All Entries Tagged With: "Florissant"

25 Ways to Shop NoCo for the Holidays, pt 2

Judging from the emails I’ve gotten this week, many folks were both surprised and elated to read about so many great North County retailers. Hooray! Mission accomplished. So without further ado, here’s the second half of my 25 ways to shop NoCo for the holidays: 13) Generations Antique Mall, 729 rue St. Francois, 63031, (314) [...]

25 Ways to Shop NoCo for the Holidays, pt 1

Nearly every time I visit St. Charles County, I run into former North County residents who tell me (whether I want to hear it or not) exactly why they had to “get out.” Things were getting bad, they’ll say. So much had changed. And besides, there was nowhere to shop! Of course, if what you’re [...]

St. Stanislaus Museum: preserving NoCo’s frontier history

It’s a hard life to imagine these days – building your own home, growing all your own food, and doing so in a vast wilderness populated by natives who may or may not want you there. That was the life of early Jesuit missionaries who arrived in North County in 1823, intent on sharing Christianity [...]

It’s Holiday House Tour time in NoCo

If you’re like me, every time you drive through Old Town Florissant, you look at the beautiful old houses and think, “I wonder what that one looks like inside.” Now we all can find out. This Sunday, November 29, Historic Florissant Inc. is hosting its annual Christmas House Tour, and the tour is the biggest [...]

Tis the season for NoCo holiday festivals

If you’re looking to spread some holiday cheer and maybe do a little Christmas shopping, North County is the place the be. Over the next few weeks, several local cities will be hosting their annual holiday festivals and other special events, so be sure to mark you calendar! FERGUSON: On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November [...]

History for Sale: the Henry Albers house

In a community as old as Florissant, finding the balance between historic preservation and modern progress is always a challenge. Land is sold, new buildings are erected, things change. But hopefully, a little slice of history can be maintained. That’s the case with the Henry Albers house, a circa-1860-70 National Register property that still radiates [...]

J. Goeke Produce: bigger and better

For more than 140 years, farming and produce have been the lifeblood of the Goeke family. In 1867, German immigrant Joseph Goeke began selling vegetables at St. Louis’ Union Market, a Soulard-like market that once operated at Sixth and Broadway. That same year, his brother John also entered the agricultural field, managing what the 1924 [...]

St. Louis County Library: big plans for NoCo

Of all the things to be thankful for in North County, having excellent libraries (and lots of them) is definitely near the top of my list. From my house in Ferguson, I can get to eight different branches in 10-15 minutes, and that’s not counting Ferguson’s own municipal library or the libraries at UMSL and [...]

Your suburban farm awaits!

Yesterday I wrote about EarthDance and how founder Molly Rockamann is hoping to spur a new generation of organic farmers. What I didn’t mention is that my husband Keith and I have spent years fostering the same dream. We’ve been small-scale organic farmers for a long time, and we’ve always thought North County is the [...]

The Buddhist Monks of Florissant

I was at True Value Hardware in Florissant several years ago and was shocked to turn around and see three Buddhist monks, all dressed in blazing orange robes, standing right behind me. It’s not something you see every day, especially in Florissant (or most places in the US), so I had to know where these [...]

Fun times at Florissant Fall Festival 2009

It’s Meat Shoot time!

“What’s more fun than drinking beer and shooting guns?”  That’s what one contestant said to me at the Florissant Eagles meat shoot this weekend. And I have to say…amen, brother! Though I’m not usually a gun person, there is something quite enticing about shooting tiny targets with a total stranger’s rifle, in the hopes of [...]

North County’s Most Haunted

With its long history and many old buildings, it’s no wonder that North County has its fair share of hauntings. I know of probably a dozen private homes with regular ghostly activity, but that’s my secret!  Instead I’ll share some of the area’s most famous haunts, all of which are open to the public. 1) [...]

New zoning for Florissant Firehouse #2?

With the construction of a big, brand new firehouse at Pohlman and Derhake, Florissant is in the process of converting the old Firehouse #2 to another use. On October 12, the city held a public hearing to discuss re-zoning the property from residential to commercial, apparently to allow B&B Heating and Cooling to purchase it. [...]