Illustration by Ryan Greis
Snow and stockings aren’t the only things to shape winters in St. Louis. Throw in a political scandal, a dash of crime and an ice storm, and you have the definitive St. Louis holiday season. Here are 10 classic local events that happened during Decembers past. Match the years to the happenings to see whether you really know winters in St. Louis.
A. 1907
B. 1916
C. 1935
D. 1966
E. 1972
F. 1982
G. 1983
H. 1998
I. 2005
J. 2006
1. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park is established on December 21.
2. The Meramec River floods the small town of Times Beach on December 5, leading to a citywide evacuation. A year later, the EPA announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the town’s soil.
3. Father Marek Bozek leads midnight Mass at St. Stanislaus, despite Archbishop Raymond Burke’s warning that all attendees would be committing a mortal sin.
4. St. Louis holds its first automobile show December 14 to 21, sparking the founding of the St. Louis Auto Dealers Association.
5. A civil-rights protestor unveils the prophet during the Veiled Prophet Ball on
December 22. The same year, Missouri senator and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Thomas S. Eagleton is hospitalized at Barnes-Jewish for depression.
6. Police raid the Residence Inn in Chesterfield on December 10 and seize nearly 65 pounds of marijuana, estimated at $60,000 in street value, the largest stash of marijuana ever confiscated in the St. Louis area.
7. Betty Grable is born December 18 at 3858 Lafayette Avenue. Dubbed the “girl with the million-dollar legs,” Grable had gams later insured for $1 million each.
8. The temperature on Christmas Eve reaches 12 degrees below zero, the coldest Christmas in St. Louis’ history.
9. On December 17, airport police at Lambert International recover a shoebox containing a bomb. They clear the main terminal and inspect the bomb before it explodes, causing major property damage but injuring no one.
10. Freezing rain, sleet and snow cause more than 500,000 Ameren customers to lose power in Missouri and Illinois.
(Scroll down for answers)
ANSWERS: A-4, B-7, C-1, D-9, E-5, F-2, G-8, H-6, I-3, J-10
