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Gateway City throws yearlong party

2/21/2014

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Anne Griggs buys us some fresh produce at St. Louis' historic Soulard Farmers Market. The city is celebrating its 250th birthday, but the market is not as old. It began in 1779.
Happy birthday, St. Louis.

The big river town along the Mighty Mississippi, founded by French settlers, is often identified as the Gateway to the West or the Gateway City or Mound City. To me, it's the home of the Cardinals. Whatever or however you might think of it, the city is more than a couple of centuries old – 250 years old, to be exact.

St. Louis will be celebrating its 250th birthday throughout this year, and the celebration began last Saturday with ceremonies at St. Louis City Hall, observing the town's Feb. 15 official founding date. Also, anniversary entertainment was offered up at Forest Park, with birthday events, live music and children's activities.

I know I'm getting up there in years, but I'm not as old as old St. Louie. Yet, I've been around long enough that many of the St. Louis attractions I loved as a kid are gone. I guess that means I'm a walking, talking, archeological part of Gateway City history.

My little hometown of Lebanon, Ill., is just 23 miles east of St. Louis, and I can recall a childhood full of fun times visiting the big city – exciting trips to the riverboat Admiral, Forest Park Highlands amusement park, Stan Musial and Biggie's restaurant, Famous-Barr department store, the Cardinals' home field at Sportsman's Park. But, yikes! They've all since vanished. They're history! But they're wonderful memories.

The best place on Earth was Forest Park Highlands. Any kid who went to Forest Park Highlands probably spent most of his or her time standing in line for and riding on the spectacular Comet. The Ferris wheel was cool, and the Fun House was fun, but the roller-coaster Comet was fantastic. It was high; it was long; it was fast; and it had the coolest, scariest, 300-foot tunnel ever. I've been around on this Earth for quite a few decades, but I'm a kid again just thinking about the super Comet.

How could a sane adult get giddy simply by thinking about an amusement ride that made him puke? Yes, I was riding in the front car with my dad – he insisted the front was the most exciting and most fun – and as we popped over the highest elevation and lurched downward, my dad's cigarette case flew out of his shirt pocket, and my lunch flew out of me. Dad should not have been smoking anyway, but I didn't appreciate losing my lunch. Of course, the Comet could do that easily if your lunch had consisted of a hot dog, a corndog, cotton candy and a couple of Vess black-cherry sodas.

While all of those old-time, wonderful, fun things to do in St. Louis are history, the city offers plenty more to do and see these days. And a lot of special events, exhibits and good eats are on tap throughout the whole year in celebration of the city's 250th anniversary.

Take, for example, today's 6th Annual Centennial Beer Festival at the historic Schnaider Brewery Malt House, now Moulin Events, on Chouteau Avenue. Honoring the city's 250 years, the event will feature more than 20 local breweries and 200 beers. I'll be careful how much I eat and drink; however, with no more Comet in St. Louis, I don't have to worry about losing my lunch.

You can see the entire calendar of events for the entire year of celebrations in St. Louis by going online to http://www.stl250.org/event-calendar.aspx

Many St. Louis landmarks and institutions are reason enough to visit the Gateway City any time, any year. Tourists and locals alike are attracted to the St. Louis Gateway Arch, beautiful Busch Stadium, old Soulard Farmers Market, Grant's Farm, the Science Center, the famous St. Louis Zoo, and the popular Anheuser-Busch Brewery and it's Budweiser Clydesdales. OK, I know, I have beer on the brain.

Some places have their own anniversary schedules and special plans for 2014. The Missouri History Museum is touting its St. Louis anniversary exhibit called 250 in 250, featuring 50 people, 50 places, 50 moments, 50 images and 50 objects. One of my favorite places is the St. Louis Art Museum, which has undergone some renovations during the past few years and is ready for your visit during this 250th birthday year.

Nobody can talk about St. Louis without talking about some of its signature edibles. Gateway grub is good chow, and if you're headed to St. Louie, you'll probably want to sample such local cuisine as the famous barbecued pork, toasted raviolis and the delicious slinger. The latter dish consists of eggs, hash browns and meat patty, slathered with chili con carne, and capped off with cheese and onions. It's a late-night St. Louis specialty that's also ordered and enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I might eat 250 of them this year.

St. Louis was named for France's Louis IX when the town was founded Feb. 15, 1764, by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau. That was 250 years ago, and I can give you at least 250 reasons to visit St. Louis in 2014.

