All Entries in the "Featured" Category
The Emporium: a North County salon like no other
Celebrating its grand opening on August 14, Ferguson's Emporium Salon offers traditional spa services with a holistic and organic twist.
I can’t remember exactly where I met Suz Pratt for the first time, but I do know that I liked her immediately. Suz is just one of those people who radiates positive energy, and as soon as we started talking, I felt like I had reconnected with a long lost friend.
A petite redhead and certainly old soul, Suz has a nurturing personality that feels like a nice warm blanket on a cold day. She’s also what you might call a visionary salon owner.
Visionary not because she was the first board-certified hair colorist in the state of Missouri, or because she was a pioneer in the development of “organic” hair color. No, Suz is visionary because she truly has a vision.
Formerly the owner of the Hair Emporium in Florissant, the veteran cosmetologist recently fulfilled a longtime “calling” by moving her business to a cozy old storefront in Ferguson, renaming it the Emporium Salon, and transforming it into far more than just a beauty shop. Using her extensive knowledge of holistic medicine and natural remedies, Suz now runs a unique wellness center and day spa that tends not just to the hair and body, but also to the mind and spirit.
Equal parts salon, apothecary, museum and lending library, the Emporium Salon nestles the back edge of Ferguson’s historic Bindbeutel building, a circa-1895 National Register property that’s also the largest Victorian-era commercial building left in St. Louis County. Step inside and you’ll find a wee but inviting space that’s just like Suz herself – a little bit quirky, a little bit mystical, and a little bit rock n’ roll.
Antique dressers and Suz’s massive “lucky” mirror line one wall, defining her actual work station. But look around and you’ll also discover a whirlwind of sensory delights – lush plants, sparkly crystals, weathered shelves of emerald green elixir bottles, just like an old pharmacy. Suz has even hung vintage beauty shop memorabilia from the ceiling and plastered one hallway with vintage concert posters, but her favorite parts of the salon are her colorful handmade educational displays, which discuss old-world approaches to health and hygiene.
“Bohemian is definitely a good word for it,” Suz, 47, says of her shop. “But more than anything, I want this to be a place where people just feel comfortable…where they can rejuvenate and heal and hopefully learn something.”
Suz Pratt explains the magic of her gem-infused elixir waters
As far as services, the Emporium Salon offers everything that a traditional salon does – hair cuts, color, facials, manicures, etc. And Suz, a lifelong NoCo resident who grew up in Moline Acres, truly is a skilled stylist and aesthetician. The key distinction is that she only works with all-natural products, which is awesome. Oh, and she’s a “lightworker.”
That means she takes a holistic (or whole self) approach with each of her clients, tending to the health of their physical body but also to their spiritual and energetic body as well.
“I’m not here to diagnose people or do anything that interferes with Western medicine or someone’s religious beliefs,” Suz says. “What I do is share the knowledge I have about these old-style home cures, which have been around forever and do work. I also think I’m a natural cycle-buster, in that I help people make a fresh start on their life journey…I can help them heal on many levels.”
One treatment that Suz uses frequently is the castor oil pack, a folk remedy also known as palma Christi, or palm of Christ, which the famous medical intuitive Edgar Cayce frequently touted for its remarkable healing powers. Applied to the afflicted area, castor oil packs have been known to treat everything from liver toxicity and poor digestion to headaches and circulatory issues.
Suz is also a big proponent of homeopathic Bach flower remedies, which were developed by a British physician in the 1930s, as well as gem-infused elixir waters, which she makes herself by “charging” water with sunlight or moonlight and precious gems like smoky quartz, garnet or rose quartz.
“Rose quartz can work wonders on a sunburn, and garnet can help speed up healing,” Suz says, explaining that she performs all of her spa services using elixir water that’s specially chosen for each client. “It just depends on what that person needs. Like if they needed to clear out some negative energy, I might do a facial using smoky quartz with Thieves Oil (a centuries-old herbal blend). That can be really powerful.”
