Hometown Matters

By Pauline Masson – Remembering our community’s involvement in a 140-year-old insurance fraternal organization mirrors our modern regard for neighbors, helping those in need and our respect for military veterans. The annual Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) parade on St. Louis Street in 1908, above, was an event befitting the enthusiasm of leaders in the little railroad hamlet of joining together to celebrate Pacific’s love of neighbors. It was one of the most active fraternal organizations in the city’s history. … Continue reading “Pacific Has a Storied History in Regard for Good Neighbors, Helping Others and Respect for Veterans “

By Pauline Masson –  Public Works Commissioner Robert Brueggemann cites a crisis in starting pay for his department. He says there are vacancies in street department but the city cannot attract new workers at current pay rate. He asked aldermen to adopt a previously approved pay matrix of step increases for certain qualifications to entice new hires to join the city. Aldermen played, “Simon Says.” He didn’t ask right. In recent board of aldermen (BOA) meeting and administrative committee meeting, … Continue reading “Public Works Commissioner Cites Crisis in Worker’s Starting Pay / Aldermen Play Word Games, Won’t Act”

By Pauline Masson –   Don Brocato, a no pretense history buff whose essays and maps paid tribute to historic Pacific businesses and city fathers, died Feb. 22 at the age of 93. His thousand-word walking tour of 1930s St. Louis Street businesses, titled “Downtown Pacific When I was a Boy,” identified every business in every building on both sides of St. Louis Street from Columbus to Fourth Street,. He named the people who owned the businesses and the people … Continue reading “Don Brocato, History Buff Whose Essays and Maps Preserved the Nostalgia of His Youth, Dies at 93”

By Pauline Masson –  An organization that provides space for individuals recovering from drug and alcohol addiction is asking the city to restrict parking beside their building to four hours to enable their clients to have fair access to the parking spaces so they can get into the building. Martin Christianson, building manager for Allenton Foundation Pacific Facility asked the city to limit parking adjacent to their building, the former Masonic Lodge at 202 N. Columbus, which the Allenton Foundation … Continue reading “What’s Fair in Public Street Parking? / Aldermen to Discuss at Tuesday BOA Meeting”

By Pauline Masson –  On March 17, 1871 Pacific’s Irish families marched in the first local St.Patrick’s Day Parade, but it wasn’t in Pacific. Parade lovers have enjoyed a St.Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Pacific for the past ten years. This modern “Irish for a Day” celebration is reminiscent of a 160-year old St. Patrick’s Day Parade that included the Franklin (Pacific) band, dignitaries and school children. The earliest recorded Irish families to land in the Pacific area were the … Continue reading “First Pacific St. Patrick’s Day Parade Wasn’t in Pacific / A Green Spot in the Memory “

By Pauline Masson –  James “Jim” Schwinkendorf, retired BNSF vice president who made Pacific home to be near an old steam engine he managed, revived the storied romance of Pacific’s railroad past. Passenger trains no longer stop in Pacific, but the city’s debt to its railroad boom years received a huge contribution from one man. James Schwikendorf died February 21, 2025. He lived in Pacific for his final years, a little over two decades. During his 40-plus year railroad career he … Continue reading “A Railroad Honcho in the Waning Days of Steam Travel Helped Revive the Romance in Pacific’s Rail Heritage “

By Pauline Masson –  The request for limited parking in front of a facility that serves addiction recovery individuals led to a lengthy discussion on parking in general and disagreement among aldermen.  Acting police chief called for hiring a traffic specialist to study congestion parking at the site and offer sugggestions. The discussion took place at the Mar. 4 board of aldermen (BOA) meeting. The Tuesday evening discussion that followed did not address the location of the limited parking request … Continue reading “No Easy Answers to Request for Limited Parking Near Recovery Facility”

By Pauline Masson –  Alderman Rafael Madrigal may be displaying a new trend in city government – friendly response to speakers who address the board of aldermen (BOA). The Ward One alderman has traditionally made a point of offering holiday greetings to all, and recognizing successful local events, inviting citizens to attend and thanking civic groups for their work. But this week he opened a full-blown back and forth on a request from a citizen that offered a thorough discussion … Continue reading “Alderman Comments May Signal Shift in City-Citizen Relations / 101 Citizens Witnessed the Moment”

By Pauline Masson – In 1860 there were 1,572 slaves in Franklin County, according to Herman Gottlieb Kiel. In his 1925 Centennial Biographical Directory of Franklin County, Mr. Kiel named every Franklin County slave owner counted in the 1860 census and listed the number of slaves each owned.  Since 1820 the Missouri Compromise, that allowed Missouri to be admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, slavery had been legal in Missouri With many … Continue reading “Court Martial of Union Officer Over Runaway Slave Provides an Early Record of Black History in Pacific”

By Pauline Masson –  When the Thomas and Nancy Roberts family moved to rural Missouri in 1831 from Charlotte County Virginia, they brought along their slaves, including two small children, a boy named Joe and a girl named Nancy Lane.  Joe’s age at the time is uncertain but in a 1906 interview, he said he was “a very small child,” when he was brought to Virginia Mines.   Nancy Lane’s age is also uncertain but if she was 80 in … Continue reading “From Slavery to Local Prominence / One Family’s Place in Black History”