Carondelet Park Rec Plex "We never turn anyone away because of an inability to pay."

That's a quote from the YMCA website.

We never turn anyone away because of an inability to pay!


No one is turned away from the YMCA of Greater St. Louis because of an inability to pay. Financial scholarships are available at all branches thanks to the generous support of those who give to our annual YMCA Partner Campaign. Applications for assistance are available at any branch service center or available to download below.

Once completed, bring the application and a copy of your 2009 tax return to the Carondelet Family YMCA.

I've made several posts on the Carondelt Rec Plex on this site.  No other topic has received more page loads, comments and emails than this one.  Most are negative comments complaining about how the city paid for this, and then allowed the YMCA to run it at a premium membership fee.  True, it's not cheap, and it's a big family/personal decision to make room in your budget for this luxury.  It should not be free. Can you imagine that cluster mess?  It's already filled to capacity at peak hours. 

The YMCA is able to run this facility like a business.  It is kept very clean, the staff is attentive and kind, they tolerate very little rude/obnoxious behavior.   This place is very diverse with people of all economic, age and racial backgrounds.  Just visit, I think you'll agree with me.  Do you think the city would be able to maintain this place at this high level?  I'm a city booster, almost to a fault.  But if there is one thing that needs an over haul, it's the nepotism and incompetance that exists with many city and SLPS employees.  Not all, but many.  We have plenty of horror stories regarding the service, demeanor, racist behaviors and ineptitude of so many public school employees it's ridiculous.  The fact that they get away with this is beyond me.  I wouldn't go to the Carondelet rec plex if it was run/staffed like that.

And just to reiterate, anyone is available for financial assistance if you qualify.  If you don't qualify, you should count your blessings that you have the financial means to be independent of help and pay your way.

I can't wait for the outdoor pool area to open.  The grounds are starting to really look beautiful as well.

Dig For Fire

St. Louis has a rich history.  I can feel it, I'm trying to be in tune with it.  The strings are loose, but the tension is starting to tighten up and converge with notes.  Eventually chords.  I'm connecting with it, it's becoming a song.  I'm trying to be part of it.  Rich history.  Rich like good chocolate that she brings home from expensive places, rich like Midwestern glaciated soil deposits.  Black from native minerals and decomposed organic materials.  Black from coal smoke and soot.  Black from factories.  Black from making steel and tires and brake pads and belts that spun wheels for every reason under the industrialized sun.  Dirty, black and rich.  Not always clean, not always proud, but history nonetheless. It's all around you.

You don't have to dig too far to discover the back story or previous use of the land you live on, or the neighborhood you call home.  You just need to polish the surface to see what they used to do.  How they lived.  And if you scratch a little...dig a little, things become unearthed.  Sometimes a history that's not well recorded becomes a mystery.  An intriguing find.  Sometimes it takes the naivety of a kid to find stuff in places we don't normally look.

The park in front of my house looks innocent enough.  A bike trail, trees some native, some not.  But oh, to be a kid.  To find a hand spade hanging on the peg board and become curious.  You dig with that, dad?  How far could I dig with that.  I want that spade.  I will dig with that today.  I will dig and find stuff.  I will dig as long as they'll let me.  I'll dig 'til it gets dark.

And when the weather breaks and the sun warms, so does the curiosity.  The soil in March is moist and arable.  These are digging days.

I will make an unconfirmed statement that the park in front of my house was once a landfill or was mined for coal and clay and filled with dirty spent soil from the turn of the 19th century.  I don't know.

But, I have evidence.  The kids keep bringing this proof to me, like a tom cat with a fresh kill.  They bring it to me and wonder.  They collect it, they admire it.  They think about it.

Depression glass?  Snuff can?  Tonic jar?  Pestle?  Tea cup?  All this stuff makes it's way past the threshold.

Here's today find:

We discover our history in many ways.  Sometimes it takes the innocence and desire of a kid to just dig a little to bring the past up to the surface.  Ask and inquire.  Don't hesitate to do some digging in this city, you'll find some mysterious stuff and start new conversations.

New Gifted Program for St. Louis Public Schools

I have 2 children attending Kennard Classical Junior Academy in the North Hampton neighborhood.  Our 3 year old just got a slot to start pre-K next year.  Woo Hoo!  Kennard is a gifted program where children are tested at age 3 for comprehension, functional logic, motor skills, etc.  They teach a grade up in curriculum; meaning the 1st graders learn the typical 2nd grade curriculum.  Kennard is the only gifted elementary school in Missouri.

