Author: paulinemasson

By Pauline Masson –  History has taken baseball for granted in the formation of the city, but no worries.  A few weeks run through old newspapers reveals 100 summers when weekly baseball games pulled the town together for an afternoon – and eventually an evening – of hometown oneness when everybody was rooting for the home team. Out of Pacific’s myriad baseball leagues from the late 1920s to 2025 came several minor league players, one major leaguer and one of … Continue reading “Amateur Baseball / 100 Summers When Everyone Was Rooting For the Home Team  “

By Pauline Masson – They did not consider themselves elderly 45 years ago when 14 Pacific families started an effort to build a nursing home that would provide extended care for the town’s ill, injured and senior citizens. The fact that some of them eventually came to need the facility they fought so hard to build seemed to make it all worthwhile. The late Joe Dailey was credited with the development of the nursing home, now Pacific Care Center (PCC). … Continue reading “How a Long Legal Battle that Reached the U.S. Supreme Court Landed a Nursing Home in Pacific”

By Pauline Masson – Score one for the history buffs. In local geologist and seasoned state parks tour guide Jo Schaper’s first meeting as a member of the City Tourism Commission she commented on a an agenda item that could promote Pacific as a destination. She said we should think about reviving the former annual Railroad Day celebration. It is unclear which city entity could approve reviving this annual festival but it is worth thinking about. For a dozen years … Continue reading “Railroad Day Revival Discussion Calls Up Memories of Decade of Rousing City Promotion “

By Pauline Masson-  When I called the Pacific Jaycees the guys in the white hats for their efforts to rescue the popular Halloween Spookfest that was running out of steam in 2009, they accepted the accolade in good humor by donning white cowboy hats when they delivered a check to the Chamber of Commerce to help fund the event. Good fun and Good works had been a trademark of the Pacific Jaycees from the beginning. Ever since they formed as … Continue reading “Pacific Junior Chamber of Commerce / 85 Years of Community Service and Fun, White Hats and All”

By Pauline Masson –  In October 2024, when the MVR-III school district announced its inaugural Pacific High School Hall of Fame the first name on the list of three inductees was David I. Hoven – a PHS alumn who does not fit the traditional definition of fame. The other two names on the inaugural list, George Hinkle Jr and Linda Wells, each has a history in a particular sport that gave them a more recognizable claim to fame.  George Hinkle … Continue reading “David I. Hoven: Plumber Who Captivated the City With a Love of Sports and a Winning Smile”

  By Pauline Masson –  When Scott and Kandi Wolf decided to turn the former Tom Wolf Hardware store at 410 East Osage into what they called an antique mall they started with a clean slate. They didn’t know what to expect. “It was all Kandi’s idea,” Scott Said. “She looked at the empty store and said, ‘Why don’t we,’ and I thought, yeah we can do this.” Tom Wolf, Scott’s father, built the 9,000 square foot building 45 years ago … Continue reading “Route 66 Goodies: Former Hardware Store Turned Memorabilia Mall Captures a Mixed Crowd”

By Pauline Masson – I once wrote an essay that said, “I always wanted to grow old gracefully.” I pictured myself in my seventies and eighties climbing Kilimanjaro, which seasoned mountain climbers say isn’t a real challenge like Everest, but is an easy walk in a good pair of shoes. Or, I would spend my days working in my garden, under a big hat, as Goethe, the German, poet, playwright, and statesman imagined for himself.  But its not working. I … Continue reading “Thoughts on Growing Old Gracefully”

By Pauline Masson – A tiny working Ferris Wheel – probably inspired by the 1904 World’s Fair – lured shoppers to gather on St. Louis Street and stare at the plate glass window in Alsobrook’s Drug Store in 1925, where it rotated round and round and flashed its Christmas lights through the holiday season. Bill Hirth, grandson of the man who crafted the two-foot tall wheel with ten passenger seats is dusts it off and turns it on every December … Continue reading “Snippets of Christmas in Pacific Past and Present”

By Pauline Masson – In the six months since two city administrators voluntarily resigned from the post aldermen have been remarkably quiet about a prolonged search for someone to manage the city. In response to a question about the search, Mayor Heather Filley said 38 candidates have applied for the job. Most have been rejected but a few remain to be interviewed. Previous city administrator Steve Roth resigned August 11, 2023 after nine years in the top city job. Interim … Continue reading “Board of Aldermen Bent on Change Are Stalled In City Administrator Search – Too Many Choices”

By Pauline Masson – A long washed away but remarkably substantial sandbar in the Meramec River – at approximately the location of the former Priest’s Ford – once flanked a small log hut and provided the backdrop for a spectacular bare knuckles ‘no holds barred’ boxing match that was recalled in the local newspaper seventy years later. The boxing match was between two well known local lads, the unmistakeable hope of two pioneer families.  One was George Mcnamee, the stalwart … Continue reading “A Spectacular 1873 ‘No Holds Barred’ Boxing Match Still Remembered 70 Years Later”