Just down the road... a step back in time

A hop and skip and jump from downtown St. Louis, MO is a quaint little town known for its huge crowds at the Apple Butter Festival in the Fall, Strawberry Festival in summer, and Witches Night Out at Halloween. If you've never been to Kimmswick, MO and you prefer less crowds, go during the week. You might encounter a tour bus or two unloading in front of The (homey) Blue Owl Restaurant. But the town is less crowded than on weekends.

After a yummy meal at any number of restaurants, you can take a walk back in time. That's what a dozen of my relatives and I did recently when five generations, ages three through 87 strolled the small town.

Mr. Kimm bought the property which is just South of St. Louis in 1984. The town of Kimmswick was incorporated in 1871. This little, historic river town consists of many small stone buildings. The  former residences have been converted to shops which sell everything from candles, and lace, to apple butter, mile high pies, and unique arts and crafts.

As we strolled past the post office, we met Mary Oster, the personable post mistress of Kimmswick Post Office.
She explained that the mail originates from St. Louis' Downtown Main Post Office.  The U.S. Postal Service delivers the mail for the 100 or so Kimmswick residents to the U.S. Post Office in Imperial, MO, a few miles up the road. Imperial P.O. delivers the mail to the old fashioned little post office in the town of Kimmswick. A step inside made me feel as though I were in a Norman Rockwell painting.

I assume Mary Oster knows everybody in town, and I'm certain she has many friends. She has a bubbly personality, and a flair for decorating. After a brief conversation I felt like I'd known her forever. She's one of those people who have never met a stranger. Look at her winnining smile.

When I lived in Alaska, this is exactly the way our daily mail was delivered... into individual post office boxes. I felt like I had stepped back fifty years in time and was picking up my mail from P.O. Box 157. I loved receiving letters from home. My mom sometimes stuffed a dollar or two into her letters. I made a beeline to the general store to purchase a package of chocolate cookies. The post office in Delta Junction was no bigger than this one in Kimmswick, MO. I certainly experienced deja`vu.

Mary came out to collect the mail from the postal box. She invited my cousin, Jeffrey, to help Liam and his cousin, Benjamin, choose a book from the little free library. She told them they could have a book to keep. What a thrill for the boys who are 4th cousins, I think.

 The Kimmswick P.O. Building was established more than 100 years ago.

If you would like to learn more about this town, which is about half an hour away from downtown St. Louis, click on the link and learn all about the town's history and upcoming events. If you happen to drop by the post office, tell Mary, Linda sent you.

http://gokimmswick.com/history-of-kimmswick-mo/

We are safe; are any of us really safe?

I'd like to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving and blessed holiday. 

Please pray for or send good thoughts to Ferguson, Missouri, a community about thirty miles away, which is in great turmoil because of the actions of a few agitators who prefer outlandish and criminal behavior to peaceful protest. Crowd mentality is building and spreading across America.

True, there is need for change, but positive change does not result from anger, violent actions, rioting and looting. I am ashamed. Unrest and peace disturbance in other neighborhoods has led to cancellations of schools, classes, businesses closing early, and the postponement of our downtown Thanksgiving Day parade.  It is sad that the majority does not rule and we allow a few to destroy our towns and threaten our well being.


If you have time, please take a look at my latest brief essay about giving thanks. I am proud to be a guest blogger on the Pallonttine Renewal Center site.
http://pallottinerenewal.org/2014/11/25/new-blog-the-habit-of-thanks/

Then, for a candid account of how Cappy Hall Rearick really felt about Thanksgiving, check out this link which will take you to a story in Not Your Mother's Book...On Family.

http://laughuntilyoupee.wordpress.com/ It will be posted on Thanksgiving day. I laughed out loud when I first received her submission. Cappy tells it like it is.

"Our Thanksgiving began in earnest after the SUV carrying the grandkids from hell was history. Looking at those diminishing taillights was a plentiful reason to give thanks."

Counting my blessings instead of my problems. Thank you for your readership.

Say it isn't so!

URGENT!! THE BOOK HOUSE IS GOING TO BE TORN DOWN!!! We need your Help!

