Riverview Gardens

RGHStory 2 Ep 5Bot

EPISODE 5BOT

(Published August 21, 2022)

THE MAGICAL HISTORY TOUR

(Continued)

After taking a break, it hit me! OMG! What have I done? I’m up to my neck bones in subdivisions and neighborhoods. And now, the die is cast. I’m crossing the Rubicon (Halls Ferry). There’s no turning back. How many Riverview Gardens School District residential subdivisions west of Halls Ferry were there by the time we graduated in 1969? 35? You can skip this part at your own peril, but I wouldn’t advise it. I’d consider the advice Ken DeBeer gave me not long ago: KEEP READING. You might have a vested interest in what’s coming. Yikes!

The Magical History Tour is hoping to take you away

Hoping to take you away….

RIVERVIEW GARDENS SCHOOL DISTRICT: SUBDIVISIONS NORTH OF CHAMBERS AND WEST OF HALLS FERRY

By the time we graduated on June 5, 1969, 15 residential subdivisions north of Chambers Road between Halls Ferry and West Florissant had gained a solid foothold in the Riverview Gardens School District. That foothold was established initially in 1926 with the filing of the Atwater Terrace and Chambers Park subdivision plats in the northwest quadrant of Halls Ferry and Chambers and was cemented firmly in place with the development of Northland Hills in the City of Dellwood over a period of several years, beginning in 1958 when our old friend Norman Schuermann (of Bissell Hills fame) commenced construction of what would turn out to be 1,020 homes in the Riverview Gardens School District north of Chambers.

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CAPITOL HILL

CAPITOL HILL SUBDIVISION MAP

Our first stop is Capitol Hill. Situated on high ground above Halls Ferry north of Chambers Road and opposite Hathaway Manor is a collection of 142 custom homes built on expansive lots between 1951 and 1963. The Capitol Hill subdivision was developed from four plats filed from 1950 to 1953, with streets named Halls Ferry, Capitol, Hudson, Capitol Hill, Green Slope and Old Manor. Another plat filed in the late 1960s, identified as White Acres on the map, contained two residential lots tucked behind Capitol Hill. Ten of our classmates lived in Capitol Hill: Linda Leek, Carol Meiners, Janet Carney, Pam Bauer, Tom Hasemeier, Mike Hunter, Tom Lindow, Diane Pantaleo, Karen Stoddard and Dave Guckes.

Of their homes, no two were alike. Most were a ranch style; one was a split foyer. Square footages ranged from 1,126 to 2,256. Some were brick while others were frame construction. Most spotlighted fireplaces (some had two) and several featured two baths and two car garages or a carport. I used to admire the neighborhood when I drove past the homes facing Halls Ferry. Capitol Hill homes were characterized by distinctive designs commensurate with distinctive price tags. In 1953, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch advertised one Capitol Hill home with an asking price of $24,500. Overall, Capitol Hill was a charming community with attractive homes.

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ATWATER TERRACE

ATWATER TERRACE SUBDIVISIONS MAP

Before the B.P. Owen organization, the original developer of Castle Point, filed its first Castle Point plat in 1928, it filed the Atwater Terrace plat two years earlier in 1926. Forty-three years later, in 1969, the area captured by the original Atwater Terrace plat contained approximately 269 residential lots, on most of which a house had been constructed at some point during those years. Carved from or added to the original Atwater Terrace were four smaller subdivisions: Atwater Terrace Block 2 Resubdivision (filed in 1954 with 31 residential lots), Atwater Terrace Addition Plat #1 (filed in 1956 with 11 residential lots), Atwater Terrace Addition Plat #2 (filed in 1959 with 24 residential lots) and Atwater Gardens (filed in 1962 with 32 residential lots). These smaller subdivisions were developed by smaller home builders to accommodate their contributions to the housing boom that began in 1950. In all, the Atwater Terrace subdivisions on the north side of Chambers provided, in the aggregate, housing for 367 families within the District in unincorporated St. Louis County.

The streets on the 1926 Atwater Terrace plat were named Ventura, Cloverdale, Green Valley, Winkler, Crown Point and Bella Clare. Like Castle Point, a substantial number of the lots were small, as were the houses constructed on the lots, many of which were bungalows of less than 800 square feet. These houses were not uniform in appearance, design or floor plans. Diane Biancardi, Donna Dees, Pam Flieger, Kathy Masters and Diane Hanff lived in the 1926 Atwater Terrace subdivision. Though the subdivision was created in 1926, it’s interesting that all of their homes were built between 1948 and 1965—during the period when new home construction began growing in the District in the late 1940s and early 1950s and continued into the 1960s. As with Castle Point, there was no uniform development in the first two decades after the Atwater Terrace plat initially was filed in 1926.

I must confess that I have no memory of the name “Atwater Terrace” while we were growing up in the Riverview Gardens School District. The name didn’t register with me at all in high school, even though one of my best high school friends, Nancy Kloppenburg, lived in a home within the Atwater Gardens subdivision. By contrast, I always had an awareness of the name “Castle Point”—that neighborhood name alone conjures up a cornerstone image in the Riverview Gardens School District. My impression is that everyone was familiar with Castle Point and knew its location. I discovered the Atwater Terrace name (along with other unfamiliar RGSD subdivision names) as I researched this project.

