1887: Horse Manure and The City

St Louis Globe-Democrat; June 5, 1887

Horses are beautiful creatures; large, strong and well-suited to working with people. They found an immediate home in the heart of American cities. 

St. Louis had challenges on many levels in dealing with its own waste. Without a dissipating wind the coal smoke hung like a low shroud over the city. Sewage often refused to drain properly, garbage was dumped in open pits, and animals died without proper burial. 

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1859: Lafayette Park and Krausnick

Sometimes the research for a historical essay seems linear enough, but then pinballs off at unanticipated angles. I set about to simply find some background on Edward Krausnick, the little-remembered first superintendent of Lafayette Park. What followed is a reminder that real lives seldom follow a linear narrative.

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