respublica

Fair St. Louis

For the third year in a row, Forest Park will be the site of the city's 4th of July celebration. It has worked well enough that there is some talk of not going back downtown at all once the riverfront renovations are completed.

Concordia Seminary is pretty close to Forest Park, actually two short blocks. Every neighborhood and entity west of the park across Skinker has a plan in place to keep fair goers from parking in their domain. The Hillcrest neighborhood with streets beginning at Skinker and going to Big Bend will close their iron gates and have parking patrols and signs out warning people not to park in front of their homes. The seminary will chain off entrances at Demun for the same reason. And, seminary people now have parking permits so our security will know we belong.

Actually the seminary is a bit of a walk to Art Hill and even if it was ok to park here for the fair I don't think it would be my first choice.

The biggest disappointment for us is the fireworks. You'd think being so close we'd really be able to see them front our house. But no. There are too many trees and the Art Hill Lagoon where they shoot them off is in a very low spot so they don't get up high enough for us to see.

Racing round the clock

This is crazy. Illinois lawmakers are said to have been racing against the clock to knock out a budget that could actually pass. I guess midnight tonight is the end of the legislative session. They've only had how many months to do this but spent their time finger pointing instead of actually working. They never did have a budget last year so we'll see.

The best cities in which to celebrate the 4th of July

According to Wallethub, St. Louis ranks 6th on a list of best cities for the 4th. The results were a result of looking at things like, entertainment and food, attractions and activities, and what the weather forecast looks like.  But one of the biggest things which set St. Louis apart was the legality of fireworks. "The Lou, according to the report, is the best place to celebrate America’s independence without getting your rights read to you."

The first 5 ahead of St. Louis were: Seattle, Minneapolis, Washington DC, and Portland.

Now it's tennis ball bombs

Something else to worry about this Fourth of July. It seems that some people have turned tennis balls into a fireworks filled, exploding bomb. If you have a dog or kids who like to pick up the frequently lost tennis ball while in a park or on a walk, this is the year you might want to check that ball. I haven't heard that this is an issue in the St. Louis area, but then, I'm always late to fads.

The balls often have some duct tape covering the split in the ball where the explosive was put in and there is a fuse of some sort sticking out.

Home grown fireworks are the worst in my opinion. Every neighborhood has people who shoot off their own fireworks beginning well ahead of the 4th and continuing on for several days after. When it's a dry weather time we get concerning about grass fires or even roof fires due to these things dropping down in populated areas. Then it's the constant noise which really scares many dogs to the point they have to be sedated.

Folks, just go to an organized and controlled fireworks display, please don't do your own for the sake of everyone around you.

Slip and slide for adults

When I left Collinsville Sunday afternoon, I took High School Street over to Keebler and when I got to the stop sign at that intersection I saw this:

It's a bit hard to see, as I grabbed my camera from the passenger seat and aimed into the western sun, but it looked like an entire neighborhood along with friends having a slip and slide party on the slope of the yard. It looked like great fun. Click to see better.

New businesses

It looks as though Collinsville will be getting a few new businesses in town soon.

The abandoned K Mart property on Belt Line will be a Walmart Neighborhood Market which I have never seen but those who have describe it as mostly food, fuel, pharmacy with drive through pick-up, and fresher/greener produce.

A Jimmie John's and Dunkin Donuts will be built on 157 across from Steak n Shake on the site of an old abandoned farm house.

A Colton's Steakhouse will be where the former Ponderosa once was.

A medical Urgent Care will go where the Belt Line UMB bank was at the back of the Schnuck's parking lot. Black Friday Liquidators, a wholesale marketplace for items such as pool tables, patio sets, bars and commercial kitchen equipment will be at the Catsup Bottle complex.

And there is more to come.

 

American Heroes

A special People Magazine edition is all about American heroes and the Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dog is included. Those dogs have become part of our culture recently for the amazing work they do.

Farm party

Had the chance to go to a high school graduation party this afternoon held at the Willoughby Farm right in the middle of Collinsville. If you haven't been there recently you should go, it's a farm like the old days. Sort of.

And finally, Chris and Lisa Durham with their son Jacob who was celebrating having graduated from Metro East Lutheran High School.

Moving the milk truck

Many years ago Dale was given an old Divco milk truck from the Farm Fresh owners down in Chester, the kind of truck which was once used in home dairy delivers. For some time the old truck was taking up space in our driveway, but then was taken to a rural area outside of Collinsville and stored in a friend's storage barn. There it sat for years waiting for Dale to get it going again. Yesterday he arranged for a restoration company to get it and take it to Precision Restorations on Forest Park Parkway where it will begin the long process of a complete redo.

Dale could not be more thrilled. He delivered milk in a truck like this during college and seminary summers.

Here he is when the truck was on Tillotson.

And here is what yesterday looked like.

And at its new home for some time to come.

In case you've been wondering

As of today the total of mattresses and ladders which fall onto St. Louis highways stands at:

Mattresses 90  Ladders 52

I have wondered why so many mattresses fall onto roadways but after reading a request from someone who asked if anyone had any of those hooked bungee cords they could borrow to hook their mattress onto the car in order to move, I think I know now.