We ran across the following posting on Craigslist - St. Louis, dated May 3 - Sunday - in the Lost and Found category and titled "Robbed at Gun Point (soulard):
"So, me and my friends where, yes robbed at freaking gun point last night. My purse was stolen and I'm hoping they just took the cash and threw out the window. It's a white purse with a brown strap. If any one finds it, can I please have it back!" Location: Soulard.
Madame Chouteau sure hopes this person gets her purse back. Remember, these are hard times, and wandering around the Soulard neighborhood after dark can be risky, especially if you have been drinking. Of course, this is just common sense.
Update (added on Monday): Wishing to obtain more detail than that on the Craigslist posting, Madame Chouteau had a friend contact the Craigslist poster seeking additional information. The friend truthfully identified himself as a resident of the Soulard neighborhood. Following is the exact reply (the name of the victim has been left out):
"I actually work at Johnny's and after work I went to McGurks to visit with my friends from Dublin. After last call we were gathered at the front bar. My girlfriend was parked on 12th St across from where the cop sits. She wanted to walk by herself but I insisted that we all walk her. All being myself, my 2 girlfriends and a guy friend from Dublin. We walked her to her Jeep and were just talking about plans for Sunday. The time was approx 1:30-1:40ish, our 1st call to 911 was 1:50 a.m. or so. Just then a Silver late 90's Monte Carlo swerved toward us and then wiped around and another car facing the other way, stopped. 3 black men jumped out, I could only see out of the corner of my eye, since I was facing the Jeep. One of the guys about 5 foot 8, wearing jeans and a held a very shiny hand gun to my head. He said to give him all of our money. The other men were pointing guns towards my friends. They hit one of my girlfriends in the face.
"My guy friend from Dublin, told them that they didn't want to do this. They pushed him and hit him. My back was to them...I dropped to my knees and laid my purse down and placed my hands in the air. One of them grabbed it and they hopped into the cars and turned west on Russell. The police came after being put on hold twice, thank God no one got shot or we'd be dead. Needless to say that is the 3rd time I've been robbed in this city. My purse was stolen from work during Mardi Gras, last summer my car was broken into and now this. Each time before I was thankful I wasn't robbed by gun point or hurt.
"Next time I'm sure someone is going to kill me. Thankfully for me I'm only working 5 more days in Soulard and then I don't think I'll ever go back without a gun. It's getting worse in the city and the police just care. No one is safe. I have countless of stories from friends that this type of stuff has happened all in your backyard.
"My boyfriend was home during a home invasion and those assholes were never caught. I'll never get any of my stuff back and I can deal with that. Since this is my 3rd time around, you start getting numb. The police suggested that we arm our selves. I'll probably be caring a gun from now on down there. If this dosen't get under control you're going to have not only the thugs with guns but everyone else with them. I'm not a radical about firearms but if we had guns this would have defanity ended in a blood bath. Needless to say, I'll have a gun on me from now on and suggest to friends not to go down there without one. I hope this helps. Good Luck!"
Madame Chouteau thanks the victim for her willingness to share the unfortunate details, and we hope she soon recovers her composure.
Update 2 (added on Tuesday): Following is an official version of what happened in Soulard relating to the incident on Sunday, May 3, from information compiled by Lisa, Linda and Terry, who operate Soulard neighborhood blasters meant to keep neighborhood residents and others informed:
The following information provided from a St. Louis police officer:
Incident: Robbery 1st
Location: 2018 S. 12th Street
Suspect #1: B/M, early 20's, 5'06", short hair, light t-shirt, shorts, silver handgun
Suspect #2: B/M, early 20's, 6'01", short twisties, slim build, light t-shirt, black blue jeans, black handgun
Suspect #3: B/M, driver in Chevy Malibu
Suspect #4: B/M, passenger in Chevy Monte Carlo
Precinct/Beat: 311/321
Dates/Times: 05/03/09 0150hrs
Terry was also told (by a SLPD officer) that this robbery, and 5 others, occurred throughout the city this same evening, committed by the same suspects. They were driving a stolen car, boxed the victims in, assaulted and robbed them at gun point.