Let's celebrate!
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Deer friends stop by for a visit

2/15/2014

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Five whitetail deer browse behind our house this past week, looking for edibles under the snow. The whitetail population is a lot larger nowadays, compared to the numbers of deer in Illinois when I was growing up here. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources was aiming for a 14 percent reduction in the statewide deer herd in 2013. That recommendation came from the state Joint Legislative Task Force on Deer Population Control. Studies and efforts to control the whitetail population take into account the need to maintain good health in the herd and also to reduce agricultural crop damage and vehicle-deer encounters. Illinois hunters harvested almost 150,000 deer during the 2013-14 season. Hunters in some areas of the state will see fewer deer permits issued next season, while other areas will stay the same.  I look forward to a healthy herd and an occasional backyard visit.
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All you need is love and the Beatles

2/9/2014

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I was 16 when the English invaded America.

That rock 'n' roll incursion was the start of what is known to this day as the British invasion, spearheaded a half-century ago by a band called the Beatles. You might have heard of them.

It was 50 years ago tonight, on Feb. 9, 1964, that America was formally introduced to the Beatles by Ed Sullivan on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on the CBS television network. The four lads from Liverpool – that, of course, would be Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon – ­sang five of their songs for us that night.

I was glued to my chair in front of the TV that evening, ready to enjoy the really big "shoo," when Ed announced the band. "Ladies and gentlemen, ... the Beatles!" And the boys did not disappoint. They performed live, giving us "All My Lovin'," "Til There Was You" and "She Loves You."

After enduring an Anacin commercial and magician Fred Kaps' act – ­Kaps was a really good magician but just picked the wrong night, poor guy – ­we got another round of the Beatles with "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." The teenage girls in the studio audience yelled like crazy throughout the lads' sets, while I thoroughly appreciated the show at home – ­along with about 73 million other viewers.

The historical evening will be observed tonight, same time, same place, but 50 years after Sullivan made history by hosting those four Brits with the flop-mop tops. This evening's big show is titled "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles," or something like that.

Paul and Ringo will be there, and some of today's most popular artists will perform Beatles songs. Should be a blast.

The invasion really began Feb. 7, 1964, when the Beatles landed in New York for the start of their first American adventure, but we began knowing them in a way through their first U.S. single, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," released here in December 1963. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Jan. 17, 1964.

The group went on to produce more than 200 songs in their six years together. If you're as old as I am, but most of you most likely are not, songs by the Beatles probably represent memorable times in your life, maybe even very important times. That old cliché about "the soundtrack of my youth" perfectly fits many Beatles fans of yore. The group's tunes really can tune in to some peoples' pasts – ­times and places that cannot be forgotten. They even wrote a song, "There Are Places I Remember," that elude to that phenomenon:

There are places I remember, all my life,                                                             Though some have changed,                                                                                     Some forever, not for better                                                                                     Some have gone, and some remain.

All these places have their moments,                                                                           Of lovers and friends, I still recall,                                                                           Some are dead, and some are living,                                                                           In my life, I loved them all.

It's odd, I think, how old songs not only can carry you back to people and events, but they can retrieve feelings and reflections, almost as if you can touch the textures and emotions of your life's past moments in time and place.

When I hear "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," I can see myself standing in the lunch line at school a long, long time ago and one of my fellow students, David Pfeffer, asking me about what I thought of that new English group, the Beatles. I can see myself wearing a green plaid shirt and green corduroy pants, saying I thought they were pretty cool. Of course, I'm probably pretty full of soup, but that's how I remember it, and it seems like only yesterday.

A more textured and rather romantic remembrance always accompanies the hearing of "A Hard Day's Night." I think back to a girl I was sweet on in my innocent youth – ­yes, I was very naive and innocent in my youth – ­and certain feelings of that time and that brief relationship kind of wash over me. It's weird, and I don't know why. After all, who wants to feel like a 16-year-old pinhead again? I sure don't. But when I hear that song, I recall giving her the "A Hard Day's Night" album and taking her to the "A Hard Day's Night" movie.

What is the most memorable Beatles song and its memorable time in my life? That would have to be "Sgt. Pepper" in Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. In 1968, my commanding officer had sent me from Phu Bai down to Da Nang on a special assignment. While at the battalion headquarters at Da Nang – ­it was actually in the northern outskirts of Da Nang – ­one of my fellow jarheads introduced me to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. Even though it had been released a year earlier, in 1967, I had not heard it. I listened almost exclusively to Detroit and Memphis soul music then, but how could I have missed a year's worth of the Beatles?

I listened to the "Sgt Pepper" album and could not stop listening. To this day, when I listen to that record, I'm taken back to that time and place in Vietnam. It's weird.

Weird or wonderful, I feel great when listening to the music of those four chaps from Liverpool. I'm not alone, as millions of people around the world feel the same way, just as they did back in 1964.