Rejuvenate your cells underneath Suz's specially designed crystal grid
Also powerful, Suz believes, is the impact of blood type on your diet. Seven years ago, inspired by the work of Dr. Peter D’Adamo, she gave up meat and alcohol to suit her type-A blood and she insists she’s never felt better.
“I just knew if I was going to help people, I needed to have my own act together,” Suz says. “But I’m still a naughty girl. I still smoke. Just now I count my poisons and limit them so I can stay healthy and balanced.”
If you want to learn more about Suz’s “poisons” philosophy, she’ll happily tell you. She’s also incredibly open about her family, her spiritual journey, her aversion to electronics, and the fact that money is far from her primary motivation.
“None of this has ever been about the money,” she says. “For me, this salon is more of a social experiment…. Really, I wonder every day, how many people can I help?”
Suz already draws clients (of all ages, races and beliefs) from across the metro area, but since opening in Ferguson, her schedule has been busier than ever. “This is such a cool, motivated, spiritual place, I really feel at home,” she says. “I can already tell that I’m needed here, and I love that, since all I really want to do is help people and bring more light to this community.”
The Emporium Salon, located at 18 Church Street, is holding its grand opening celebration tomorrow, August 14, from 1-4pm. Suz is giving away several great prizes, and all are welcome!
The public is also invited to a special event on September 11, when the Emporium is offering chakra imaging (with a 15-page report) for just $40. For more info, call Suz Pratt at (314) 831-9074. By the way, the salon only accepts cash and checks.
Stop by the Emporium and you might meet Suz's daughter Chelsea. If you ask, you might also learn about using family "life charts" to erase bad karma and heal emotional wounds.
The Gardens of NoCo: Chan Mahanta
Chan Mahanta's colorful prairie garden is a gem of the Old Jamestown area.
“In wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau, and I’m pretty sure Chan Mahanta agrees. This talented local gardener has created a wondrously wild native prairie in his front yard, which NOCO’s newest contributor, JoAnn Batzer, recently had a chance to visit. Here’s what she learned…
Chan Mahanta doesn’t flinch about a tour bus dropping off more than 40 botanical garden professionals in his driveway. Visiting groups from the Perennial Plant Association or even famed garden writer and designer Noel Kingsbury don’t worry him either.
Chan can stand his own ground (literally!) with elite horticultural visitors from all over the globe, mostly because he has worked incredibly hard on his Old Jamestown property and it shows. The 1.5-acre prairie in his front yard was awarded the top prize for an amateur in the 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Great Garden Contest, serving as an exquisite example of native plant use in a residential environment.
Chan Mahanta
An architect by trade, Chan designed his impressive home overlooking the Missouri River in 1997, moving there with his wife, Banti, from Creve Coeur. Originally from India, he was fascinated at an early age by the American landscape, often thumbing through comic books featuring Native Americans, cowboys and bison herds that roamed the early prairie.
During college he also saw The Vanishing Prairie, a 1954 Disney nature documentary, and it became etched in his memory. But it wasn’t until moving from California to St. Louis (and ultimately North County) that Chan realized he could finally fulfill his dream of creating his own native prairie. In 1999, he started his current garden entirely by seed.
Looking back, he admits he should have prepared the site better, as a few areas had to be reseeded twice. But by three years in, the prairie gradually became established, and today it’s a showpiece with more than 60 varieties of wildflowers, warm season grasses and native plants.
June and July are peak bloom times, but prairie gardens hold year round interest. In winter, the dry grasses and seed heads are not only aesthetic, but provide wildlife food and habitat, proving that the prairie isn’t just a ‘garden’ but an entire ecosystem.
Coneflowers (Echinacea spp.), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta.) and blue false indigo (Baptisia australis) provide stunning color during the summer, while grasses like big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) offer subtle texture and color in the winter.
A huge plus to the garden is the low maintenance. Now that the prairie is established, Chan only puts in 4-6 hours a month of upkeep. No irrigation, fertilizing or weekly mowing is needed! Just battling the ever encroaching honeysuckle and other non-native weeds is his main duty at this point.