The following information was received by a resident who contacted the Craigslist poster: (Please note, the following are details from the victim's email and not a copy of the reply.) The victim met friends at McGurks after work at another Soulard business. After last call the victim and friends walked one of the friends to her car on 12th Street. (Victims: 3 females and 1 male) A silver late model 90's Monte Carlo swerved toward them and whipped around and another car facing the other way, stopped. 3 suspects (see description above) jumped out with guns and demanded all of their money. 2 of the victims were pushed and/or hit.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Our Most Sophisticated Mardi Gras Parade
We must admit that we missed the 2009 Grand Parade of the Soulard Mardi Gras on Saturday, February 21. The temps were freezing and a wicked wind pushed the wind chill into the 20's.
Missing the 2009 version of the parade might be perceived as a tragedy, since it is promoted as the crown jewel of the Soulard Mardi Gras and as an extremely sophisticated parade, second only to the public displays associated with a royal coronation. To be honest, those officers and 
members of Mardi Gras, Inc., and the Soulard Restoration Group carry themselves as though they are royalty. We know that the rest of the world wishes they were one with this in-crowd, with The Swells of Soulard. But you aren’t, so eat your heart out.
members of Mardi Gras, Inc., and the Soulard Restoration Group carry themselves as though they are royalty. We know that the rest of the world wishes they were one with this in-crowd, with The Swells of Soulard. But you aren’t, so eat your heart out.In fact, Madame Chouteau missed the parade not because of the weather but because the parade is so pathetic.
Here are some pictures from the 2008 parade. You could park your rosin chair next to the pumps at any truck stop in Pevely or Fenton and see a better parade of trucks, and without the drunken crowds. Bring your own beads and have a ball. And the booze would be cheaper, so you could get a good buzz on and have money left over to buy a six-pack or two to drink on your drive home.
It should be mentioned that the photos were taken at the beginning of the parade and do not advantageously display the parade setting: a stretch of road whimsically and romantically titled South Broadway, a post-industrial urban boulevard, complete with potholes and eroding curbs, embroidered with a surly spectrum of gas stations, worn at the edges fast food outlets, liquor 
stores, vacant buildings and trash strewn lots. To hear The Swells of Soulard talk, Mardi Gras turns South Broadway into some kind of Rodeo Drive. The Grand Parade does lend a certain flavor to South Broadway. The old computer saw about garbage in, garbage out comes to mind.
stores, vacant buildings and trash strewn lots. To hear The Swells of Soulard talk, Mardi Gras turns South Broadway into some kind of Rodeo Drive. The Grand Parade does lend a certain flavor to South Broadway. The old computer saw about garbage in, garbage out comes to mind.Thus, it is puzzling to witness the hubbub made over the Grand Parade and Grand Parade Day.
For example, why would Loonyness Place, the newest gambling venue here in St. Louis and a source of great civic pride to people starved for signs of municipal health, associate itself with this debacle by sponsoring it? Why would a supposed sophisticated business want to stand cheek by jowl with Mardi Gras Inc. and its child, the Grand Parade, a lame come-on for a faux festival trying mightily to disguise the fact that selling over-priced booze (and as much as possible to anybody) is its reason for existence?
Is this a cool branding move? Madame Chouteau has found that one way to determine wheth
er somebody has a semblance of good sense and effectively evaluates reality is to bring up the subject of the Grand Parade Day. Those with a life say they wouldn’t get anywhere near the event. They accurately appraise it as "just a bunch of drunks."
er somebody has a semblance of good sense and effectively evaluates reality is to bring up the subject of the Grand Parade Day. Those with a life say they wouldn’t get anywhere near the event. They accurately appraise it as "just a bunch of drunks." So here is Your Sponsorship, LP, the entertainment venue whose unique contribution to St. Louis is a tunnel from the underutilized domed football stadium (which soon will be really underutilized) to their new digs in Laclede’s Landing. A tunnel from nowhere to nothing. Why does it associate with MG Inc? Maybe it helps management feel superior. Scientists aren’t sure.
