Weekend Matinee--Sundown with Gene Tierney

     At the Lowe's Theater the week of December 8th, 1941 we have the movie "Sundown" with the lovely Gene Tierney and Bruce Cabot and directed by Henry Hathaway

 

   Adapted from a short story in the Saturday Evening Post by Barre Lyndon, who also wrote the screenplay, it is set in wartime British East Africa. Cabot was a veteran of movies, who had some great roles over the years, just never found the breakthrough to make him a star. Along with a workmanlike cast including George Sanders, Joseph Calleia and Harry Carey (no...not THAT Harry Carey) it is a pleasant 'B' movie to take one's mind over the events just a less than a week before.

     However it was hoped to be a breakthrough for Tierney, who was working up the ranks in Broadway then in movies, and at the age of 20 was cast as the alluring but potentially dangerous Zia. Does one wonder what kind of accent that was in the movie?? Does actually anyone care?? Probably not any of the men in the audience. Cabot didn't even attempt a British accent either....

      The movie was a so-so at the box office, although it was nominated for three Academy Awards (non for acting). The focus of many of the reviews focused on Tierney and her looks, but show that she could hold her own in a lead role, even at such a young age.

     

No Candies Like Busy Bee Candies

This is a company that we have some information on, but could use some more. If you have pictures or more information you could share, please comment below. 

The original company was created by Gilbert Candy who was born in Bath, England in 1864 and immigrated with his parents somewhere between 1865 and 1872. He moved to St. Louis in 1881 and along with brother Walter, started the Candy Brothers Manufacturing Company in 1885 and was located at 215 Chestnut. 

In 1903, the brothers were joined by William (b.1873) and Busy Bee Candies were formed. We know they sold the business in 1935 and closed for good in 1959. The last address we had for them was 417 North Seventh. 

We also have a picture from the archives at UMSL (University of Missouri-St. Louis). It is a 1950 picture of a group who were alumni from Busy Bee back in 1925. Thought you might find it of interest. 

Help me Find That Business....pt. 1

 
  Hey everyone! Our first three blogs have just turned out to be on weekends, but as mentioned in the beginning, if there was the need for a new one more often, then that's what we would do.

     On today's blog, I'm hoping that all of us can work together to share memories and perhaps a  picture or two about your recollections of Vintage St. Louis.

     Here is how I hope this will work. Below is a list of businesses and addresses. What I am looking for are pictures, stories and maybe even family recollections that might be able to help flesh out a better look and feel of the place. There are advertisements of all of theses places in my files, but am wanting more. Please feel free to comment any information that would be helpful.

     Here we go...

1. French Cleaners, 2 locations: 8301 Olive Street & 8040 Chippewa

2. Carl's Restaurant, 709 Washington

3. Asbestos Pad Company, 923 Washington

4. Mt. Auburn Market,  6128 Easton Ave., Welston

5. The Map Shop, 1412 Olive

    All of these businesses were open in the early 40's. Hope to hear from you!

Comeback for a 80's Mexican Fast Food Legend--Naugles

     There have been several fast food chains that were a part of the 70's and 80's that are no longer with us and includes two of my all-time favorites. One of them was Burger Chef which was bought out by Hardee's in the 80's. The second was Naugles which was gone by the mid-90's but has resurfaced complete with a David vs. Goliath story that will leave you smiling and perhaps hoping that it will make a comeback in St. Louis soon.

     There were four locations in the St. Louis area. The location in Fenton opened sometime in the late 70's/early 80's. It was my first real exposure to Mexican fast food. It's items, such as the taco burger, cheese burrito and an unmistakable red and green sauce made it a favorite of mine until I left the area in the early 80's.

     Naugles was formed in 1970 by former Del Taco partner Dick Naugle. He was bought out by Harold Butler (who founded Denny's in the late 50's)  in 1979 and grew the franchise from three to 225. In 1986, Butler sold the company to Collins Foods International who began to transform most of them into Del Taco's. The four Naugles in the St. Louis area transferred in 1994 and were the last that were taken in by Del Taco. The next year, the remaining four restaurants, all in Nevada, were closed.

   Fast forward about 10 years to California.  Christian Ziebarth was a web designer who was the author of a very popular blog, "Orange County Mexican Restaurants". In 2006 he put up a remembrance page where he lamented the closing of the franchise, and suggested that Del Taco revive a few of them. The overall popularity of the blog led the marketing folks at Del Taco in 2008 to reach out to him and suggest how they might be able to help one another. This led Ziebarth to point to his page a couple of years before and request that they reinstate some of the Naugles items that were so popular.

     Over the next two years, an exchange ensued between the blogger and the company where he would ask about any movement towards his earlier request. The letters in response were a mix of passing the buck and downright obfuscation. At this point Ziebarth realized that the chain had no intention of even entertaining his suggestion, so he began down his own path.

   With nothing much to go on, in 2009 he launched the Naugles twitter handle and the Nauglestacos.com website which promised a comeback of the chain. During that same year, he was told about a restaurant that had family ties to original owner Dick Naugle about 200 miles away. Called "Buns & Torts" in Visalia, he found many Naugle's classic menu items. Over the next couple of years through his own research, he was able to recreate many of the original recipes.

    He came to believe that although Del Taco had the trademark, they had no intention of doing anything with it. Ziebarth filed for the trademark in 2010 and thus began a four year dispute with the company. During this time he would hold, "pop up" events, mostly with enthusiasts of the Naugles brand and friends to perfect his recipes. 
 
     On March of 2015, Ziebarth won a judgement from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board allowing them to open a test kitchen in Fountain Valley, CA. After a reboot that was SO successful that they had to close temporally as they totally underestimated its popularity and had to retool. They reopened soon after where they remain, along with a site in Huntington Beach, selling a menu that is very loyal to the original. Ziebarth is hoping to grow the brand in the areas where it did well in the past including Las Vegas and of course, St. Louis.

Furnishings of Character--Lammert's Furniture

     In many older homes in the mid-west and south, you still might be able to find at least one piece of furniture from Lammert's Furniture in St. Louis. For many years, Lammert's was a sign of quality and craftsmanship.

     Martin Lammert Sr. came to the Washington, Missouri from Germany with his parents, but was orphaned by the age of 16 and moved to down the river to St. Louis.

     Lammert opened his first store in 1861 on Franklin Avenue, and grew quickly enough that it had to move eight times until finding it's iconic home on 911-919 Washington Avenue.

     The building itself was built in 1898 and was first home to Hargadine and McKettrick Drygoods Company until 1923, when Lammert's moved in. The Washington Ave. building was designated a city landmark in 1979 and was renovated in 1984.

By the time of the move,  Martin Lammert Jr. was at the helm and began to be known as THE place to buy quality furniture and throughout the mid-west and south. In fact, through  catalog sales, Lammert's had a reach of over 30 states. By it's peak in the late 50's and early 60's with Lammert III in charge the company grew to five stores as they followed many city dwellers out to the county.

Martin Lammert V with his namesakes. 

     By 1970 however, with continuing population loss in the city and the popularity of wholesale merchants, Martin Lammert IV made the decision to close the downtown location in 1973 and began a change over to a fine furniture store.




 

The business itself enjoyed a renaissance with this changeover in focus and eventually scaled down to one building in Clayton and later moved to a 10,000 square foot building on South Lindbergh in Frontenac.

      Lammert V sold the property in 2007 and to my knowledge still sells real estate in the area. For over 135 years, Lammert's provided quality furniture for many.