Once a year in mid to late February, he brush-hogs the vegetation down to the ground, gets a burn permit from the local fire district and then carefully burns the remnants. The prairie doesn’t need to be burnt every year, but Chan prefers to do it to keep the woody weeds in check and deny the voles and mice shelter all winter. In the spring, the area quickly rejuvenates and provides shelter and color once again.
Chan’s garden also hosts a wildlife-friendly pond and waterfall feature along with a vegetable garden. The wooded back of the property provides a natural contrast between the sunny prairie in front, while two deck areas offer private, shady spots to watch the river either from the bluff or at the water’s edge.
Active in the Old Jamestown Association, Chan would love to see more native plants and prairie plantings in the area. Always willing to share his experience, he has already assisted neighbors in establishing prairie gardens nearby, and his newest endeavor is beekeeping – another important aspect of the prairie ecosystem.
Chan’s bees are fortunate to have such a beautiful and diverse prairie home. And of course, NoCo is lucky to have a resident as creative, dedicated and talented as Chan Mahanta! Not only did Chan build his beautiful, sustainable garden from scratch, but he also provided all of the gorgeous photos for this story…
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Jo Batzer has lived in North County most of her life and is excited to be a part of the NOCO team. She has worked in the horticulture and florist industries for over 25 years and is the garden leader at Twillman House Community Garden. Jo lives and gardens in the Spanish Lake area with her husband, two sons and two dogs.
825 Carrico Road: Rich with History, not Bubbleheads
Enveloped by acres of rolling woodland in the Old Jamestown area, 825 Carrico Road is a vintage charmer just waiting for some TLC.
For people who love old houses, there’s nothing quite as magical as a house that time forgot. Decades may have passed but virtually nothing has changed, leaving behind a vivid snapshot of an earlier era and a curious mystery that must be peeled back layer by layer.
It’s incredibly rare to find a house like this, where water still comes from a cistern and the vintage decor is perfectly preserved. That’s why I was thrilled to discover 825 Carrico Road, a circa-1905 farmhouse in the heart of the beautiful Florissant Karst, where sixty years have glided by with barely a blip.
Frank and Melba Neuberger bought the 12-acre property in 1947, when the Old Jamestown area was still just a rural farming community. They also owned an adjacent 11.5 acres, just a short distance from the Missouri River, and both eventually spent their entire lives on Carrico Road.
Melba died in 2004 after 57 years there. Frank, who made his living selling cemetery plots and real estate, recently died at the age of 99 after staying there until 2006.
“My aunt and uncle were just good, kind-hearted people,” says John Goessmann, the Neubergers’ nephew. “They had lots of friends in the area who were always looking out for them, and they really loved the peace and quiet in that little valley of theirs.”
Janet Lueke, whose aunt and uncle, Catherine and Hubert Poeling, owned 825 Carrico before the Neubergers and raised pigs there, says it’s amazing how little the property has changed over the years. “It used to have an outhouse, but other than that, it looks pretty much the same,” she says.
“Back then, there just weren’t many houses around here,” says Lueke, 68, who still lives near Carrico Road. “This is definitely one of the older ones.”
Deed records show that Howard and Hattie Carrico actually lived in the home during the 1930s, but whether the Carrico family (who were big landowners in the area) played a part in its construction is a mystery. A 1909 map names J.M.D. Alben as the property owner, but so far, I haven’t found firm evidence that he’s the one who built the house.
What I do know is that the Neubergers dramatically altered the home’s original facade in 1948, removing the front porch and adding a side garage and side porch – in my opinion, making it better. I also know that despite the sinkholes, hidden caves and thick, haunting woods that surround 825 Carrico and most of Old Jamestown, there are absolutely no “bubbleheads” to be found here.
As you may know, Carrico Road is the “Bubblehead Road” of urban legend, where deformed inbreeds supposedly attack trespassers. And yes, the Neuberger house sits in an isolated hollow that could easily spook you at night. But ask the locals about bubbleheads and they insist it’s nothing but a silly myth perpetuated by teenagers.