In a city insecure about its identity and direction and hosting a leadership trumpeting self-serving answers and solutions, the Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade Day is a symptom of the continuing malaise confronting Soulard and St. Louis. Is a Grand Drunk - enthusiastically boosted as an answer by those who know better - the preview of things to come?
More Recognition of Steve and Veronica Baetje
Steve and Veronica Baetje, who make Soulard Farmers’ Market shoppers so happy with their outstanding goat milk products, were recently recognized by the Southeast Missouri University for their entrepreneurial skills. In late February it was announced that Baetje Farms LLC was one of the recipients of the 2009 SPARK Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence from the Southeast Innovation Center.
The Baetje’s are goat farmers and artisan cheese makers. The goats are hand raised on their farm, located in Bloomsdale, MO. Steve and Veronica rely on the assistance of friends and family members to tend the goats and to produce their award-winning cheeses. Their cheeses are sold at four farmers’ markets, including at Soulard, in several restaurants and wineries and at 17 grocery stores.
The business was one of six small businesses in the tri-state region that were recognized by the Southeast University Innovation Center for growth and economic impact in the region. Each of the SPARK Award winners were graduates from a nationally recognized and high successful small business training program, titled Operation Jump-Start, created and conducted by the Innovation Center. Objective of the program is to teach entrepreneurs essential business planning and preparation skills in a non-academic setting. For additional information about the Innovation Center, visit their site at http://www.semo.edu/innovation.
Madame Chouteau wishes to add that Steve and Veronica and those who help them at the Soulard booth are just wonderful people. Shoppers are encouraged to stop and chat with them at the market, and to sample and purchase their products.
The Baetje’s are goat farmers and artisan cheese makers. The goats are hand raised on their farm, located in Bloomsdale, MO. Steve and Veronica rely on the assistance of friends and family members to tend the goats and to produce their award-winning cheeses. Their cheeses are sold at four farmers’ markets, including at Soulard, in several restaurants and wineries and at 17 grocery stores.
The business was one of six small businesses in the tri-state region that were recognized by the Southeast University Innovation Center for growth and economic impact in the region. Each of the SPARK Award winners were graduates from a nationally recognized and high successful small business training program, titled Operation Jump-Start, created and conducted by the Innovation Center. Objective of the program is to teach entrepreneurs essential business planning and preparation skills in a non-academic setting. For additional information about the Innovation Center, visit their site at http://www.semo.edu/innovation.
Madame Chouteau wishes to add that Steve and Veronica and those who help them at the Soulard booth are just wonderful people. Shoppers are encouraged to stop and chat with them at the market, and to sample and purchase their products.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
New Market Vendor offers Heart-Healthy Beef
Grass-fed, heart-healthy beef is brought to Soulard Farmers’ Market shoppers by Bob and Sue Eckenfels and partner Robert Hoye from Hoye Brothers Farm (HBF), located in Ste. Genevieve.
HBF occupies 114 acres of the rolling countryside which characterizes the typography of the Ste. Genevieve area. The pastures provide cool and warm season grasses, red and white clover and annual forage plots of rye and mullet, according to by Bob and Sue.
They explain that the pastures are divided into 14 individual paddocks and each is supplied with abundant well water. The cattle herds are rotated from paddock to paddock, allowing them to graze on high-quality, nutrient-rich grasses. The resulting beef is a tasty alternative to factory farmed, store-bought beef, Sue explains.
The HBF herds consist of Murray Grey and Angus cattle, known for the rich flavor of their beef. All are 100 per cent grass fed and are never given grain, antibiotics, hormones, anabolic steroids or growth stimulants, Sue notes.
She adds that beef from grass-fed animals is much lower in calories and fat than grain-fed animals, is high in healthful omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene and vitamin E, and is a rich source of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). The meat is flash frozen and shrink-wrapped.
At present, Bob and Sue can be found at the booth usually occupied by Steve and Veronica Baetje, who sell that outstanding goat cheese. Steve and Veronica will be back at their stand after the kidding season, of course, at which time Bob and Sue will move to a more permanent location at the Market.
