605 Good Hope: Ruh’s Super Market

605 Good Hope Ruh's Market among other things 10-10-2014The nondescript building at 605 Good Hope looked familiar, but I couldn’t place what had been in there over the years. A quick Internet search showed that for the longest time, it was Ruh’s Super Market.

Fred Lynch’s Missourian blog has a Frony photo that will show you what it looked like right after it opened in 1936. Fred has a nice summary of the history of the building and its owner, Frank C. Ruh, in his post.

Here is Mr. Ruh’s obituary from the February 13, 1959, Missourian. He died at 77, after nearly 52 years in retail business. He and G.H. Gross opened Gross and Ruh Market at the corner of Good Hope and Frederick in 1907. When Mr. Gross died in 1931, he continued operation of the business and moved to 605 Good Hope in 1936.

[Editor’s note: the obituary said Gross died in 1931; Fred’s account says 1932. It’s not uncommon for obits to be different than contemporary reporting. Obits are frequently based on memories, not research.]

1954 Ruh’s advertisement

1954-05-24 Ruh's AdFor some reason, we never shopped at Ruh’s. I don’t know if Mother didn’t like the business or if she preferred to shop at Hirsch’s Midtown Grocery on Sprigg if we were in Haarig. This ad ran in the May 24, 1954, Missourian.

Thompson’s TV and Appliances

1961-05-17 Thompson's ad 605 Good HopeAfter Ruh’s death, Thompson’s TV and Appliances moved into 605 Good Hope in 1961. This advertisement ran in the May 17 Missourian.

VIP Industries came in 1967

VIP Industries, a sheltered workshop, moved into the facility in 1967. By 1982, a Missourian story reported, VIP employed almost 300 handicapped residents in a five-county area here, in Marble Hill and in Perryville.

I don’t know what is in the building today.

 

Runoff, Rainbows and Wet Roads

Cape LaCroix Creek 10-13-2014_3208The weather alert radio was busy this afternoon with severe storm warnings, tornado watches and warnings. We did a bunch of running around between showers and drizzles, but beat feet home before the bad stuff got here. The trees bent down for a bit and there were a few times when we couldn’t see across the street, but it moved on quickly.

The storm water system constructed in the mid-80s wasn’t nearly so full as it was when a frog-strangler hit in 2011, but you can see it’s still moving quite a bit of water. The lighter-colored water passing under South Kingshighway is Cape LaCroix Creek; the darker water being held back on the right is what drains down from neighborhoods to the north.

I wonder if the people in that brick office building know that when I was growing up on Bloomfield Road in the ’50s that it was a packing house of some kind. There was a little dam across the creek there and the building discharged something that, when the wind was right/wrong, stunk to high heaven.

Double, maybe triple rainbows

Double rainbow 10-13-2014_3257We drove around town for bit, paused at the riverfront, then headed west on Broadway. In the rearview mirror, I could see a rainbow, but wasn’t sufficiently impressed to stop. I pulled into a parking lot to check out the Mexican restaurant across from Houck Stadium. When I looked up this time, the rainbow was much brighter, so I went to the car for my camera. Much to my surprise, when I got out to the street, it had turned into a double rainbow. The second one isn’t quite as bright, but, trust me, it’s there. For a second, I thought I saw a third rainbow, but I could have been mistaken.

Coming into Jackson

Jackson 10-13-2014We were on our way to Jackson shortly after the rainbows when a thin stretch of the horizon under the dark storm clouds flamed bright orange. I rushed out to North County Park to try to get a high, clear vantage point, but the light was gone by the time I got into position.

The best I could come up with of the end of the storm was a night shot coming down the hill into Jackson.

Click on the photos to make them larger. There has been a software change that I have to tweak. You can still use the arrow keys to move through the photos and press the X or ESC key to exit them. I’ll see if I can get it to look more like what you were used to seeing.

“New” Franklin School

Franklin School 10-10-2014I decided it was time to take a closer look at the front of the “new” Franklin Elementary School. It faces south toward Themis, rather than east toward Louisiana.

The “School with No Name”

Franklin School front steps 03-16-2010Franklin School opened its doors in 1927, but it did it without a name on the front of the school. It was the only school in the district with no outward identification.

It wasn’t until 1971 that the 8-inch-high white plastic letters were placed above the door. Money for the sign was raised by the Student Council, which sold school supplies and held a used book sale.

This photo of the now-demolished old Franklin was taken in 2010.

Earlier stories and photos of Franklin School

Dome Darkening Nicely

Academic Hall dome 10-110-2014

Academic Hall’s dome has lost the copper shine it had when I photographed it in March of 2013.

March 2013 with shiny copper

Academic Hall dome 03-02-2013

I wonder how long it’ll take to get the nice, green patina the old dome had? Here are some earlier stories about Academic Hall.