anymore than I do. Composing the title I was thinking that Charles sounded too formal for a tough guy like this. But I was thinking Prince Charles when I should have been thinking Charles Bronson. If my thought train had run that way I never would have changed it.
Thank you for your usual splendid job of filling in a lot of blank spaces. I found an 1898 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that mentions Frederick W. Kaenter and identifies him as the proprietor of a drugstore at Vandeventer and West Morgan. The article takes up most of a page and is concerned with the unfortunate accidental killing of Frederick’s brother, Francis by two plainclothes policemen who mistook him and his friend for bandits. I was surprised that I didn’t find any more than that about a man who was rich enough to build himself a large country mansion.
What a great story, not only of toughness, but persistence and nerve. I recall another of your articles about a chicken thief and the running gun battle over that theft. Maybe you should start a series “The Crimes in Maplewood”, except this is such a peaceful place it would be brief. Thanks for the nifty article, Gary.
You are welcome, Gary. I like your idea for some Crimes in Maplewood posts. I certainly run across some with this Newspapers.com subscription. Of course, most don’t have the interesting graphics that accompanied this one. There may be more than you suspect. I’ll keep it in mind.
That was a great story!! I really enjoyed reading about Charles Bartold. Charles Kay/Charles Miller picked the wrong man to mess with. So interesting. Thank you Doug!!
Thanks, Nancy. I have the feeling Charlie was going to get his horses and wagon back one way or another, sheriff or no sheriff. I found another article written to inform that Mr. Kay had been returned to prison over the incident. Thanks for your comment. Always good to hear from you.