For information about cuts of meat available and prices, contact Bob and Sue by phone at 573-883-0337, by e-mail at mailto:bseckenfels@yahoo.com. Best, visit them at the Soulard Market on Saturday. We welcome them as new vendors to the famous Soulard Farmers' Market.
HBF occupies 114 acres of the rolling countryside which characterizes the typography of the Ste. Genevieve area. The pastures provide cool and warm season grasses, red and white clover and annual forage plots of rye and mullet, according to by Bob and Sue.
They explain that the pastures are divided into 14 individual paddocks and each is supplied with abundant well water. The cattle herds are rotated from paddock to paddock, allowing them to graze on high-quality, nutrient-rich grasses. The resulting beef is a tasty alternative to factory farmed, store-bought beef, Sue explains.
The HBF herds consist of Murray Grey and Angus cattle, known for the rich flavor of their beef. All are 100 per cent grass fed and are never given grain, antibiotics, hormones, anabolic steroids or growth stimulants, Sue notes.
She adds that beef from grass-fed animals is much lower in calories and fat than grain-fed animals, is high in healthful omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene and vitamin E, and is a rich source of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). The meat is flash frozen and shrink-wrapped.
At present, Bob and Sue can be found at the booth usually occupied by Steve and Veronica Baetje, who sell that outstanding goat cheese. Steve and Veronica will be back at their stand after the kidding season, of course, at which time Bob and Sue will move to a more permanent location at the Market.
For information about cuts of meat available and prices, contact Bob and Sue by phone at 573-883-0337, by e-mail at mailto:bseckenfels@yahoo.com. Best, visit them at the Soulard Market on Saturday. We welcome them as new vendors to the famous Soulard Farmers' Market.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Bitter Day for the Soulard Mardi Gras
The so-called Grand Parade Day symbolizes Soulard Mardi Gras. The day - which should be called the "Grand Drunk Day" - was held on Saturday, February 21. It is now over. Thank God.
The actual parade, which started at 11 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., left the rest of the day for the bars and miscellaneous stands to sell booze, until outside sales ended at 8 p.m. and inside sales ended with a last call at 10:30 and bar closing at 11 p.m. Fortunately, the weather was cold, with temperatures in the low thirties. The cold was aided and abetted by a cutting wind, helpfully reducing the amount of trash - the drinkers - in the neighborhood.
During the time between the end of the parade and the merciful termination of liquor sales, there was nothing to do but to drink and to parade the streets. People did just that: drinking, mindlessly screaming and yelling, littering, engaging in a spectrum of anti-social activities, disrespecting themselves and the neighborhood. The ungodly noise and the trash produced by these annoying people seemed to be endless. Their behavior held the neighborhood hostage.
The halting of liquor sales finally finished what the wind and the cold temperatures (not to mention self respect and manners) could not accomplish: sending the remaining rubbish home, bringing to a close for another year this bleak, dangerous, ugly little faux festival, nudging elsewhere the awful folks who think that because they are half drunk (or all drunk), then they must be having a good time. Closing the tills of those whose greed for a fistful of dollars allows them to overlook what they do to the Soulard neighborhood and to the City of St. Louis.
Second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the nation, they brag. In reality, it is nothing but a public debacle, a blot on the landscape, a spectacle offering more insights into the leadership and personality of this town than anybody should want to reveal.
Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade day is truly a bleak, bitter day, even during those years when that day is warm and the wind is stilled.
The actual parade, which started at 11 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., left the rest of the day for the bars and miscellaneous stands to sell booze, until outside sales ended at 8 p.m. and inside sales ended with a last call at 10:30 and bar closing at 11 p.m. Fortunately, the weather was cold, with temperatures in the low thirties. The cold was aided and abetted by a cutting wind, helpfully reducing the amount of trash - the drinkers - in the neighborhood.
During the time between the end of the parade and the merciful termination of liquor sales, there was nothing to do but to drink and to parade the streets. People did just that: drinking, mindlessly screaming and yelling, littering, engaging in a spectrum of anti-social activities, disrespecting themselves and the neighborhood. The ungodly noise and the trash produced by these annoying people seemed to be endless. Their behavior held the neighborhood hostage.
