Author: paulinemasson

_________________________________________________________________________________________ By Pauline Masson How do cities choose the themes for festivals aimed at bringing residents out of their homes, attracting visitors and improving the local economy? In my tenure here since 1988, Pacific has held Pride Day Festivals, Railroad Day Festivals, and Halloween Festivals, all of which draw good crowds. The public shows up here for parades, sports tournaments and rodeos. Former alderman Rick Layton once organized a Safety Awareness Day – on the grocery store parking log of … Continue reading “1930 – The New Pacific Chamber of Commerce Launched Its First City Festival ‘Cow Day’”

_________________________________________________________________________________________ By Pauline Masson –  As she welcomes the newest city legislative board following the recent election, Mayor Heather Filley says concerned citizens may be the greatest asset in determining the city’s future. She says although the city image has taken some hits recently, the city belongs to all of us and she wants citizens to return to city hall meetings, and above all, voice not only their concerns but their solutions to city deficits. In an interview with Hometown … Continue reading “In Near Future, Mayor Heather Filley Focuses on Beefing up Citizen Participation and City Image “

By Pauline Masson –  Rock collectors from across the generations turned out for an interactive study session on the world of collecting rocks, fossils and minerals held at the Scenic Regional Library last Saturday. Jo Schaper, local geologist and science writer; Alfred (Fred) Schovanez, president of the State Paleontology Association; and Asa Asa, social media science guru led the three-hour session. It was not “everything you would ever need to know about rocks and fossils,” but it was enough to … Continue reading “Rock ID Show at the Pacific Library Drew Generations of Curious Collectors “

By Pauline Masson – Joe McHugh, the artist, turned a childhood tendency to sketch faces into a lifetime compulsion. He never saw a face that he couldn’t draw, paint, or sculpt.  From early childhood in the three story McHugh-Dailey building on South First Street – before he entered St. Bridget Elementary School – Joe was a compulsive sketcher. I have a handful of paper restaurant napkins that he sketched for someone as they dined. I don’t even remember who gave … Continue reading “Niece Says 70-Year-Old Mystery Sketch is Work of Joe McHugh / Crucifix in Cell 8 / An Act of Devotion”

By Pauline Masson – Six months after offering to stay for a year to help the City through the search for replacement of the city administrator who resigned in August 2023, Interim City Administrator Harold Selby resigned the post April 2.  Selby is now the fourth city official to exit City Hall in eight months.  Previous city administrator Steve Roth resigned August 11, 2023. Former Economic Development Director Steve Myers left October 13, 2023. Former. And Police Chief Scott Melies … Continue reading “Fourth Departure at City Hall / Selby Resigns Saying Board Is Going In a Different Direction”

By Pauline Masson – Fascination with rocks, minerals and fossils makes rockhounds and hoarders of an eclectic group of collectors.  Some impulse picker-uppers set the souvenir rock on a table or night stand with no realization of why they like it, or, even what it is.  Resident Geologist Jo Schaper and her scientist friends say they can help.  On April 13, from noon to 3:00 p.m., Jo, and her associate Alfred (Fred) Schovanez and a fellow who goes by the Facebook … Continue reading “That Pretty Rock You Picked Up on Impulse May Have a Story to Tell / Ask Jo Schaper  “

By Pauline Masson –  The Knobel Building, the two-story mixed use brick building at 146 West St. Louis, carries the traces of 185 years of Pacific history.  This building was the second structure that held the name of the builder.  According to the anonymous historian who recorded Pacific’s early years, Joseph Knobel, one of the town’s earliest settlers, established a general store and family home west of the Keathley farm in about 1839, arguably on the promise that a railroad … Continue reading “Historic Knobel Building / Nine Lives of the Corner Grocery Store”

_______________________________________________________________________________ By Pauline Masson – My first story on Black history in Pacific, published in the Missourian newspaper in February 1999, was an eye opener for me and for Missourian publisher Bill Miller Sr. The story on Ella Miller, 97-year old granddaughter of a slave and then a resident of Pacific Care Company, was influenced by the late Barbara Bruns and the late Neil Brennan. Both suggested that since I liked history I should get to know some of the … Continue reading “Resurrection Hill Cemetery Tells the Story of Interracial History in Pacific”

By Pauline Masson –  Focusing on State and City requirements for how tourism tax funds can be spent, the City Tourism Commission asked Pacific Partnership officials to redraft a proposed contract between the City and the Partnership. The discussion took place at the March 12 Tourism Commission meeting. A draft of the contract that Partnership officials said would meet their needs was submitted to the Tourism Commission for review prior to the meeting. The call for a new agreement with … Continue reading “The Tourism Commission Calls for Redraft in Proposed Pacific-City Partnership Contract”

By Pauline Masson – When the St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Union and St. Louis streets on Saturday, March 16, the marchers and the green-clad spectators will be tapping into the large Irish community that helped build Pacific and preserved one of the most unspoiled rural communities in Missouri, the La Barque Hills, known locally as Little Ireland.  Today the LaBarque Hills community is unique for its pristine creeks, vast untamed conservation areas, historic landmarks and handsome estate-style homes. … Continue reading “The Legacy of the LaBarque Hills aka Little Ireland”