Author: paulinemasson

By Pauline Masson Funding and operating a museums Is a testament to government / citizen collaboration. I know more about this now than I did last week since Dennis Oliver responded to my post about how museums are managed. You can thank Dennis, chair of the Meramec Valley Historical Society that helps to manage the City of Pacific Visitor Center and Museum in the historic Red Cedar Inn building for this post. In response to my report on the funding … Continue reading “Historic Landmark to Museum / Visitor Center We Have a Lot At Stake Here”

By Pauline Masson – Recent discussions on local social media pages decrying the costs and goals of the Red Cedar Museum and Visitor Center sent me on a research quest to see how other small town museums thrive.  One rule was basic to all. They require a team effort between the town and the citizens. We already have a start on that teamwork with the city paying the cost to renovate the building and set up the museum, and a … Continue reading ““The Red Cedar Is An Awesome Museum.” Says Business Woman Tracy Gullet / Let’s Get Behind It”

By Pauline Masson –  It costs money to run a soda shop and ice cream parlor.  To try to recoup some of the cost of operating the city museum and visitor center officials proposed renovating the old Red Cedar Inn Bar on the east end of the building to offer for sale to visitors hand dipped ice cream, soda and espresso coffee. From the outset, some officials and some citizens questioned the economic viability of the museum eatery – especially … Continue reading “Aldermen May Have Saved Us More Than the $100,000 Grant When They Backed Away From an Ice Cream Parlor In The Red Cedar”

By Pauline Masson – Since my story last week about two lady protesters taking on City Hall, I’ve been astonished at the outcry on local social media pages about what citizens see as what is right and wrong with our city. The comments were all over the board of small town life, far afield from what I wrote about. One thing was clear, residents are more informed about government shenanigans than I would have guessed – and more confident in … Continue reading “The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful Side of Social Media and Its Impact on a Small Town”

By Pauline Masson –  A number of downtown business owners are unhappy with aldermen according to two local business owners who launched a tsunami of complaint against the board of aldermen Tuesday evening for not giving them the respect they feel they deserve.  Ann Trent, president and CEO of Bigfoot 4×4 and Jenifer Blakely owner/operator of the Cigar Vault and The Landing Airbnb each identified the downtown business district, the Pacific Partnership and the City Tourism Commission as being unhappy … Continue reading “Businesses and City Tourism Commission Circle Up to Bring a Perfect Storm Against Aldermen”

By Pauline Masson – Swiss immigrant Remig Leber brought an astonishing cultural lifestyle to the frontier rail town of Pacific, but he died young, leaving his 38-year-old widow and five children to carry on his legacy. For 45 years, from Mr. Leber’s death in 1887 to her death in 1934, Mrs. Mary Leber managed Leber’s Hall and Leber’s Park, founded by her husband. She also headed the Diaconian Ladies Aid Society that raised amounts of money to aid the needy … Continue reading “Mary Leber, Widowed at 38 with five Children, Guided the Family Legacy of Pacific Cultural Life for 45 Years “

_______________________________________________________________________________ By Pauline Masson – While many people voice confusion on the peculiarly named federal holiday Juneteenth, as a transplant to this area I see that the Franklin County east central area – Pacific, Catawissa, Robertsville and Villa Ridge – has a lot to remember on June 19, Juneteenth. This will be the third year that Juneteenth is celebrated as a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed the bill establishing the federal holiday on June 17, 2021. But the origin … Continue reading “Juneteenth, Black Holiday With Peculiar Name Calls Up Stories Worth Remembering”

By Pauline Masson Pacific today is known for the railroad, the Meramec River, Route 66, and spectacular bluff-top sites where visitors can see all three at the same time. But one of the coolest parts of Pacific history is its mastery of the chemistry of ice. The railroad surpassed the river in 1853 as the cheapest mode of transportation, but the Meramec held onto one secret – it froze deep enough to support a team of horses  for weeks on end, … Continue reading “Heat Wave or Not / Pacific Has a History of Keeping Cool “

By Pauline Masson – June 8 is National Best Friends Day and our town is ahead of the game as two groups of best friends – friends of the late Danny “Turtle” Johnson and friends of the late Jeffrey White – mesh their love of fun and togetherness in an anything-on-wheels poker run to benefit the community. On June 1, the sixth annual Turtle Run – a biker run through Pacific, Grover, St. Clair and Dittmer- brings friends of the … Continue reading “2024 Turtle Run Brings Two Friends’ Groups Together to Benefit the Jeffrey White Memorial Skate Park  “

By Pauline Masson – The LePere plantation house on South Denton Road was thought to have been built by slaves, creating hand fired bricks on the site. The bricks were later covered over with stucco. Marking time – it was home to a dozen families including a Franklin County pioneer, a plantation owner, a doctor, a St. Louis chef, a future Pacific mayor and the son of an industrial park developer. Last week it changed hands one more time with … Continue reading “Antebellum House Witnessed the Birth, Decline and Renewal of a Frontier Railroad Town “