The halting of liquor sales finally finished what the wind and the cold temperatures (not to mention self respect and manners) could not accomplish: sending the remaining rubbish home, bringing to a close for another year this bleak, dangerous, ugly little faux festival, nudging elsewhere the awful folks who think that because they are half drunk (or all drunk), then they must be having a good time. Closing the tills of those whose greed for a fistful of dollars allows them to overlook what they do to the Soulard neighborhood and to the City of St. Louis.
Second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the nation, they brag. In reality, it is nothing but a public debacle, a blot on the landscape, a spectacle offering more insights into the leadership and personality of this town than anybody should want to reveal.
Soulard Mardi Gras Grand Parade day is truly a bleak, bitter day, even during those years when that day is warm and the wind is stilled.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Baetje Farm Booth Displays Gingerbread Home
At the Baetje Farm booth at the Soulard Farmers' Market, Steve Baetje displays a gingerbread house he made and patterned after a Soulard French Second Empire townhouse. Steve created the delicious looking model to publicize the December 20, 2008 drawing at their booth for a Christmas cheese plate which features their products. Baetje Farms owners Veronica and Steve Baetje produce pure, artisan farmstead goat milk cheese, "the most delicious cheese you ever put in your whole mouth," as Lafayette Square resident and seamstress Lyn deMoss comments. She runs Studio L, a drapery workroom, and she adds that "Steve and Veronica are just wonderful folks. They just welcome everybody to the Soulard Market at their booth."
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Mid-August Farmers' Market Shopping
Lafayette Square resident and gourmet cook Kelly Steiman garners food tips from Chef Justin Keimon of Franco's Bistro, located at 1535 S. 8th Street. Justin was featured on August 9th in
the Chefs at the Market program, held on July and August Saturdays in the front courtyard at the market.
Kelly purchased a pound of home made sweet butter from Chris Bequette at the Harr Family Farm booth, located on the western most end of the northeast wing. The butter is available salted or sweet, and many market shoppers love this product, including Kelly. It is one of those "best kept secrets."
Franco's Bistro is located on the first floor of the old Welsh Baby Carriage Factory, directly north of the Soulard Farmers' Market building. In fact, their door is the first one right out the back door of the Soulard Farmers Market after crossing the street. It was voted "Best New
Restaurant" when it first opened. It is a bright spot on the St. Louis restaurant scene. Their phone is (314) 426-2500, and you can visit them at their site at http://www.eatatfranco.com/. The Chefs at the Market program provides an opportunity for interaction with professional food folks.
Other good buys at the Market on Saturday, August 9 were fresh sweet corn, blueberries from Michigan, locally grown melons - picked ripe and brought to you fresh, peaches, grapes, flowers and you name it. Specialty items include goat cheese from the Baetje Farm booth and sweet corn from Scharf.
the Chefs at the Market program, held on July and August Saturdays in the front courtyard at the market.Kelly purchased a pound of home made sweet butter from Chris Bequette at the Harr Family Farm booth, located on the western most end of the northeast wing. The butter is available salted or sweet, and many market shoppers love this product, including Kelly. It is one of those "best kept secrets."
Franco's Bistro is located on the first floor of the old Welsh Baby Carriage Factory, directly north of the Soulard Farmers' Market building. In fact, their door is the first one right out the back door of the Soulard Farmers Market after crossing the street. It was voted "Best New
Restaurant" when it first opened. It is a bright spot on the St. Louis restaurant scene. Their phone is (314) 426-2500, and you can visit them at their site at http://www.eatatfranco.com/. The Chefs at the Market program provides an opportunity for interaction with professional food folks.Other good buys at the Market on Saturday, August 9 were fresh sweet corn, blueberries from Michigan, locally grown melons - picked ripe and brought to you fresh, peaches, grapes, flowers and you name it. Specialty items include goat cheese from the Baetje Farm booth and sweet corn from Scharf.
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