J.L. Flinchpaugh Publishing Co. 1723 East Briar Springfield, M0. 65804
J.L. Flinchpaugh Publishing Co.       1723 East Briar Springfield, M0. 65804
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(2) Historical Pictures of St. Joe

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After the Apple Blossom parade, 1947

St. Joseph, Missouri

After the Apple Blossom parade, 1947

Stuppy's Retail Store

at

7th & Francis

St. Joseph, Missouri

1923

Hund and Eger Bottling Company

St. Joseph, Missouri

Car Barns

St. Joseph Avenue

c. 1950-1960's

1910

Felix Street

Looking East from 4th 

 Western Union on the left

and

the Homan House on the right

Corby Bldg hadn't been constructed yet

Old City Auditorium

404-424 North Fourth Street

Photograph (circa 1927)

"VIEW OF SOUTHEAST CORNER"

Saint Joseph Missouri

 

I had the opportunity to meet the famous movie star and Broadway actress, Sylvia Sidney, when she was performing here in the musical "Auntie Maime. c. 1954.

Larry Flinchpaugh January 26, 2014

Trolley turning off Jules onto Frederick

in

front of City Hall.

St. Joseph, Missouri

Bartlette Park

St. Joseph, Missouri

This stone structure was at the crown of a hill in Bartlette Park. It served as a picnic area that included restrooms below, but is probably best remembered as the setting for many open air concerts in the park.

 

Larry Koch: It says it was at the crown of a hill at Bartlett Park. Sounds like it may be where the youth baseball field is now. I know there was a circular parking area on the north side of that hill until sometime in the mid '50s when there was an unruly beer party (probably Central High students) and the neighbors pressured the Parks Board to close it.

 

I lived at 2614 Duncan Street in the 1940's and 50's and don't ever remember this structure in the park.

Larry Flinchpaugh January 26, 2014

Fogerty Hardware

on right

9th and Mitchell

Bus headed east

about 13th and Jules Street

 St. Joseph, Missouri

1940's - 1950's

Trolley in front of the

St. Francis Hotel

at

6th & Francis

This picture was taken between the summer of 1949 and October 1951. From left to right are: Joe Mazur, Charlie Hale I think, Roger Long and Glenn Ieman. I used to go to Hatfields with my dad quite a bit when I was 6, to 7 years old, and I hardly remember this place.

 

Terry Omeare

Bus

on

St. Joseph Avenue

Early Day St. Joseph
From
The Illustrated London News, October 12, 1861


St. Joseph or St. Joe as it is irreverently called by the Americans is a pretty good town situated on the east bank of the Missouri River. It is the western terminus of the Hannibal and St. Joe Railway which completes the Amer-ican system of railways westward.


St. Joe has much the same relation to the Great Plains that a seaport has to the ocean. It is the point of arrival and departure after a three month's voyage overland of hun-dreds of travelers and wagon trains who make the passage between California, Oregon, and the western states of the union. The passage across the mountains and over the plains is as lonely as a voyage across the ocean. Neither towns nor villages are met with, and the emigrant train has to depend upon its own resources as much as a ship does while navigating the sea.


There is a wild look about the people of St. Joe. Nearly everybody carries a rifle and has that peculiar expression of countenance which indicates the possession of the abil-ity to take care of himself and cut up particularly rough if interfered with. Some awful roughs may be seen about occasionally but these are held in good check by the re-spectable portion of the place; and although St. Joe is a wild, out-of-the-way place, almost beyond the reach of the law, yet the people go about as safely and carry on their business as securely, as if they were in the neighbor-hood of Boston. Should any of the border ruffian class attempt any villainy, lynch law would most likely cut short his career and he might find himself hanging to the branch of a tree before he had time to engage council to prove his innocence of the crime which he was caught in the act of executing. It is an event and a picturesque sce-ne to see one of the long trains of wagons arrive from the westward, the people looking so brown and weath-erworn and the children healthy and happy, and the rush all make immediately on certain shops and stores. One great delight on the party of the men seems to be to get themselves shaved as clean as possible. Fine bright col-ored shirts and handkerchiefs are immediately obtained and ostentatiously exhibited.


Market day at St. Joe is a peculiar sight and gives one a better idea of the back-settlement life than can be ob-tained anywhere else. The farmer and his family, in their particular wagon, which with the exception of the wheels they have made themselves are things to be seen. There is no place in the United States where greater variety of character, interesting incidents, and opportunity for the study of the human nature exists to a greater extent than at St. Joe on the Missouri.

Katz Drug Store

6th and Francis

 

The Kings of Cut-Rate:

The Katz Drugs story


by Brian Burnes with Steve Katz


Re-live the memories! This new release from Kansas City Star Books tells the story of Isaac and Michael Katz, who changed forever our definition of drug store. It could be a prescription for our economic times. Clearly the Katz boys were ahead of theirs.


Sons of immigrants, they started with a fruit stand in Kansas City's West Bottoms. In 1914 they acquired two cigar stands downtown and turned them into drug stores.


