Did you know that the building at the corner of 5th and Francis in St. Joseph used to be a famous opera house? Or that St. Joseph was home to the first apartment house built west of the Mississippi River? How about this? Did you know that in the 1850s western migration, wagons would be lined up three or four abreast for as far as 30 miles waiting to cross the river on the Francis St. ferry?
These facts and many more can be found in a recently published book, “St. Joseph Anthology: Little Known Stories of Our Town.” And Missouri Western students have bylines on several of the 24 chapters.
In the spring semester 2010, Dr. John Tapia said he realized about midway through his special topics class on local cultural history that the assignments would make a great anthology. He was awarded a grant from the Missouri Western Foundation to get the book published, and students had the opportunity to include their class assignments in the collection.
Natalie Miller ’11, signed up for the class only because she needed more credit hours to graduate, but she can now claim a chapter called, “The Tootle Opera House: The Best Theatre West of Chicago.”
“The class was unexpected, and it was one of the coolest classes I’ve ever taken,” she said. “It was amazing. I learned so much about St. Joe.”
Each week, the class would leave campus and visit historic buildings around St. Joseph, such as the Missouri Theater, 715 Edmond St., and the German American Bank Building at 624 Felix. John said the students really enjoyed the tours. An interesting side note was that those who gave the tours of the buildings one week usually joined the class on its tours in subsequent weeks, he said.
Jacqueline Ritter, author of “The Tower and KFEQ-TV,” was the first female engineer at St. Joseph’s television station in 1952 and one of several St. Joseph residents that John solicited for a chapter.
Student Ellis Cross wasn’t enrolled in the class, but he has a chapter in the book, too – “The Legacies of Robidoux Hill.” Ellis is the chair of the St. Joseph Landmark Association and a lover of St. Joseph history, and his chapter tells the history of the houses in the neighborhood at 5th and Robidoux Sts., where he lives.
“Those who know the history of St. Joseph and its most influential people would recognize immediately the names of those who lived on Robidoux Hill,” Ellis, who graduates this month, wrote in his chapter.
Dave Stevenson, who owns two pharmacies in St. Joseph, was called upon to write a chapter called, “On the Western Frontier: An Architectural Gem.”
“I love the downtown. I can remember when it was booming,” Dave said. “I certainly appreciate the architecture.” He said he enjoyed the project so much that now he wants to write a book with his son about independent pharmacies.
John’s chapter, “From St. Joseph to Southern California to St. Joseph: Two Robidouxs Return,” tells the story of his family’s connection to Joseph Robidoux.
“It was an academic exercise but it was a lot of fun,” John said of the book. “I guess academics can be fun.”