OL' ST LOU

The Saint Louis band, MAMA'S PRIDE used to sing: "BUT IF YOU REALLY WANNA HEAR THE BLUES,COME ON TO OL' ST. LOU." They were singing about "the Blues" that music of the Mississippi River that began in the South and moved up the river from Memphis to Chicago.

Last week I spent a few days back in St Louis and I would be singing the Blues if I lived there too. St Louis is not doing well. Much of what is wrong with Saint Louis is a result of it's beginning and these things can not be changed. It began as a place to stop along the river and take on supplies. French Traders first stopped there in 1673. Later it was a place to cross the river and take on supplies for the trip across the Prairie to the West. In point of fact, St Louis has always been sort of a "Truck Stop" for people who are on their way to someplace better.

During boom times, like the Civil War period and Westward expansion, Saint Louis prospered due to it's location. Again, industry and growth were built on the commerce of the travelers passing through the area. Today, Interstate 70 still carries much of the goods through St Louis that cross the country by truck. But, this road side oasis has out lived it's original need. Decay has set in and continues to destroy the core of the city.

In 1950, 856,000 people lived and worked in St Louis city. Today less than 350,000 remain. Those that live in St Louis city today are nearly all poor and black. It is true that St Louis County has grown as has the Metro East area but many of the key manufacturing jobs at McDonnell Douglas, Emerson, Ford, Chrysler, and GM plants are gone or going away. Even Anheuser Busch has sold to a European company. With this has gone the tax base and funding for infrastructure.

Today Saint Louis is depressing, ugly, old, and not very interesting compared to many other cities in America. The weather does not help the situation. Cold winters and hot humid summers only make the conditions worse. Saint Louis has become a city in decline with nearly no current purpose or future. Like Detroit, and many mid western small towns, St Louis is long past it's glory and suffering. Driving around you see vacant lots and boarder up 100 year old brick buildings.