Of the four smaller Atwater subdivisions identified above, the Atwater Terrace Block 2 Resubdivision with 31 homesites was a very popular landing zone for several of our classmates: Ray Elliott, Dave Johnson, Donna Caldwell, Marleen Woolley and Kevin McHugh, who lived on either Ventura or Crown Point. This small subdivision was uniformly developed with 850 square-foot two-bedroom homes, most of which included a one-car carport or garage.

Atwater Terrace Addition No. 2 promotional ad. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 18,1960. The display house pictured in Tom Youngerman's neighborhood is open for inspection and shows an appealing stone veneer siding on the front of the house. As pictured, the price was $15,700, but note that the price of the new homes on Cavalier and Bella Clare was advertised as low as $13,250. All of the homes featured three bedrooms, a one-car attached garage and 912 square feet. You can see the OPEN sign propped against the stone veneer siding on the front porch.

10215 Cavalier Court photo taken circa 2012. Tom Youngerman's family moved into the home in 1962.

SIDEBAR: Through a circuitous route via South St. Louis City and St. Sebastian Catholic School on Chambers Road, our classmate Tom Youngerman became a member of the Class of 1969. His family moved to Atwater Terrace in 1962 when his parents bought a house in the Atwater Terrace Addition Plat #2 subdivision bordering on the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Prior to moving to Cavalier Court, Tom lived in the Tower Grove Park area of South City on Shenandoah Avenue between S. 39th Street and S. Grand Avenue. He attended St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic School. He served as an altar boy at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church. A natural athlete, Tom played on the school baseball team that won the City Championship at Busch Stadium, then located at N. Grand Avenue and Dodier Street. One of his teammates was Jim Anstey, the quarterback for the St. Louis University High School football team that the RGHS Football Rams defeated in our Senior year, 31-6. Tom’s Dad coached Tom’s baseball team. As a young boy and student at St. Margaret’s, Tom’s ambition in life was to become a priest. The move to Cavalier Court proved too much for the priestly vows of Chastity and Poverty and Tom’s ambition ultimately changed course!

The Youngerman family’s move to North County found Tom enrolled in St. Sebastian Catholic School in the middle of 6th grade (the 1962-63 school year). St. Sebastian was located on the south side of Chambers Road next door to Moline Elementary School. There, Tom joined the baseball, basketball and football teams. He met St. Sebastian classmates Gary Flure playing baseball and Chris Domitrovich playing football. He remembers weighing in at 90 pounds (outfitted in all of his football gear) in 8th grade. Chris, Gary, Carl Triola and Tom become fast friends at St. Sebastian.

Graduation from 8th grade at St. Sebastian mandated elections—Tom, Gary and Carl chose to attend Central Jr. High and Chris elected to attend Corpus Christy High School in the City of Jennings. After more than eight years of Catholic school education, adjusting to a public school presented challenges to former Catholic School Boys! Academically, the Catholic School Boys were up to snuff in history and languages but found themselves behind in math and science.

As an athlete, Tom was an unknown at Central Jr. High. Though he was on the football team, Tom sat on the bench during all of the football games that season and never played. Basketball produced a more positive experience. Over time, Tom became friends with Ken Bay, Rich Leh, Paul Palecek, Dennis Vogt, Bob Calkins and Wayne Lanier while playing “round ball” at both Central and RGHS. Eventually, he also played on neighborhood baseball teams with John Lindquist and several guys from the RGHS Class of 1968: Glenn Essman, Dan McDonough, Mike Gordon and Tom Gunning. Time and again, organized sports paved the way to friendships before and after Tom moved to Cavalier Court.

So, what was it like living on Cavalier Court? Tom totally forgot about the “Atwater Terrace” name. Eureka! Luckily, he remembers Cavalier Court. As the name suggests, it was a cul-de-sac of 17 homes; seven of the 24 subdivision homes fronted on Bella Clare Drive. Two of his cousins also lived on Cavalier Court and three cousins lived on Crown Point almost directly behind his house. His unfenced backyard served perfectly as the neighborhood football field for years. The cul-de-sac was the situs of neighborhood baseball games, played with tennis balls to avoid broken windows. A rooftop hit was a homer! Tom’s cousins called him Mr. Rules and Regulations. Having played organized sports from an early age and, likewise, being an avid sports fan, Tom frequently called penalties in neighborhood games. Hence the nickname!

Another favorite Atwater Terrace pastime was hanging out at Maline Creek behind Bella Clare Drive. A rope swing near Green Valley Road provided lively amusement. Tom and his friends and cousins followed the creek all the way to I-270 and Halls Ferry.

Living on Cavalier Court as a young boy, Tom’s closest friend was Gary Flure. While Gary didn’t live in Atwater Terrace, he did live nearby on Imperial. After each told his parents that he was spending the night at the other’s home, together they stayed out all night roaming the neighborhood. Walking—not biking—was their favored mode of transportation. They walked everywhere. It wasn’t unusual for them to walk down Halls Ferry to River Roads or down West Florissant to Northland. At the shopping centers, they created a bit of undisclosed mayhem—nothing terribly serious according to Tom—just boys being adventurous boys. They played pool at local pool halls on Chambers and Halls Ferry and drove golf balls at a nearby range on Halls Ferry. At Chain of Rocks Park, they played “Junior Commandos.” Graduating from walking to driving, each later purchased a 1963 Chevy Impala Super Sport.

