The Times of Skinker DeBaliviere, which has sought for over 29 years to reflect the vicissitudes of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood, is pleased to introduce with this issue a very special series of articles that will celebrate our neighborhood as we enter the new millennium. This account of the neighborhood’s first 100 years begins with the first chapter of the detailed historical account of our area, published in 1973, called The Neighborhood, A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere.
Each of the next several issues of THE TIMES will feature, in chronological order, a portion of the text of the previously published book. Accompanying the text will be photos and maps, along with selected sidebar articles from previous issues of THE TIMES (called THE PAPER between April, 1970, and June, 1984). In addition, there will be new articles expanding on some of the most important events, organizations, and people mentioned in the 1973 book.
As the year goes on, our plan is more ambitious. THE TIMES’ all-volunteer staff will be researching and writing the follow-up history of the neighborhood, from 1973 to the end of the century. Several Times board members and other neighbors will be involved, and their names will be added to the credits. As we enter the year 2000, we will have brought the history of our community to the present day. The completed history will then be published in book form. More information about that (and our fundraising to make it possible) will be forthcoming.
The Neighborhood—A History of Skinker-DeBaliviere is reprinted by permission of co-authors Georgiana B. Stuart, Kathleen M. (Harleman) Krueger, and Susan K. Tepas. Kathy Krueger is a teacher at St. Pius V School in the South Grand Area, another St. Louis urban success story. Kathy particularly enjoys the challenge of the diverse international student body. Susan Tepas now lives in a very rural setting in Mansfield Center, Connecticut. She found the home of the father of “our” James Kingsbury. More about that “new” information later.
Gee Stuart, and husband Cal Stuart, who for many years was Executive Director of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council, now live in The Hill Neighborhood. Gee is Executive Director of Operation Impact and the Real Estate Department of the St. Louis Development Corporation of the City of St. Louis. She has played a large role in the revitalization of many St. Louis neighborhoods, especially in the production of renovated and new housing. We thank the authors for permission to reprint their fine work.
Our sincere thanks to all those who are scouring their “archives” to share photos and other information about life in Skinker-DeBaliviere through the nearly ten decades it has existed as a neighborhood. We look forward in the coming months to sharing those memories with the rest of our friends and neighbors.
From the World’s Fair in 1904 to the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1999, historic events, great and small, have touched our neighborhood. Even more important are the many generations of residents who have built on these traditions a strong community that attracts newcomers every year and has stood the test of time. We are justly proud of our diversity. We have endured and, in fact, prospered. In contrast, many other urban neighborhoods—all over the country—have faltered. The history and accomplishments of Skinker-DeBaliviere deserve attention.
And what a rich history it is, beginning as it does with the very start of St. Louis itself. This month, we proudly begin … NEIGHBORHOOD Chronicles.
