News Of Neighbors — Centennial Committee

Original printed byline: Rachel Boxdorfer

October 2008

Centennial co-chair Andy Cross. Photographer not credited.

Historical October 2008 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.

With the special edition of the Times of Skinker DeBaliviere highlighting all of the events celebrating our neighborhood and its colorful history, came the idea of highlighting some of the Centennial Committee members in the “News of Neighbors” column. Simple enough, it would seem, to share with you who these people are, and how they are involved in our neighborhood, and the many other ways they share their time and talent in the St. Louis community.

When I sat down with my laptop, it quickly became obvious these committee members have spent and do spend a lot of time making things happen in our neighborhood.

The special edition does not have enough pages to list all the activities, committees, and events, it won’t all fit in the column; so what do I do? Well, being a Cub Scout Den Leader, I know the motto, ‘do my best’, so here goes! Our committee has a cumulative total of about 500 years in the neighborhood. Many of the members were raised here, and chose to stay or return (a common occurrence in the neighborhood), raising children here, too (also a common occurrence). Several have lived in more than one house in the neighborhood, moving only a few blocks from one house to the next (although not as common, this too occurs a lot in Skinker DeBaliviere), and none seem the type ever to leave! Perhaps we will start a new committee called the Skinker DeBaliviere Lifers. Our co-chairs for the Centennial deserve special recognition. Katie Kurtz, raised in Parkview, has lived in the neighborhood with her husband Paul, for 30 years and has raised three boys here. She’s served on the Housing Corporation and with the Historic Review Committee and is active with Crossroads School. Andy Cross grew up on Kingsbury, and is heavily involved with the West End Arts Council (the folks who bring us Wintermarkt). He’s the Beautification Chair for the neighborhood, has been the McPherson Community Garden Leader for eleven years, and has won numerous gardening awards locally and nationally. That only touches on his neighborhood involvement and he’s also been a soccer coach, Girl Scout Leader and sings in the St. Roch Choir. Andy and wife Linda are raising two girls here, within a block of Andy’s childhood home. Katie and Andy are supported by a committee who all have long individual lists of accomplishments in the neighborhood, and a clear love for the neighborhood is shared by them all. Arline Webb and I were both raised in the neighborhood and returned to live here. Arline has been President of Rosedale Neighbors and was an original volunteer at the start-up of the People’s Clinic. Arline attended St. Roch School and sent her children there as well (my husband Matt and I are only part way through that). Many of the other committee members also raised children in the neighborhood and some of those children also attended St. Roch. Mary Powell and husband Hitch have raised two sons here and Mary has done everything from deliver the TIMES to help organize the Westminster Block Party and be talked into the revived House Tour. Karleen Hoerr and husband Tom have been residents since the late 60’s, and Karleen has truly done it all, from the old Residential Service to the presidency of SDCC, the Housing Corporation, and much more. Lana Stein has been co-editor of the TIMES for over a decade, and has served on the SDCC Board and its Residential Committee, among other activities. Lois Schoemehl and husband Vince have lived on Westminster more than 30 years. Lois has been active in the revivals of the neighborhood branches of the public library and has served as treasurer and business manager of THE TIMES. Marj Weir and husband Brad have lived in the neighborhood since the mid-60’s and have been involved in everything from the Dinner Theatre to laying out and delivering the TIMES. Marj has been part of the TIMES for nearly its entire 38 year history, in between serving on the St. Louis Board of Education, St. Louis Library Board, and the current effort to digitize the TIMES and begin a website for historical photos and memorabilia. Jo Ann Vatcha and husband Neville have lived in the neighborhood since 1965 and have also been involved in many activities. Jo Ann currently serves as co-editor of the TIMES and chair of the Delmar Commercial Committee. Venita Lake and husband Rick are also long-time residents who have been involved with the Art Fair-House Tour, the Dinner Theatre and the TIMES.

We seem to cover the bases of just about everything you can volunteer for in the neighborhood.

Some other involvements of our committee members include Cub Scout Leader, Involvement in the Policeman’s/Fireman’s Appreciation Luncheon, the Neighborhood Food Drive, block parties, Breakfast Garden Tour, Girl Scout Leader, Arts Council, SDCC Board Members, Block Captains, and more. Tom Urbom is our Centennial and neighborhood webmaster.

He and wife Karen have lived in several houses in the neighborhood. Others active volunteers include “lifers” Rachelle L’Ecuyer, Dan Hudspeth, and Norbert Hart. Loretta Lloyd kicked off our email campaign. Newer neighbors Robyn Nagle, Jon Dahl, and Jon Parker helped, too. Longtime photographer for the TIMES King Schoenfeld and wife Dee have lived in the neighborhood more than 35 years and raised their two sons here.

These are the Centennial leaders, but they did not do all of this alone. So many people are involved in making our celebration special.

It is part of what makes this neighborhood so spectacular.

We only have one Centennial; it’s a unique event, for a very unique and wonderful neighborhood! Enjoy! Do you have some news to share?

Please send your items to Rachel Boxdorfer at rboxdorf@ cbgundaker.com with the subject line “News of Neighbors”. Thank you!