Before they knew it, they were registering at RGHS in the fall of 1966. As luck would have it (for them and RGHS), Chris Domitrovich joined them when Corpus Christy High School transitioned to an all-girls high school. In our Sophomore year, Tom, Gary and Chris also became friends with Don Cole (another Corpus Christy High spin-off) and Doug Goff. They came from different neighborhoods (Tom—Atwater Terrace; Gary—Green Valley; Chris—Glen Owen; Doug—Northland Hills; and Don—Sun Valley) but each of those neighborhoods was located in their wheel-house west of Halls Ferry. Location! Location! Location! By our Senior year, the group of five did pretty much everything together. According to Doug Goff, they “had so much fun!”

As Seniors, Tom, Chris and Gary were standout players on the RGHS Varsity Football Team. Gary (in Bill Schulenburg’s words, “old school tough”) was the kicker on the team and Tom was the football holder. Talk about trust—Gary never kicked Tom and Tom never pulled the ball away at the last second. Chris was the team’s first-string quarterback, and Tom became a wide receiver playing opposite Jack Ettinger, with a pass-first playbook that the coaching staff designed for the RGHS 1968 football season. As it happened, the two friends (Tom and Chris) had talked seriously about their football futures the summer before our Sophomore year. Chris was concerned that he didn’t have the speed to be a receiver and wanted to try out for quarterback. In 7th and 8th grades Tom had played quarterback. Tom agreed to switch to receiver and started working out that summer with Jim Palermo (RGHS 1967 and the 1966 RGHS Varsity Football quarterback) every evening at the high school football field. With Palermo’s help, Tom learned to run routes and catch the football. It was a magical time for him until he broke his shoulder before the beginning of the Sophomore football season!

Nevertheless, all of that work paid off. Our Senior year, Tom was named to the first team All Conference, to the first team All District and to the fourth team All Metro; plus, he received an honorable mention on the All State Team. Finally, in recognition of being an “animal on the field and a gentleman off the field,” the RGHS Varsity Football Coaching Staff named Tom “Mr. Football” that year! Not bad for a South City Catholic School Boy turned North County Public School Boy!

RIVERVIEW GARDENS
1968 FOOTBALL RAMS
ALL STARS

Our ALL STARS (all from the Class of 1969, except Dennis Henley from the Class of 1970) hailed from all corners of the Riverview Gardens School District: Chris Domitrovich (Glen Owen); Van Meredith (Hathaway Manor); Dennis Henley (Glasgow Village); Tom Youngerman (Atwater Terrace); Ken Bay (Bissell Hills); Gene Ude (Castle Point); John Lindquist (Sun Valley); Joe Paulsen (Glasgow Village); Jack Ettinger (St. Cyr Place in Bellefontaine Neighbors); and Pat Allensworth (Northwinds Estates).

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PEPPER LANE

Not to be overshadowed by Atwater Terrace is Pepper Lane abutting the southeastern edge of Atwater Terrace (see the Atwater Terrace Subdivision Map above). Both the subdivision and street were named Pepper Lane. Development of 31 bungalow homes began in 1955. Like the houses on Cavalier Court, the houses on Pepper Lane were uniformly constructed on a cul-de-sac with 910 square feet, three bedrooms and a one-car garage or carport. A 1957 classified ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists a price of $13,250 for these new homes. Lanny Patterson and Debra McCormick lived on Pepper Lane.

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GREEN VALLEY
AND
CROWN POINT MANOR

GREEN VALLEY AND CROWN POINT MANOR SUBDIVISIONS MAP

So, how long a walk was it from Tom Youngerman’s home at 10125 Cavalier Court to Gary Flure’s home at 10226 Imperial Drive? Fifteen minutes, give or take, to cover a distance of about eighth-tenths of a mile. Gary lived in a subdivision named Green Valley Plat 1, a community of 23 homes created in 1949. The houses fronted on two streets—Imperial (running north-south) and Green Valley (running east-west) and were situated on spacious lots of approximately two-thirds of an acre. Other classmates who lived in the neighborhood were Rita Sexauer, Rich Mathews and Rosa Adams. Most likely, these frame homes were built to order or on spec by individual builders between 1949 and 1956. Square footages ranged from 720 to 1,568 among our classmates’ homes, with two to three bedrooms.

To the immediate southeast of Green Valley Plat 1 was Crown Point Manor, a subdivision of 14 homes built between 1957 and 1959 on a court named Lynncrest. The ranch-style frame homes featured three bedrooms and one bath and included a one car carport or garage—a typical design of the era (with 910 square feet) that we have encountered previously as we roll up on our Magical History Tour. And who lived in Crown Point Manor? Why, of course, our esteemed classmates Frank Wetteroth, Ruth Baker and Linda Manley!

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CHAMBERS PARK

CHAMBERS PARK SUBDIVISION MAP

Chambers Park comprised a tract of 90 acres north of Chambers Road next door to the Atwater Terrace neighborhood. As the pioneer in the development of this area, B.P. Owen filed the Chambers Park plat in 1926 and immediately began marketing the subdivision—before it marketed Atwater Terrace, Castle Point and other subdivisions that line the south side of Chambers Road. As stated by the St. Louis Star and Times on April 30, 1931, many little homes were by then nestled among the massive oak trees in Chambers Park. Accompanying the rapid population growth was a new public school (Moline School—grades 1 through 8—in the Moline School District) which opened 90 days after B.P.Owen opened the Chambers Park subdivision. Growth was so rapid in the Chambers/Halls Ferry area in the mid-t0-late 1920s that new bonds were sold to enlarge the new school to meet the overflow of families bringing children into the community.