“I have no idea where that got started,” Janet Lueke says with a laugh. “I grew up on Shackelford and have lived in this area my whole life, and I can tell you we never heard of bubbleheads when I was in school. There’s no truth to it at all.”
“Absolutely none,” emailed another local resident who asked that I not share his name. “It’s nothing more than some kids trying to scare each other. You know, they found this dark country road, back in the woods, and…there’s your story. Somebody got creative. But I can honestly tell you, I’ve been in this area since 1946 and I have never seen any strange or sickly people wandering around or attacking cars or any of that nonsense. It’s just a nice place…one of the prettiest areas in North County, I think. There are no bubblehead people here.”
At least not now. But Goessmann does recall the story of a family that used to live at the far end of Carrico Road, before his aunt and uncle moved in. Apparently they had a son who suffered from hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain,” and he used to wear a football helmet for protection when playing outside.
But did he attack people or roam the woods? Absolutely not. He was just a little boy with an unfortunate condition. And he’s long gone now.
So there you have it, NOCO fans… the likely source of the Bubblehead legend. Despite what you’ve heard, Carrico Road is not the home of mutants with swollen heads. But it is the site of one very cool old house, which can be yours for just $139,900…
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For more information about 825 Carrico (which could make the sweetest little suburban farm), contact real estate agent Bob Branstetter at (314) 791-3555. A special thanks to him and John Goessmann for providing most of the photos for this story!
Bigfoot 4×4: A North County Original
Bigfoot #5, featuring ten-foot wheels from an Alaskan land train, is one of 17 Bigfoot monster trucks made by Bigfoot 4x4 of Hazelwood.
I have to be honest, motorsports are not my thing. I don’t follow NASCAR or know anything about drag racing or motocross. And up until recently, the whole idea of monster trucks seemed…well, kind of silly to me. But that was before I went to Bigfoot 4×4.
On a private tour of the Hazelwood headquarters that thousands of fans visit every year, I not only learned a lot about Bigfoot and gained a greater appreciation for the sport of monster truck racing. I also met some of the most talented and creative people in the automotive world.
From its familiar location at Lindbergh and 270, Bigfoot 4×4, Inc. has become the unrivaled leader in monster truck and four-wheel drive innovation on the planet, with many employees who are truly world-class experts in their field. A multi-million dollar enterprise founded right here in NoCo, the family-run company builds, customizes and continually repairs its small stable of monster trucks, participating in at least 700 races, car crushes and other events every year.
Since the early 1980s, Bigfoot vehicles have visited 17 countries, appeared in eight films and dozens of TV shows, and inspired one of the best-selling toys of all time. That’s why it’s hard to believe that prior to 1975 monster trucks didn’t even exist.
The birthplace of Bigfoot: 175 Paul Avenue in Ferguson
How it all Began
There aren’t many people who can say they invented a sport, but Bob Chandler is one of them. In the mid-1970s, after teaming with his friend Jim Kramer to open Midwest 4-Wheel Drive Center in Ferguson, he had an idea to create a rolling billboard for his business. Never imagining it would gain so much attention, he took a Ford F-250 truck and beefed it up with big tires, heavy-duty suspension and a high-performance engine, nicknaming it “Bigfoot” because of his own lead foot behind the wheel.
Before long, it was obvious that Chandler’s advertising gimmick had worked. As hoped, customers started clamoring for his 4×4 parts, but more than anything, they wanted to see Bigfoot in action. Chandler kept tweaking the design of his unique “monster truck,” eventually adding rear steering and numerous other modifications, until he finally landed his first paid Bigfoot gig at a Denver car show in 1979.
Two years later, on a lark, he drove Bigfoot over a few junk cars, which led to his first public car-crush in 1982. The rest, as they say, is history.