But that was just the beginning. Isaac, who walked with a limp and quit school at age 14 to sell newspapers on the railroad, hardly had a moment when he wasn't innovating. They expanded to two stores, four, then eight.


Other druggists filled prescriptions. But Katz began stocking cameras, cosmetics, clocks, shirts, pets and the best selection of discounted smokes, beer and whisky in town. They treated customers like kings. By 1970 they had 65 stores throughout the Midwest and annual sales of more than $100 million. "Let's go to Katz" had become a refrain.


The story of how they did it, and what happened then, unfolds in the pages of The Kings of Cut-Rate: The Very American Story of Isaac and Michael Katz."


Written by Kansas City Star reporter and author Brian Burnes, with the help of Steve Katz, the book is rich in photographs, artifacts and other memorabilia of Katz Drug Stores' colorful history. The foreword is by retail giant Barnett C. Helzberg Jr.


As business writers said then of Katz Drugs, and now, "It was genius."

Do you have a favorite Katz memory? Share it on the Katz Facebook page!


Katz Drug Store

at

6th & Edmond

 

We always called this the Old katz

Looking east down Frederick Ave

from 8th Street

Schroers Drugs on the Left

& the Howitt Bldg on the right

Schroer's Drugs

on the northeast corner

of 8th & Frederick

St. Joseph, Missouri

 Lunch counter

at

Woolworth's - 613 Felix

August 3, 1937


The counter crew at the F. W. Woolworth Company.  Standing ready for the daily rush. Their boss was Wilber Breland . From left are Rose Lederer, Olga Ogi, Esther (last name unknown), Lucille Coker, Cornelia (last name unknown), Marjorie Stuber, Jerry Hirter, and five other unidentified ladies. Marjorie Stuber worked behind the counter for 25 cents an hour while attending business school. In September 1937, she got a job at Wonder Bakery and worked there off and on until 1981. (Contributed by Marjorie Stuber Schnelder)

Chimp Mastering Skates
Basket Ball Next on List?
The World-Herald's News Service

Omaha World Herald
December 8, 1956.


   St. Joseph, Mo.---Most folks, when they think of Sidney, Iowa recall the rodeo which is an annual highlight of the Southwest Iowa town. But here in the northwest corner of Missouri whenever Sidney is mentioned , folks associate it with Norma Lee Johnston.  Mrs Johnston is the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. L. L. Blackburn of Sidney. She and her husband, Carl, operate the Skateland Roller rink here.

    Two years ago Norma Lee, who formerly played basket ball with Omaha Commercial Extension, was named to the Women's National AAU All-America team while competing
for the St. Joseph, Goetz club.
   Now Norma Lee is making headlines again—this time as a roller skating instructor with a most unusual pupil, a chimpanzee.  Vicky Lynn, 2, is the star student, roller skating is the latest of her achievements which include eating with a knife and fork, brushing her teeth and sipping liquids through a straw. Mrs Johnston says Vicky Lynn, who belongs to Mr. and Mrs. John Flinchpaugh, owners of the reptile gardens here, is learning faster than the average child. Vickie's natural sense of balance accounts for her quick learning. When Vicky Lynn has mastered the art of roller skating, what next? "Well," comments Mrs. Johnston, "there's always basket ball."



Lee Broom"s Restaurant

420 Frances

St. Joseph, Mo.

Wagner Saloon

617 8th Street

8th Street looking South.

Mertland Apartments on the right

with the white columns

and

Western Auto Store on the left

(Photo taken in the late 1920's

8th Street

between Felix & Edmond looking South.

Hirsch Bros on the left

Old Post Office down the street

 Light & Power

Electric Bus with the overhead wires heading North.

This picture shows what it looked like before the Pony Express statue was unveiled April 20, 1940.  Is that Manning's Grocery store to the right of the picture?

Yagers's Grocery Store

8th and  Messaine

St. Joseph, Missouri 


 Flinchpaugh's Pet Shop was to the left at 603 south 8th. Across the street was a Safeway. At the other end of the block was a drug store and across from the drug store was Ben Magoon's Delacatesin.  Eindbenders was just south of the drug store on the opposite side of the street. There was an old Black Smith shop in the alley behind the row of buildings. 

Coast to Coast Highway

 through

St. Joseph, Missouri


The Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway (PPOO) was one of the early transcontinental highways in the U.S. (About 1910-1926). There was a meeting in St. Joseph, Missouri on March 18, 1914 to promote improvements and use of a road from New York City to San Francisco, California.
It followed mainly the old highway 36 and I believe went down Frederick Avenue to the river here in St. Joe and then on to Belleville, Kansas and on to California.
The two lane highway 36 just south of Breckenridge replaced the old dirt road sometime in the 1930's. At the time of this writing, our present highway has been built a little further south of the old 36. I think they started working on that highway in the 1960's.

Union Rail Road  Station

St. Joseph, Missouri

Early post card of Union Station on south 6th.
It looked pretty much like this in the late 1940's except that there were automobiles parked in front instead of horse and carriages.