By the spring of 1931, Chambers Park was being developed by the Meckel Realty Company. The 90-acre tract contained approximately 192 lots measuring 50’ x 165’, 68 lots measuring 100’ x 165/175’ and 22 oversized or irregular lots, for an aggregate total of 282 lots. According to the St. Louis Globe Democrat on March 22, 1931, by the Spring of 1931, cinder streets had been laid, street lights had been installed and about 30% of the lots had been sold. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried an ad stating that a 50’ x 165’ lot was priced at $250 ($25 down, $10 a month) and a 100’ x 165’ lot was priced at $450 ($50 down, $15 a month). The ad further declared that the location was ideal for gardening and raising chickens!

Sale of a lot did not automatically guarantee the construction of a new home. Similar to the development of Castle Point and Atwater Terrace, development of Chambers Park was characterized by numerous starts and stops, and development companies changed hands from time to time, with each company trying to establish momentum in the development of the community.

Streets in Chambers Park include Mayfair, Imperial, Clairmont, Bon Oak, Crown Point, Bella Clare and Chambers. Like other B.P. Owen developments of the 1920s era, Chambers Park is laid out on a grid featuring a substantial number of very small lots. There are no winding streets to be found here. Most of the homes in Chambers Park in which our classmates lived were built in the 1930s and 1940s: Nick Howell (1935), Rose Gober (1935), Steve Younger (1940), Lana Gieselman (1940), Charlotte Pickett (1940), Larry Garrett (1941), Steve Hanson (1945) and Carolin Birdnow (1947). Linda Nichols’ home, built in 1960, was the lone exception.

Of these homes, no two were alike. All of frame construction, they ranged from 609 to 1,584 square feet. Two to three bedrooms and one bath were the norm. The real estate records describe several as bungalows. This one house-at-a-time style of development was typical of the era. Twenty years on, a uniform development of residential neighborhoods and community planning would become the prominent trend, as demonstrated by the next three subdivisions on the north side of Chambers, where we’ll roll up and explore Knollcrest, Chambers Hill and Dellwood Hills.

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KNOLLCREST, CHAMBERS HILL AND DELLWOOD HILLS SUBDIVISIONS MAP

KNOLLCREST

A modest advertisement for the Knollcrest subdivision appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 29, 1948:

KNOLLCREST; JUST OPENING;

street, water, electric;

transportation;

1700 ft. east of Florissant Avenue

P.E. Kummer, Realtors, EV 5157

Scenic and one of the least dense of all of the North County subdivisions developed at the beginning of the housing boom in the late 1940s, Knollcrest opened one year before the Moline School District merged with the Riverview Gardens School District in 1949. I spent some time trying to figure out if Paul E. Kummer was related to our classmate Gary Kummer and the closest I have come to answering that question is to speculate that he may have been Gary’s great uncle. Paul E. Kummer Realty Co.’s office was located at 8312 Halls Ferry at the Broadway/Halls Ferry wedge in Baden from 1948 to 1983. Kummer Realty serves as an example of a small developer of North County subdivisions that contributed to the new housing explosion.

Knollcrest was a charming neighborhood composed of 29 homes constructed between 1949 and 1955, with the exception of one house built in 1971. The rectangular tract was laid out in one plat in unincorporated St. Louis County. Playing on a variation of the “Hills” moniker so popular among many communities in the area, Kummer’s new subdivision name suggests the top of a small hillock. Knollcrest is the lone street, a cul-de-sac stretching north in a straight line from Chambers Road with 12 homes on either side until it fans out into five lots at the end. Given that all of the houses are situated on close to half-acre lots, both the front and back yards of each of the lots are spacious and generally level, even though Knollcrest sits atop a small hill. All of the lots also are rectangular (typically in the vicinity of 100’ x 200’), except the five irregular lots at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Construction of the residences was unhurried but steady: 1949 (8 homes); 1950 (5 homes); 1951 (5 homes); 1952 (4 homes); 1953 (1 home); 1955 (5 homes); and 1971 (1 home). Most are brick ranches, though attached enclosed porches between the residences and garages are frame construction in many cases. One home is entirely frame construction, one brick and frame and one stucco. There are a couple of story and a half houses, and Chuck Malloy’s home is described as a brick colonial with a full finished attic. The floor plan and design of each house catered to the particular tastes of each individual buyer. Most likely, Kummer Realty sold the subdivided lots to individuals or small builders, furthering the diversity in design.

