Historical February 1998 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Many people in our neighborhood are now familiar with Andy Cross. He’s been involved with many arts and beautification projects here over the past few years.
His energy and enthusiasm are a source of amazement to many of us.
He devotes many hours each week to making this neighborhood a better and more attractive place to live. Andy grew up in Skinker DeBaliviere on 61xx Kingsbury. Aside from several years of his childhood spent in the Virgin Islands, he has lived here all his life.
His parents still live on Kingsbury.
He has two brothers and two sisters.
He is the second oldest. Andy attended Washington University and received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.
After graduating from college, Andy taught for a year at Cardinal Ritter Prep.
He found that interesting and challenging because, for many of his students, it was their first major exposure to art.
He taught drawing, perspective, shading, a little sculpture, and ceramics.
He had spending his summers working at the MUNY. Originally, he sold ice cream.
Then he became a paint boy; he went through their apprenticeship program.
He still works there preparing sets.
After the year at Cardinal Ritter, he painted full time at the MUNY, the Rep, and Opera Theatre.
In fact, he still works for the latter two.
Most of his work life now is spent at Image Technology.
He is in charge of their scene shop.
They do industrial shows.
He has done work for the St. Louis Blues and Trendmasters. Trendmasters is a toy company and Andy put together a display for them at the international toy fair.
He likes this job, being in charge of the shop, and can hire some of his mentors which he considers a real honor (Bill Christman, Dick Godwin).
He teaches apprentices and helps get them jobs.
He married his wife Linda in 1986.
They met at Wash. U.
After a wedding at St. Roch, they lived in an apartment on 61xx Pershing for 3 years.
They then bought a home a 60xx McPherson.
It needed some work but it turned out very well for them. Andy has done a lot of work with the landscaping.
He and Linda now have two daughters, Emily Judith and Sarah Jane. Andy is block captain.
As time went on, Andy began getting more involved in the neighbor. hood.
His first major project was to recycle newspaper.
He began collecting on 61xx Kingsbury.
He started with a few hundred pounds and now takes in about 3/4 of a ton a month.
In eight years, he has collected about 70 tons. Catherine Forslund helped put the SDCC Beautification Committee together and he wants to keep carrying out her idea. One part of this to keep working on Four Corners to see that things are planted and watered. Andy decided to help beautify the barricades along Rosedale, first with barrels and now with planter boxes.
He also initiated the painting of the dumpsters with help from the Boy Scouts and Beth Bender and neighborhood children.
He put 3 different stencil designs on the dumpsters and this won 1 prize in the BrightSide contest. Andy is particularly proud of the barricade post covers he made and then the plant box.
The lumber, liner, and gravel were free.
The lumber was reclaimed.
The barricade covers were hard to do; the city had to straighten up the posts.
They have held up really well.
For several years, Andy has been co•chair of the West End Arts Council with Roy Roncal.
They worked on the DesPeres Art Fair and feted a visiting Irish film maker at Four Corners. Their biggest project was Tile Link, decorating the sidewalk and benches at the Delmar MetroLink station.
They were helped by a number of people: Bill Kohn, Bill Christman, Nancy DeBettencourt, Emily Blumenfeld of Arts in Transit, and ceramist Catherine Magel.
The SDCC and many neighborhood people—adults and school children—were involved in this project.
It was a huge amount of work.
After many, many people made tiles, they had to be transported and painted. Visitors to the station now admire all this handiwork and will for years to come. Andy has also worked with Arts in Transit of Bi-State in painting a bus. Perhaps Andy’s most significant project is the McPherson Community Garden.
It had immediate results and will keep growing.
The Botanical Gardens invited neighborhoods to send representatives to a workshop on how to beautify a neighborhood. Andy went along with Ruth Beckloff and Gwen Lazard of 59xx McPherson. Gateway Greening offered grants and help to neighborhood groups to beautify city neighborhoods. Andy assembled a grant application for the two vacant lot parcel on 59xx McPherson as well as for two areas along DesPeres. Beckloff and Lazard were very interested in the vegetable garden. SDCC Director Laure Porterfield received permission from the owner of the lots.
There could be a garden there if volunteers would keep it clean and mow the lawn. Andy drew up a lot of plans for the garden. Ruth Beckloff introduced him to Chris Manzo who spent many hours working on the garden. Twenty people were on board when the application went in.
There were 50 before it was over. Gateway Greening donated even more than what it originally promised.
On Saturday mornings, 20.30 people worked from 9-noon hammering boxes together. Andy remarked that it was a wonderful collection of neighbors.
There have been very few problems.
The only difficulty was a surfeit of tomatoes. No one figured on how many tomatoes one plant could produce.
In the center of the McPherson Garden, Andy created a butterfly garden with sunflowers planted by his daughter Emily. Flowers from the Great Perennial Divide were planted in the front garden. Only a few days ago, Andy and others planted crocuses and tulips donated by Gateway Greening.
The McPherson Garden received first prize for the best new community garden. Andy has also painted a mural on the wall at the Stella Maris pre-school. DeBaliviere and Delmar. designed in part by its director, Ann Bigham. Andy’s eyes light up when he talks about enhancing these projects and beginning new ones When he has time, he loves the outdoors and canoeing.
The garden helps bring a little of the outdoors into the neighborhood. Working with other neighbors, Andy certainly has enriched the appearance of Skinker DeBaliviere and nearby points. Hopefully, we can enjoy his energy and his products for a long time to come!
Original photograph caption
Andy Cross working on an art project. No additional printed caption;photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February 1998.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1998_02.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 4; PDF page(s) 1, 4.