 We love it here; our kids LOVE it here.  The families are great.  The kids are great.  The parents are caring.  The community is strong.  It is diverse in economic background.  There are kids from all over the city that go here.  It is as racially diverse as St. Louis can be, meaning there are only black and white people here, Asians and Hispanics/Latinos make up a tiny percentage of STL. 

 Our oldest is in second grade, and so far every teacher he's had and my daughter (Kindergarten) have had are top notch.

 One problem is that Kennard has gained such a great reputation within the city and county, that the waiting list exceeds capacity.  This is a good thing.  There were only 15 schools that received the Gold Star Award for excellence in Missouri education:

Similarly, a group of schools (including the eight schools submitted to the U.S. Department of Education) are identified by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. All of the identified schools are sent letters inviting them to apply to become Gold Star Schools. Those that wish to apply are asked to complete an application similar to the one used in the original Gold Star and Blue Ribbon Schools Programs. To be a Gold Star School, a school will not only have to meet the high performance standards established by the U.S. Department of Education (see the eligibility criteria), it will also have to provide evidence on its application that it meets criteria shown by research to promote school effectiveness and best practice.

The Gold Star Schools are honored at the Gold Star Schools Reception held in the Spring. Information about the schools is prepared by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and disseminated via its web site.

The high standards for recognition in the No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program and the Gold Star Schools Program should make the programs successful in recognizing excellent schools and in calling attention to schools that could serve as models for schools wanting to improve.

Children that graduate from Kennard go on to McKinley in the McKinley Heights Neighborhood.  And from there, they can go to Metro High School which Newsweek has ranked as Missouri's top public high school.

My least favorite suburbanite argument for leaving the city comes from those former city residents who leave for the lame/boring suburbs because "the schools are too bad".  Talk to these people, the overwhelming majority never investigated, nor tried the SLPS.  They just "heard" about it.  It's like new resident to the area who "hear" from their lame ass suburban realtor that the city should not be on their list of places to buy a home.  All these losers are part of the problem and not the solution.  Sorry if this sounds to harsh, but if you knew how many times I've heard this, and followed up with a few probing questions to these folks, it usually boils down to fear of the unknown, racism, and/or social or economical intolerance. I've said it before: if caring, devoted parents flood the halls with their children, the standards will rise. 

Well, Kennard/McKinley/Metro are certainly success stories in the city.  But, it's highly competitive for a limited amount of slots.  So I was happy to read this St. Louis Post Dispatch article that Mallinkrodt school at Hampton and Pernod will be extending a gifted and talented program.  And the former Kennard principal, Mary Denny, is the Mallinkrodt principle (she's great, too).

This is excellent news for those who want to stay in the city but couldn't get a slot at Kennard.  There is one less excuse to go running for the county's school system. 

St. Louis is on the rise.

Bittersweet Bakery

***Guest post by Shannon Groth***

I wanted to do a guest post on a recent trip with a friend to

The Bittersweet Bakery

in Benton Park. You've probably noticed the Polar Wave Ice and Fuel building that was rehabbed in the last few years along Gravois near Victor, right next to Hodak's.  That's where the bakery is housed.

As the resident sweet tooth, I thought I might be able to describe the delectable goodies that can be had in this wonderful bakery.

Let me start by saying I am a sucker for packaging. Put it in a cute package, I will by it. Make it fancy with a little bow, I might buy two. Bittersweet has packaging down to an art. Crumbly cookies on lacy china plates. Mini cakes are displayed on a cake stand dripping with crystals. A long butcher block counter holds everything you could imagine, and then some. Because not only does Bittersweet have fantastic sweets, they also offer a wide variety of savory pastries as well.

 Hot breakfast entrees, stuffed pastries, cakes and cookies, lunch specials, its all here. The pastries are to die for, the coffee is served in A REAL CUP. The bar along the tall front windows is cozy and inviting. A perfect place to sit, do some munching, and watch the traffic fly by on Gravois, and wonder why those poor saps are not inside this wonderful bakery with you. Support the little guy, you won't regret your choice, I promise. You can taste the quality in everything they make. Even if you just duck in for something "to go" do so.