Curious about how the residences varied in style, square footage, number of rooms and other attributes, I conducted a survey of the 29 homes and found that all but four included a full basement, with the remainder sitting on top of a concrete slab. Surprisingly, 20 homes provided only two bedrooms, whereas eight provided three bedrooms and one provided four. Likewise, these homes were built in an era when one bathroom was adequate for 23 of the homes. Four contained two bathrooms, one contained two and a half baths and one had three. Square footage is where things really get interesting: eight contained 768 to 896 square feet, similar to the square footage of a Glasgow Village home. Notably six of these smaller homes were built in 1949—the earliest year of construction— and the other two were built in 1950 and 1952. The years 1950-1955 saw buyers and builders branching out to larger living spaces, from 1,031 to 2,238 square feet. Among this group, there only were two instances where square footages were identical—1,365 and 1,493. Otherwise, dimensions varied enough to result in a total of 19 homes in Knollcrest with an unmatched number of square feet. Even the number of total rooms varied widely, with two containing four rooms, twelve containing five, nine containing six, three containing seven and three containing eight. Thirteen residences had fireplaces; 16 did not. Those numbers were flipped with regard to garages—16 had one-car garages and 13 had two-car garages.

Even though broad differences distinguished these homes, Knollcrest nevertheless succeeded in its appeal as a pastoral, peaceful and unified neighborhood in the suburbs. Its large lots brought a uniqueness to the area, suggesting a quality of life that negates the hubbub in other suburban developments characterized by the mass-production of “boxes” squeezed onto narrow lots. Even today, the neighborhood has survived admirably over a seven-decade lifetime.

Next, we’ll roll up to a subdivision bordering on and running parallel to Knollcrest, and we’ll explore the differences between those two communities.

The Magical History Tour is hoping to take you away.

CHAMBERS HILL

An inspection of the map directly above gives the impression that perhaps Chambers Hill is the younger sibling of Knollcrest. Like Knollcrest, Chambers Hill is located in unincorporated St. Louis County. They share a common boundary that stretches north and south almost 1,500 feet. Each was laid out in one plat as a one-street cul-de-sac. From there the traits, characteristics and personalities begin to diverge as they do with most siblings. The Knollcrest plat was filed in 1948; the Chambers Hill plat was filed 14 years later in 1962. Knollcrest contained 29 lots on just over 15 acres, while Chambers Hill contained 43 lots on approximately 9.5 acres. Most of the lots in Knollcrest measure 100’ x 200’—just under half an acre per lot, whereas Chambers Hill lots typically measure 66’ x 114’ or about one-sixth of an acre per lot. The younger sibling carried “Hill” in its name while the older sibling boasted a more grown-up name in “Knollcrest.” Both were planned subdivisions but the youngster was more regimented than its older sibling.

Chambers Hill promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 29,1962

The Gigantic Grand Opening ad above describes Chambers Hill as “[w]here the pleasures of modern living have been combined with the pride of American Tradition and the prudence of Colonial Thrift to give you an outstanding value in a new home.” The Grand Opening occurred on July 29, 1962, and though most of the homes had been constructed by the mid-1960s, a couple were built in the 1970s.

Chambers Hill promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 28, 1963

Chambers Hill featured Picture Kitchens (most likely meaning state-of-the-art) with built-in ranges, one and one and a half baths, three and four bedrooms (there are no two-bedroom homes in Chambers Hill), and the subdivision included concrete streets, water, sewers and gas. The display models were named The Betsy Ross, The Paul Revere, The Nathan Hale and The Englander, and prices were advertised from $16,990 and $18,950. Ranch, bi-level and tri-level homes were offered; the Byers-Niebur tour of the neighborhood revealed that most of the completed homes were brick and/or frame ranches with one-car garages or carports. The ranch-style homes contained 1,023 or 1,200 square feet and the split level-style homes contained from 1,100 to 1,400 square feet. Six to seven rooms were standard. The Grand Opening ad above also states that the Chambers Hill homes were factory engineered and were built with kiln-dried lumber. Our classmates, Don and Linda Guiccone, lived in a 1965 brick ranch sporting 1,023 square feet with six rooms, three bedrooms, one bath, a full basement and a carport.

I researched the significance of the Pease Homes designation in the Chambers Hill Grand Opening ad above. The Pease Woodwork Company was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio by Charles H. Pease in 1893. He was recognized as a pioneer in the stock millwork business in Cincinnati. The name of the company eventually changed to Pease Woodworks circa 1934. In 1939, the company began to offer the Peaseway House, a line of pre-assembled houses, and copyrighted its pre-assembled home catalog named Pease Homes. The final Pease Homes catalog was published in 1962, the year that the Chambers Hill plat was filed. In 1960, Pease introduced an insulated residential door, which became the company’s signature product in the late 20th century. Through a subsequent reorganization, the manufacturing division of the company became Pease Industries Inc., which was sold to the Pella corporation in 1999. We have all heard of Pella windows! From what I can surmise, the factory-engineered homes in Chambers Hill were Pease Homes most likely selected from the 1962 Pease Homes catalog or perhaps an earlier 1960s catalog. Given that the catalog ceased publication in 1962, I also surmise that the company may have started winding down the manufacture of its line of pre-assembled houses at that time, but I am not sure how the completion of Chambers Hill Pease homes may have been impacted subsequently. That is a research project for someone else!

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DELLWOOD HILLS

Dellwood Hills Formal Opening notice appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on March 7, 1954.

When the formal opening of Dellwood Hills occurred on March 7, 1954, Knollcrest had been underway for about five years and Chambers Hill would not be breaking ground for another eight years; both subdivisions would share at least one common boundary with Dellwood Hills. Two Dellwood Hills plats would be filed (one in 1953 and the other in 1954) on land situated in the Village of Dellwood, which incorporated as a fourth-class city after the formal opening. A total of 235 homes were built in Dellwood Hills; that’s well over three times the aggregate number of homes that were built in Knollcrest and Chambers Hill (approximately 72). The three neighborhoods combined for about 87 residential acres at the northeast corner of West Florissant and Chambers, substantially all of which was developed after the Moline School District merged with the Riverview Gardens School District in 1949.