A marvel of modern automotive engineering, Bigfoot #16 (without its 66" tires)
Building an Industry
Over the years, Chandler has built 17 Bigfoots, each more high-tech than the last. While his early vehicles were stock trucks modified with parts from farm equipment and heavy machinery, today’s Bigfoots are fiberglass “shells” almost entirely created from scratch.
“There probably aren’t more than 10 parts on a truck that we don’t modify,” says Bryan Bertoletti, Bigfoot’s lead mechanic and jack of all trades. “The fans keep wanting bigger, faster, longer, so we’re always challenged to make the trucks better and stronger.”
Machining, painting, fabricating, even driving...Bryan Bertoletti does it all.
From a design standpoint, Bigfoot has been responsible for countless monster truck innovations, including advanced safety features and Chandler’s ground-breaking tube chassis, which made the trucks lighter and faster. But for Bertoletti and other crew members, most of their daily work revolves around a never-ending stream of maintenance issues.
“Broken axles, body repairs…there’s always something needing to be fixed,” he says, noting the inevitable damage caused by racing, jumping and sometimes rolling a five-ton truck. “Generally we work on seven trucks in a week, with just 2-3 days turnaround for each one, so we’re pretty much always busy.”
For safety, Bigfoot's headlights are just decals and its doors are fake too. To enter the vehicle, driver Dan Runte climbs up through a small hole in the truck floor.
The Driver’s Life
If the schedule is hectic at Bigfoot headquarters, it’s even more grueling for drivers on the road. Working 40 weekends a year, with at least 180 days away from home, the nine men and one woman who drive Bigfoot monster trucks for a living are also required to deal with myriad other tasks.
Before shows, they spend up to two hours just putting the wheels on their truck…then two hours afterward to get them off. Many times, they also sign autographs, pose for photos with fans, sell Bigfoot merchandise, drive the semi that carries their truck, and tend to any number of mechanical glitches and body repairs.
Driven by Amber Walker, Ms. Bigfoot was reintroduced in 2010 after an initial debut in 1985.
“Everybody thinks it’s great to be a driver, and it is, but a lot of guys give up after a month,” says Dan Runte, a 22-year Bigfoot veteran. “You have to have a wide mix of skills to do this, because most of the time it’s just you out there. You’re the driver and the PR person and the mechanic.”
To his credit, Runte hasn’t missed a single event in his career. A lifelong daredevil, magnetic people person and genuinely nice guy, he worked his way up from crewperson to driver and now holds three monster truck Guinness World Records, including one for which he jumped 202 feet over a 727 airplane!
When Runte first started as a driver, Bigfoot trucks won 95% of the races they entered. Today, with more and more companies (and individuals) creating their own vehicles, that figure is down to 80% or less.
“The whole world of monster trucks just keeps growing and evolving,” Runte says. “But Bigfoot is still the best out there. The innovation, the quality, the teamwork – that’s what makes us special.”
Bigfoot graphic designer Jeff Cook & VP Bob Trent show off the company's extensive array of merchandise, which is shipped all over the world.
At Home in Hazelwood
As for Chandler, the man who invented it all, there’s still more work to be done. In 1987, he co-founded the Monster Truck Racing Association, drafting rules and safety guidelines for the sport and designing several important safety features. Today, at age 69, he still comes to the office every day and spends much of his time thinking up ways to make monster trucks even stronger and safer. His wife, Marilyn, serves as Bigfoot’s CFO, working alongside their three children and five grandchildren.
“Bob is just a true innovator,” says Bob Trent, Bigfoot VP and Chandler’s son-in-law. “There’s a lot I love about my job, but the coolest thing is working with a guy who basically created an entire industry…and did it right here in North County.”
Runte agrees. “I don’t know what all of us would be doing if it weren’t for Bob, but I can guarantee you we wouldn’t be having this much fun!”
To meet Bob Chandler, Dan Runte and the rest of the very talented Bigfoot crew, head to Bigfoot 4×4 on Saturday, June 26, for the company’s annual Open House. Lindbergh and 270 in Hazelwood, 10am-4pm. Admission is free. For more info, visit the Bigfoot website or call (314) 731-2822.
