http://into-nature.com/2008/05/01/tell-us-your-meramec-stories/ Don Corrigan - Environmental Journalist and Nature Writer Fri, 11 May 2012 18:16:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://into-nature.com/2008/05/01/tell-us-your-meramec-stories/#comment-474 Fri, 11 May 2012 18:16:50 +0000 http://doncorrigan.wordpress.com/?p=30#comment-474 1940′s and 50′s life on the Meramac
Some of my best childhood memories. My brothers and sister spent our summers at our Grand parents club house on Petty’s hill. This was the 1940′s until my Grand Fathers death in 1953. Tony and Nellie Jaeger had built their cabin back in the 1920 to escape the summer heat and humidity of downtown Saint Louis. Tony would walk the mile or so down the Missouri Pacific rail road track each week day morning to Valley Park. From there he would take the train to the levee down town Saint Louis. He worked as a draftsman and salesman for Miller elevator.
For us in our preteen years summers on Petty’s Hill allowed a freedom few
children ever had. We roamed the surrounding farms, climbed the bluffs
hunted snakes with our BB guns, hiked daily down the bluff for our afternoon swim in the Meramec river from our family’s dock.
Spring floods on the Meramac river were a common occurrence. The cabins built on Petty’s Hill remained high and dry. Those along the river not so lucky. They were built high on stilts. But I remember the water up to the roofs
My Grandparents had family and friends who had also built summer club houses on Petty’s Hill. They gathered to play cards and horse shoes. Weekend cat fish and bull frog fries together. On Sunday mornings we dressed our best and walked a mile or better down Vance road to mass in Valley Park.
I even remember old George Petty, his two story shack was near our club house. We would sneak into it when he was not around, it was full of clutter. It was very difficult to walk thru, he saved everything you could think of. He was quite eccentric, but my Grand parents said he was a very smart man. One time I had ring worm on my head. My Grandmother Nelli called Petty over he looked at my sore spit on it and walked away. Needless to say in a day or so the sore disappeared.
Our return to visit Petty’s Hill, hard to recognize it. Now a subdivision. Looks like they changed the roads. Stiener’s Farm is now gone, Petty’s lake on Vance road gone, all the original year round homes and summer cabins gone. The suburbs have taken over.
J. Jaeger

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]]> http://into-nature.com/2008/05/01/tell-us-your-meramec-stories/#comment-391 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:55:58 +0000 http://doncorrigan.wordpress.com/?p=30#comment-391 Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently rapidly.

]]> http://into-nature.com/2008/05/01/tell-us-your-meramec-stories/#comment-379 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:39:05 +0000 http://doncorrigan.wordpress.com/?p=30#comment-379 I would like some imfo on Pettys hill at the beginning and pictures and history of pETTYS HILL IN vALLEY PARK MO.

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