A bare bones ad published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on March 21, 1954, was brief but succinct with a few well-chosen words:

Be sure to see

“DELLWOOD HILLS”

Lovely Redwood Ranch Homes

2 BEDROOMS — $13,550

3 BEDROOMS — $14,450

Large kitchen with built-in oven and range.

12 x 28 Carport — Clay Tile Bath

Full Basement — Gas Heat

Many other ultra-modern features.

Dellwood Hills promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1955.

The Happy Family ad above reveals an increase of $750 in the price of a three-bedroom Dellwood Hills home over a thirteen-month period. With the exception of irregular lots, most of the lots have a frontage of 60 feet, and the depth of the lots generally range from 125 to 175 feet. The three-bedroom home contained 912 square feet, with the two bedroom homes scaled down to 816 square feet. All of the new homes featured a one-car garage or carport. Classmates whose families lived in Dellwood Hills were Gary Pohlman, Janice Brown, Dennis Burke, Helen Mackey, Ellen Marti, Linda Strehl and Janis Patterson, and they lived on streets named Dellridge Lane, Dellridge Court, Lakemoor, Maldon, Saffron, Tamworth, Jett or Mowbry. I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the immensely popular “Hills” makes an appearance in the subdivision name.

Dellwood Hills promotional ad. Post-Dispatch, June 26, 1955.

I love the promotional ad above with the birdies and flowers and the incredible detail. The print is faint, but I have managed to decipher all of the wonderful and outstanding Dellwood Hills Second Addition selling points:

Large lots, fully sodded
Kitchen Maid natural birch cabinets
Walls and ceilings fully insulated with Rock Wool
Interior slab doors, easy to clean
Reinforced concrete side drive
Concrete streets
Steel supporting beam
All hardwood floors
Poured concrete basement
Choice of interior wall colors
Automatic gas heat, forced air, square ducts
Porch lights, front and back
Exhaust fan
Formica cabinet tops (your choice of colors)
Choice of interior and exterior colors
Large kitchen designed for family living
Cook and heat with gas…the Modern Fuel
Certified wiring, 220 volts
Full length aluminum screens
Built-in Suburban oven and range
Shower
Large Mirror
40 gallon automatic hot water heater
Front door chimes
Double faucets in basement
Abundant closets with sliding doors
Approved sanitary and storm sewers
Direct bus service to downtown (no transfer)
Vicinity of Northland Shopping Center
G.I. and FHA Financing

Who wouldn’t want to live in Dellwood Hills? The master stroke is found at the bottom of the ad, which lists 14 of the companies that participated in the construction of Dellwood Hills. The names are legible, so I’ll leave it to you to read through the list. Even today, you may recognize some of the company names. Competition with all of the other homebuilders in the area was fierce, and the builder, W. L. Kroeger & Son Construction Co., and sales agent, H. & K. Realty, were pitching every angle to entice buyers into Dellwood Hills!

LIVE MORE GRACIOUSLY…

LIVE MORE SPACIOUSLY…

IN BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS!

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NORTHLAND HILLS

The iconic Northland Hills subdivision anchors the far west end of the Riverview Gardens School District. I place it in the same category as Hathaway Hills, Glasgow Village and Bissell Hills, the earliest pioneers of massive, planned subdivision developments on the east side of the District. In fact, the developer of Bissell Hills, Norman Schuermann, opened Northland Hills in 1955, just about the time he was wrapping up construction of Bissell Hills. As with Bissell Hills, Northland Hills did not disappoint.

RIVERVIEW GARDENS SCHOOL DISTRICT: SUSBDIVISIONS NORTH OF CHAMBERS AND WEST OF HALLS FERRY.

RIVERVIEW GARDENS SCHOOL DISTRICT: SUBDIVISIONS SOUTH OF CHAMBERS AND WEST OF HALLS FERRY.

We are going to roll right past Northland Hills located north of Chambers and detour to Northland Hills located south of Chambers on both the east and west sides of West Florissant. No worries—we’ll circle back and roll up to Northland Hills north of Chambers in just a bit! I have juxtaposed the two comprehensive subdivision maps above so you can see how the South End of Northland Hills relates to the North End of Northland Hills. The two areas are distinct with notable degrees of separation.

When it was completed, Northland Hills sprawled across three municipalities and four school districts. Schuermann and successor developers built a total of 1,917 homes in the City of Dellwood, the City of Ferguson, the City of Jennings and unincorporated St. Louis County. A super-majority of 67% (1,291) of those homes were located in the Riverview Gardens School District, 323 were located in the then Ferguson School District, 209 were located in the Hazelwood School District and the remaining 94 were found in the Jennings School District. The bulk of Northland Hills homes were built between 1955 and 1963. Of the 1,291 homes located in the Riverview Gardens School District, 271 were constructed south of Chambers, most in 1956 and 1957, and 1,020 were constructed north of Chambers beginning in 1958. We’ll commence our exploration by rolling up to the South End of Northland Hills. Saddle Up! Hitch up the wagon!

