Missouri Western State University - Griffon Yearbook (St Joseph, MO)

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Queen of the Apostles Church fleftj represents the gothic cathedral style EIVCHHBC- ture of the Renaissance. Two more examples of architectural variety in St. Joseph are these majestic houses on Hall Street. fbelowj The rustic setting of the Missouri River offers a stark contrast to the rising pylons of Interstate-229 on the east bank. fbelow lefty JOHN CARMODY CRAIG DRATH

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Salute toSt. Joseph icomag Johnnie rode off into the sunset and history, cheered on by hundreds of joyful onlookers. J. B. Moss was on hand that evening-a mere boy of ten years. Moss was also on hand April 20, 1940-eighty years and 17 days later, when St. Joseph unveil- ed an everlasting tribute to a piece of American heritage and St. Joseph pride. Five-year-old Jessamine Wallace pulled the cord that revealed the 7,200 pound bronze monument to the crowd. They responded with a deafening cheer that might have rattled the win- dow panes in the nearby City Hall. The Pony Express Memorial was described on the front page of the next day's St. Joseph News-Press: The scarf over the rider's horse served to keep dust from his nostrils in his gallop across the plains, and the mail was attached to a mochlla, a leather square thrown from one horse to another in the relay race with time. The bronze weight is taken care of by a support that suggests the mountains to be crossed, the sage brush and alkali desert. On one side is the sun and on the other the moon, symbolizing the ride that continued day and night. The statue was designed by Herman A. MacNeil, a nationally acknowledged and highly awarded sculptor, who described to perfection the strength and tenacity of the riders that brav- ed every element of nature to carry a few cherished letters from the East to the West at Sacramento, California. Although the venture was short lived, ending October 24 of the following year - due to the advancement of direct wire communication - the statue in the Civic Center triangle stands as a constant reminder of our frontier past. Less than two years before he became presi- dent, a little known Abraham Lincoln visited St. Joseph, where rumor has it he had a shave at the Patee House Hotel. Lincoln was the first of a long line of famous Americans to walk the streets of St. Joseph. With the coming of the Civil War, citizens of St. Joseph learned too well such infamous names Upon this point a page of history is worth a volume of logic . -OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES JR. as William Quantrill, Cole Younger and, perhaps, St. Joseph's most famous citizen, Jesse James. A number of towns in the area still claim some relationship to Jesse, whether it be birthplace, stomping grounds or place of burial. But St. Joseph has one connection with the famous James boy that we are dead sure nobody else can claim - April 3, 1828, the outlaw Jesse ,....., ,, 1 Nestled in a- serene setting, the St. Joseph State Hospital offers the first in psychiatric treatment for St. Joseph and area residents James was shot and killed in his home near 14th and Lafayette in St. Joseph, Missouri. But all of St. Joseph's residents weren't like Jesse. As a state, Missouri can claim Mark Twain and Harry Truman among others, and Walter Cronkite is one of St. Joseph's own, with more famous names to sprout up to notariety as time marches on. 0 Besides the anniversary of Missouri Western, 1979 also marks the anniversary of the railroad in St. Joseph. It was 120 years ago that the Han- nibal 8t St. Joseph Railroad line first pulled into town, marking many years of limitless progress for St. Joseph. The rail was the most powerful means ot transportation for many years, and as the rails spread, so spread the cities that it touched. A1 the height of the St. Joseph railroad era in 1929, as many as 90 passenger trains a day pulled into the Union Station at 6th and Monterey. During the years between the end of the Civil War and the Depression of the 1930s, St. Joseph grew and prospered faster and greater than al any other time in its history. The downtown area was filled with quality hotels, theatres and restaurants. Great mansions, some of which still remain on the outskirts of the business district, were erected in all their Victorian splendor. It was the Gilded Age, and business was king. On October 1, 1884, John J. Sheridan and Alvah Patee Clayton opened their small business at 516-18 Francis Street. The Sheridan-Clayton Paper Co. grew quickly, as did the Western Tablet St Stationery Co., which by

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1954 had become the largest firm of its kind in the world. And it, too, grew from humble begin- nings in St. Joseph. Some St. Joseph businessmen were ahead of their times. A group of these farsighted men es- tablished a factory for the production of steel railroad cars in 1888, feeling that the steel cars would be better than the wooden ones that now rattled on the rails. Unfortunately, the factory, located near the location of Mark Twain School, burned down and the venture failed. It was many years before the nation went to all-steel cars, but failure or no, St. Joseph was ahead of the nation. With prosperity coming in record proportions, St. Josephites needed a place to relax and enjoy the good life. And there was no place better to do just that than the Lotus Club at Lake Con- trary. Fine food, the best in entertainment, and nearby fishing, swimming and boating made Lake Contrary and the Lotus Club the place to be in these days when life was all yours and there for the taking. Once again, fire struck, and the Lotus was demolished in 1923, never again to send its golden rays out over the clear blue lake on a warm summer's eve. Before the Depression struck, testing the strength of the nation, St. Joseph erected two more structures that still stand as a daily reminder of the good old days. In 1927, St. Joseph opened a palace of beauty and magnificence - the Missouri Theatre. Restoration plans are already underway to bring the architectural marvel back to its original beauty - a testament to the past and a gift to the future. And on August 21, 1929, the Pony Express Bridge spanned the Missouri River and St. Joseph extended a grip of a brother to its neighbor across the way. The rest of the story is known well to most of us. The Depression, followed by the long recovery period, and beyond. St. Joseph continued to prosper, but never with the fervor exhibited of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The city still played a major role in Northwest Missouri, refusing to just give up and fold. Soon, during the late 50s and into the 60s, growth again came to St. Joseph, but this time it was a little different. Instead of growth within the downtown area, business began to move east, and with the businesses came the suburbs. The Belt Highway soon was the new place to be, and in the late 60s Missouri Western also moved east. And the beat goes on, new business continues to woo St. Joseph, and housing additions pop up like mushrooms. A new prosperity has come to the city. How long will it last? The shape of the future depends on those willing to build it. Only the past is certain. Only the past is secure. CRAIG DRATH This setting of Browning Lake at dusk labovej provides us with an in- teresting view of what St. Joseph might have looked like before Joseph Flobidoux. Robidoux Center lbelowj shows how far St. Joseph has progressed. BEN WEDDLE