The Beatles appeared on "The Ed Sullivan" show again on Feb. 16, 1964, live from Miami. This time, they played six songs for us, and if Americans weren't sold the first time, most were after the second show. By April 4, the boys owned the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100. At No. 1 was "Can't Buy Me Love," and at that time I was sweet on the "Can't Buy Me Love" girl who, of course, came before the "Hard Day's Night" girl. Ah, memories.

You don't need to hear about my silly memories. You can tune in tonight to CBS and hear some fantastic, melodic and wonderful Beatles music, performed by some great artists. Sounds like we're in for some outstanding entertainment.

Hey, lovely Rita, Rocky Raccoon, Jude, and everybody now, let's all come together, turn on our TVs tonight and let it be, because she loves you.

P.S. I love you.

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These snowbirds don't fly south

2/6/2014

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A dull-colored, dark-eyed junco blends nicely with it's snowy surroundings this week in my hometown of Lebanon, Ill. This latest snowfall was definitely gorgeous, and the white stuff probably will be staying around here for quite awhile longer with our cold temperatures. The high today will be about 10 degrees. The juncos don't seem to mind, though. Dark-eyed juncos normally frequent the mountains out West and Canada and then visit us in the wintertime. They keep us amused through the cold months, and they're not really dull in their colors; they wear them beautifully.
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Chow down and 10 to go

2/1/2014

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Huddle up, people! Here's the play: lateral to chili pot, toss wings, post beer route. Go!

America's favorite holiday arrives tomorrow, but it's not really a holiday. It's better.

Tomorrow, the National Football League puts on its annual championship game, the mighty Super Bowl. Across the United States, the beer will flow, and Americans will consume enormous quantities of chili, brats, frankfurters, burgers, chips, ribs, chicken wings and many more exquisite edibles normally blasted by the American Heart Association.

The first Super Bowl was played Jan. 15, 1967, and featured the National Football League champions against the old American Football League champs. The leagues merged around 1970, and so the Super Bowl became the meeting of the champions of the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference.

If the stupendous world championship of American football was just now being imagined and organized, it probably would be called the Amazing Bowl. Everything – and I mean almost every dang thing – is hailed as "amazing" these days. Thank goodness the big game was created in 1967. It should be and must be the Super Bowl. No other title would fit or be fit. Yes, the title "Super Bowl" befits the greatest contest on Earth.

You might think I'm sounding a little too hyped about a game – a game in which large men continually clobber each other while trying to throw, catch or run with an egg-shaped, leather-covered ball. You might be right, but it's a wonderful day and fine excuse for me to chow down on all kinds of good grub. I'm talking about food that tastes so good to me yet is so bad for my health and welfare.

Many football fans and chowhounds go all out for Super Bowl, preparing lavish layouts of incredible edibles. I'm happy with any Super Bowl spread. After all, I'm just a retired jarhead, who will eat anything. Keep in mind that I love combat rations and mess-hall chow. If you feed me some burgers and brats and put a bottle of beer in my hand, I'm in championship heaven. Hey, pass me those chips!

Super Bowl vittles at our house tomorrow will be sweet and simple: a pot of chili, some juicy cheeseburgers, and tortilla chips with salsa con queso. The latter duo – the chips and creamy cheesiness – team up to make a dangerous concoction in my presence. I start and cannot stop, and don't even think about ragging on me for double dipping. I'm going to be probably crude and messy and make pig-like sounds. I'm apologizing in advance, OK?

For the super-lazy Super Bowl host, your Bowl buffet can be an easy thing to create. Just call Pizza Hut or call Subway or both. First, Subway offers sandwich platters and also giant subs – 3- and 6-footers. And I know you know how to order pizza. If you have a local pizzeria that delivers, call them. If not, call Pizza Hut or Papa John's or Domino's. Of course, you can bake those frozen pizzas, which are supposed to be better than delivery, but all of us pizza lovers know darn well that pizzeria pizza is the best thing ever. Yo, pass me a slice of the pepperoni and mushroom!

Some Super Bowl parties include party games and bets. The football game and the grub are certainly enough for me, but I think I'll take bets on one thing – how many times we'll hear players and game announcers use the word "execute." Each time I hear that, I envision some medieval executioner running around the football field, lopping off players' heads. Can't all those fellows give that word a rest? We have plenty of words and phrases in the English language for saying the same thing and can usually say it better.

"What are you guys going to have to do today to beat the Broncos?"

"We're going to have to execute!"

Really? That's all there is to it?

"Dan, what are the Broncos going to have to do today to beat the Seahawks?"

"Boomer, they're going to have to execute."

Well, that's all I needed to know. Say, hey, pass me that queso!
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    Author

    T.E. Griggs is a writer, editor and photographer and a retired U.S. Marine.

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