Yes, It’s true! The Book House, in business for over 30 years in a unique historic 150 year old Victorian house, is scheduled to be TORN DOWN. Unfortunately, the owners of The Book House do not own the property (they have been leasing for over 30 years and have tried to negotiate to buy it for several years with no success). Now the property is being purchased by a developer who is planning to demolish the historic structure to make way for an industrial storage facility. The Book House is a community asset, and has weathered many of the storms that have impacted bookstores over the past three decades and really wants to stay in the area. But we may be forced to close our doors by the end of the year. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! If you do not want to see another independent bookstore close and another unique historic structure destroyed - we need you to make your voices heard! Call Rock Hill City Hall (314) 968-1410 Call the Developer Bill Bowman at Great Northern Developers 586-703-9882 or 734-996-9979 Call the Media - Kirkwood Webster Times, Riverfront Times, Post Dispatch, TV stations Call anyone who you think might be able to help or who cares about our bookstore We need to show a presence – that we matter to the community. If we close it will also affect our charity partners such as Second Chapter Center, the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition and the Children’s Home Society which we help fund through book donations and sales. The Book House wants to remain open as a community resource, but we can’t do it alone. We are running out of options. This is YOUR bookstore! If you want it to continue you need to help us fight for it! We need to crowd source some funding, or find an investor, or parner, get approved for a bank loan, loan cosigner, or somehow raise the funding to purchase either this building or another building and pay for move/remodel. We need to find a new location SOON. We are throwing this out to the universe for some help. Any legal, financial or real estate help accepted. We can’t do this alone - believe me we have already tried. We need the community to help rally some support. Tell your friends, your coworkers, any booklovers you know. You can always help by coming in to the shop and buying books! We are still running all operations as normal and have an incredible selection of new, rare and unusual books for sale. Cash and book donations are still accepted. Every little bit helps. HELP SAVE OUR BOOKSTORE!! Sincerely, The Book House Staff and Friends

This too must stop!

This morning my hubby took me to a breakfast buffet. I am a people watcher, and I noticed one thing in particular. The young people by-passed the donuts, but the older folks indulged. Must be age-related. Back in 'our day' in St. Louis, there were German bakeries in every neighborhood. There were either churches, taverns or bakeries on every corner, and in some neighborhoods, there were all three. Bakery goods were staples in most households; you could get a day-old peanut cake slathered with thick white icing, or 4"x10" rectanglular-shaped coffee cakes piled high with crumbs (my favorite) or fruit. The salesclerks would rip off a sheet of white paper, wrap the sweets in a flash and tie the package with twine. Donuts were our comfort food. I have traveled across the U.S. and have never found bakery goods like we had in St. Louis.

This too must stop!

Fifteen minutes usually flies
except when I'm doing exercise.
I bend, I stretch, I kick 'em high
trying to tone my flabby thighs.
I don't know why I even try;
I never pass a donut by.

Chicken Soup for the Soul book signing at Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO 12/12/09

Pictured from left to right: Patsy Zettler, Sherry Stanczak, Teri Sanders, Tammy Goodsell, Pat Wahler, Becky Povich, Linda O'Connell



Thirty-five degrees, sporadic rainy weather, parking places a commodity -none of these things kept the crowds away. The sidewalks and shops along historic South Main Street in Old St. Charles, MO were packed with families enjoying the holiday season. Babies bundled like polar bears perched on their daddy's shoulders and little kids snug in their coats, hats and mittens stood curbside as young and old alike watched the Christmas parade. The fife and drum corp, led by the color guard, rattled windows with their rooty-toot- toots and rummy-tum-tums; Christmas carolers and street performers dressed in period garb made beautiful music. A life-sized female "angel" wearing huge feathered wings crossed the street in front of my car, an experience to remember. Everyone enjoyed the nostalgia of Christmas Past as Santas wearing costumes from many countries interacted with passersby. Nothing more appealing than those blazing fire pits, and oh, the blending aromas of chestnuts being roasted and sold by the bag; freshly popped popcorn in 34 enticing flavors, and the tempting homemade cookies being sold on street corners. Two melt-in-your-mouth snickerdoodles and one chocolate chip cookie later, I knew I had blown my diet! A block east, on the riverfront, ice skaters zipped around the rink as carols blared from a loud speaker. Truly, this was a day to remember.

The Chicken Soup writers donated a gift-wrapped box of canned soup to a local food pantry.