Roll up

Roll up roll up for the Magical History Tour….

NORTHLAND HILLS

(SOUTH END)

NORTHLAND HILLS OR BUST! Northland Hills promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 15, 1955. The map on the ad identifies the Northland Hills development south of Chambers. Somehow Schuermann tied the Northland Hills opening to the 1888 Oklahoma Land Run! With Northland Hills, we begin to notice many new innovations and bolder features in a Schuermann home. The ad includes a comprehensive comparison chart.

An article in the September 23, 1956 edition of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reports at length on experimental display homes built by Schuermann Building and Realty Company to test home buyers’ reactions to a variety of new home features, imaginative innovations and bolder offerings than were found in earlier new home developments such as Bissell Hills. A home located in the City of Jennings and the Jennings School District at 9007 Ellison was one such experimental home that would become part of Northland Hills Addition; we’ll learn more about the 9007 Ellison experimental home below. I also believe the homes of Doug Goff and Harry Hargreaves were constructed as experimental display homes that would become part of the original Northland Hills subdivision developed on the west side of West Florissant. Visitors to these pilot homes were polled and surveyed for their reactions to the homes and equipment, and Schuermann took his cues from their answers, preferences, likes and dislikes in planning and engineering Northland Hills homes. Many features that were popular with potential homebuyers were incorporated into the new home designs.

NORTHLAND HILLS SOUTH END 1 SUBDIVISION MAP

The initial phase of Northland Hills was established in 1955 and 1956 on the west side of West Florissant situated in the City of Ferguson. Scanning the South End-1 Map above, you can see that most of those homes were located in the Ferguson School District. However, 55 homes miraculously made the cut on the Riverview Gardens School District side, giving us Debbie Sanders, Janice Donato, Doug Goff, Harry Hargreaves and Carol Fronckewicz (RGHS 1968). Yay! I have identified where each of them lived on the South End-1 Map. Debbie, Janice and Carol’s homes were constructed in 1955 and almost all of the homes west of West Florissant were completed in 1955 and 1956; however, Doug and Harry’s homes on Gage and Lang, respectively, were constructed three years earlier in 1952. Another house across the street on Gage was built in 1952. I have concluded that Schuermann built these three 1952 homes to serve as experimental homes and later as display homes for the initial phase of Northland Hills. All three were brick ranches. Harry’s 1,277 square foot home featured seven rooms, including a breezeway, three bedrooms and one bath, a recreation room in the basement, and a 2-car garage. Doug’s home contained 1,000 square feet, six rooms, three bedrooms, one full bath, one half bath, a one-car garage and a full basement. The third display was a five room, two bedroom, one bath home containing 875 square feet, a full basement, a one car garage and an 8’ x 12’ enclosed frame porch.

Altogether, the three homes offered a variety of features and components from which prospective homeowners could choose. All of the houses in the initial phase were of brick construction with two or three bedrooms, GE Kitchens with built-in appliances and “Mix ’N Match” colors. Colored metal cabinets in the kitchen, a dishwasher and a disposal were standard equipment. These houses also included ceramic-tiled kitchens and baths, sliding closet doors, perimeter baseboard forced-air heat, full basements and garages. In 1956, the price of the two-bedroom home was $14,250, whereas the price of the three-bedroom model was $14,650 to $15,000. Air-conditioning was optional at a cost of $850. The optional breezeway cost $600, and the 8’ x 12’ screened porch was available at an additional cost. A built-in oven and free-standing refrigerator (each with Mix ’N Match colors) required an additional outlay of $696.

The Northland Hills Or Bust ad above touts the “Homes of ’56” with other innovations: a basement equipped for an automatic washer and dryer; years-ahead electrical wiring and copper plumbing; a large family kitchen combining kitchen and dining areas; sliding doors to a covered patio; new gutter and overhang designs; new concepts in house positioning to enhance yard space; fully sodded lots ranging from 6,000 to 7,500 square feet. The ultra-modern Famous-Barr Northland Shopping Center was a short distance away at West Florissant and Lucas and Hunt. By the middle of the 1950s, North County homebuilders like Schuermann were appealing to the heightened tastes of buyers moving into or moving up in the area and the growing discretionary incomes of our parents.

Carl and Rose Fronckewicz bought their home at 239 Gage in 1955 and sold it 52 years later in 2007. Carol says the house in 2007 (pictured above) truly looked the same as it did in 1955. The original floor plan featured six rooms, three bedrooms and one bath. Carol and her sister Nancy (RGHS 1972) initially shared a bedroom. The third bedroom was a combination playroom/sewing room. A living/play area and a full bath were added in the basement, where Rose's laundry and Carl's workshop areas were located.

Northland Hills Phase One Aerial Photograph: 1955-56. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 13, 2021. The homes of Janice Donato and Carol Fronckewicz (RGHS 1968) are identified in the photograph. The boundary line between the Riverview Gardens School District and the Ferguson School District cut through Carol's back yard.

