Marie H. “Babe” Johannpeter was born in St. Louis, Missouri on June 17, 1903. “Babe” was the second child and first daughter born to my second great-uncle Julius “Uncle Jules” Johannpeter and his wife Bertha Johannpeter nee Horst. My grandfather Gilbert Ellis spent a lot of his time with Uncle Jules family, while he was growing up. Grandpa Ellis’ father […]
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On January 7, 1903, St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond married 24-year-old Hannah McLaughlin in a ceremony he hoped to keep secret. The 46-year-old Desmond always said he would never marry due to the dangers of his job. However, he was clearly smitten with Hannah McLaughlin. In March 1897, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch printed the first rumors of an […]
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A 122-year-old brick house dominates the street scene at the corner of Whittier Street and Cook Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. Builders erected the 2378 square foot house in 1892. Its unique architecture includes a turret balcony on the second floor of the northeast wall. When first built, 4200 Cook must have been an impressive site. Today, 4200 Cook is […]
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On New Year’s Day 1907, Joe Gans, Lightweight Boxing Champion of the World, fought Kid Herman at Tonopah, Nevada. Gans held the title from 1902 to 1908. Ring Magazine editor Nat Fleischer named Gans the greatest lightweight boxer of all-time. Gans died from tuberculosis in 1910 at thirty-five years age. Tuberculosis was fatal at the time and cut Gan’s career […]
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Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) is the final entry in “B” film series (affiliate link). RKO Pictures took the series over from Republic Pictures, who released the original Dick Tracy serials in the late 1930s and early 1940s. RKO Pictures released the film to theaters on September 26, 1947. RKO brought Boris Karloff in to play Gruesome, one of Dick […]
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On December 1, 1938 at 5:15 pm, former professional wrestler and all-around athlete George Baptiste passed away at 74 years of age. While enjoying robust strength his whole life, Baptiste’s doctor discovered he had stomach cancer in June 1938. The doctor operated on Baptiste but was unable to remove all the cancer. Baptiste had been living at his country home […]
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The Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, or 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair as it is more popularly known, is the most significant event in St. Louis, Missouri history. While St. Louis was the largest city west of the Mississippi River, the World’s Fair put it on the international map. While the fair would bring notoriety, tourists and increased revenue to the city, […]
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George Baptiste spent about twenty years serving as St. Louis’ resident all-around athlete before taking over the company, Baptiste Tent and Awning, founded by his father Alexander Baptiste. Besides plying his trade as an occasional but accomplished professional wrestler, Baptiste was a powerful swimmer. On August 11, 1900, Baptiste used his swimming skills to save another St. Louisan from drowning. […]
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Charles Green, a skilled English catch-as-catch-can wrestler, traveled to the United States in the late 1880s to wrestle the best American wrestlers. Green got his opportunity on July 21, 1889, when he wrestled American Heavyweight Catch-as-Catch-Can Champion Evan Lewis. To prepare for this match, Green took a handicap bout with journeyman wrestler Bert Scheller in late June. Scheller was born […]
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Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan is my favorite Charlie Chan film. Charlie Chan is searching for a murderer in a wax museum. The wax museum is a front for a plastic surgeon, who changes the appearance of wanted criminals for a price. The surgeon Dr. Cream, played by C. Henry Gordon, also hosts […]
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