One of Three Alligators

at

Flinchpaugh's Reptile Gardens and Zoo


It was my job to drain the dirty water and remove the dead fish that the alligators didn't eat. This alligator is probably wondering if I taste like chicken.  I usually placed a 5 gallon tar bucket on the gravel bed between the allogator and me for sort of a protection barrier. Once one of the alligators lunged at the bucket and bit it.  It left three holes in the bucket like a 22 rifle bullet had made the holes.  Water was streaming out of the bucket.  I was so thankful that the bucket had protected me. 

Larry Flinchpaugh January 21, 2014

  Aerial view of the Reptile Gardens at 3727 Frederick. Across the highway was Mr. Farbers corn field which today is the East Hills Shopping Center. Texaco & Standard Oil Service Stations were directly West of the reptile gardens.

 

 

 

 

Vicky Lynn Flinchpaugh

Learning to Skate at Carl Johnson's Skate Land

 St. Joseph, Missouri

"Yeah ,Yeah, I know I look silly in a dress. I am just monkeying around. What do you think I am- a cheap skate?"

Vicky Lynn Flinchpaugh

Famous St. Joseph star in the 1950's, and 1960's

Appeared daily at the Flinchpaugh Reptile Garden, Zoo and Pet Shop at 3727 Frederick Avenue.


One day a lady tried to get a Coke from our coke machine and was having difficulty in spite of the fact that the directions were plainly printed on the door. It said, (1) "Deposit dime, (2) pull handle down, (3) open door and remove bottle." The lady just couldn't seem to follow those simple directions. So I said, "Give Vicky your dime." Vicky promptly put the dime in her teeth so it would match the direction of the coin slot. She then dropped the dime into the slot, pulled the handle down, opened the door, and re-moved the bottle. I looked at the lady and said, "See, anybody can do it." She didn't think that was very funny. Vicky didn't either and of course wanted to keep the Coke for herself. Vicky naturally thought the Coke was for her and not the lady. So I promptly bought another bottle for the lady.

Larry Flinchpaugh January 21, 2014


 

 

Looking West on Felix Street

1925

You can see the large Corby Building in the distance.

St. Joseph, Missouri

 

 

 

  Hotel Jerome

 416 Francis

St. Joseph, Missouri.

 

PONY EXPRESS MONUMENT


The first Pony Express Statue was unveiled in St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 20, 1940, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Pony Express. The horse appears to leap ahead with the encouragement of the rider, who swings a quirt past its flank.

This statue commemorates the pioneer spirit exhibited by citizens of St. Joseph during the time of the Pony Express originated in 1860-61.

 

 

 

 

 Feltenstein's

 4th & Edmond

 St. Joseph, Missouri


Flinchpaugh's Reptile Gardens

Road Signs c. 1955-1960


We had two large highway signs to entice travlers  to visit the Reptile Gardens.  One was on the Junction of highway 36 and 71 (In 2014 Belt and Frederick) , diagonally across from Snow White Drive in Restaurant and the one pictured here was on highway 36 near kleinbroats road house.  Also there were small road signs, like Burma Shave signs from Hamilton to St. Joseph.  They were very affective in getting travlers to stop.  My dad would talk the farmers along hwy 36 to put up the signs for free passes to tour the Reptile Gardens.

Larry Flinchpaugh January 21, 2014

 

 

Enterprise Furniture Co

 5th & Felix in 1915.

St. Joseph, Missouri

It was their signboard that was the reason the Hill in the South End was called "Enterprise Hill."

 

 

AJ August Clothing Company

When it was located on the northwest corner of 4th & Felix Streets

St. Joseph, Missouri

The bags piled up in front are not sand bags.

East Side Airport

St. Joseph, Missouri c. 1950's

Behind Flinchpaugh's Reprile Gardens, Zoo and  Pet Shop

3727 Frederick Ave

Citizen's Bank and trust and Firestone are located there today. (2014)


The bend of the runway is the south end. (Bottom) You can barely see the road on the left side of the picture. There is a small office building at the edge of the parking lot. I can't remember the owners name or manager of the airport but I believe one owned an auto supply store about 18th and Frederick. (north side) The other person converted an old barn into a house about were the Covenant Doctors office is today. Also there was a Tavern near there on the south side of hwy 36, now Frederick, that Dr. Deming, the veterinarian and I would stop for a beer and a greasy hamburger. Clyde Puett's plumbing shop was in there somewhere.

 

 

 

 

Physicians and Surgeons Bldg

 7th & Francis Street

St. Joseph, Mo

 

1907 Eight Street South From Felix Street, St Joseph, Missouri.

Hirch's Department store in the foreground on the left,

and

The old Federal Bldg/Post Office in the background

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Leader- St. Joseph, Missouri

 

Tura's 420 Club

Downtown St. Joseph, Missouri c. 1960


This is the first bar I went to after reaching 21. I was so disappointed, they didn't ask me how old I was.

Larry Flinchpaugh

 

Pony Express Motel

St. Joseph


Many Businesses adopted the name of Pony Express, Jessie James or Midland Empire.

Company Location

J.L. Flinchpaugh Publishing Co.
1723 East Briar


Springfield, Mo. 65804

Phone: 417-942-4862
E-mail: lflinch@yahoo.com

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