SIDEBAR: LIVING ON THE EDGE. “Wow,” Carol Fronckewicz marveled. “My Mom wasn’t kidding when she said the boundary line was in our backyard!” It was a stroke of luck and exceptionally good fortune when the homes of Carol and our classmates—Debbie Sanders, Janice Donato, Doug Goff and Harry Hargreaves—were captured just inside the Riverview Gardens School District boundary line. Imagine what we would have missed had those 55 homes in Northland Hills on the west side of West Florissant been surrendered to the Ferguson (later, Ferguson-Florissant) School District. In an unabashed, best possible sense, it is with a tinge of sentiment that I reminisce about how our classmates “living on the edge” enriched our lives.

Here we are (from left) intent on building our Senior Homecoming Float at Betsy’s house in October 1968: Amy Baker, Jane Byers, Gail Cibert, Debbie Sanders, Denise Loser, Diana Fair (across from Debbie to her left) and Pam Cooper (across from Debbie to her right). I remember meeting Debbie in Pep Club our Sophomore year. Looking over the picture, Debbie commented, “Such fun looking back in time.” Debbie filled me in on our classmates who lived in her section of Northland Hills. She also recalled that there were just a few kids throughout the entire neighborhood of Northland Hills west of West Florissant and that they did not have organized athletics. She attended Moline Elementary—and has provided us with a picture of her sixth grade class, which you can see on the Sixth Graders page of the RamSite. After high school, Debbie and Pat Perry (from Glasgow Village) became friends through a mutual friend. They enjoyed a great girls trip to Park City, Utah, and a fun girls trip to New York City.

Senior Skit (1969): From left - Dorothy Fey as Mrs. Cooper (seated), Dave Guckes as Mr. Monahan, Tom Youngerman as Coach Mitchell, Doug Goff as Coach Nordman and John Banocy as Mr. Cooper (seated).

Doug Goff came to RGHS in the fall of 1966. As related above, he became good friends with Tom Youngerman, Chris Domitrovich, Don Cole and Gary Flure. In our Sophomore year, I met Doug when I sat next to him in Mr. DeSpain’s 4th Hour Geometry class. Geometry was difficult for me, and Mr. DeSpain’s teaching techniques were not stellar, but he sure could turn a phrase, many of which we found infinitely amusing. Doug and I entertained each other with running commentary about DeSpain. Doug also served as father confessor for my incidental and inconsequential boyfriend issues. We chit-chatted before and after class—and during, if we could get away with it. I remember many laughs and even today reflect on how much fun Doug was in that class. To this day, I am so glad that he lived on Gage (on the edge) in the District!

Janice Donato Muenz and her husband, Mike Muenz --on the dance floor at the Class of 1969 50th Reunion in 2019.

I was thrilled when Janice responded in the affirmative that she and her husband, Mike Muenz, would be attending our 50th—traveling all the way from Ave Maria, Florida. It’s crazy to think how we would not have seen Janice 50 years after our graduation had she lived in the house right next door to her home at 1358 Highmont, which would have placed her in the Ferguson School District. Carol Fronckewicz, who lived only three doors away from Janice, actually provided me with Janice’s contact information. Ties that bind!

Debbie Sanders and Harry Hargreaves rode the bus together to RGHS. She told me that, to this day, she still remembers Harry’s wonderful smile. She said he was a genuinely kind person. Pam Hauck remembers Harry’s huge, beautiful smile and charm as if it were yesterday; he was known to his friends as the “Wild Man” because he loved life and especially loved to dance. Barbara Steinbaugh, a friend of his from UMSL, recently related that Harry was a really special person who had so many friends. Harry was murdered just before Christmas in 1984 at the Pasta House on Delmar, where he worked as a night manager. The murder was never solved. Even now, such a tragic event seems too cruel a fate for such an extraordinary person. Harry’s beautiful smile still shines through in his RGHS Senior picture and we are blessed that he was part of our world for a too brief time.

When we arrived as Sophomores at RGHS in 1966, Carol Fronckewicz, as a Junior, was already part of the Varsity Cheerleading Squad. That school year, she was tapped for the National Honor Society and elected to the Sweetheart Court (pictured above). I remember her being front and center in school activities and leadership positions. It is only over the last few years that she and I have become friends by virtue of another RGHS connection and friend—the late Tom Gunning (may our dear friend Rest in Peace). Carol and I have talked about how happenstance—a boundary line—played such an impactful role in determining the course of her life. She has told me that she feels she was the lucky one, ending up at a school with great people who became lifelong friends! Carol still maintains close friendships with many of her friends from the RGHS Class of 1968.

The Magical History Tour

Is coming to take you away….

Across West Florissant to the east and south, we find Northland Hills Addition, which contained 216 homes in the District, all in the City of Ferguson. North of Maline Creek and Northwinds Estates Drive are 126 homes in the District situated on streets named Highmont, Venice, Fir, Newton, Nesbit and Perch. See the Northland Hills South End-1 Map above. Connie Lynch and Mike Healy lived here.

NORTHLAND HILLS SOUTH END 2 SUBDIVISION MAP

South of Maline Creek and Northwinds Estates Drive are 90 homes in the District located on streets named Canfield, Ellison, Clarion and Forge. Bruce Elder lived on Ellison. The Northland Hills South End-2 Map above shows that a portion of Northland Hills Addition at the far south end is located in the City of Jennings and the Jennings School District. Schuermann’s experimental home at 9007 Ellison, identified on the map, was located in the City of Jennings.

PROPERTY SKETCH-SCHUERMANN EXPERIMENTAL HOME; 9007 ELLISON IN THE CITY OF JENNINGS.

Experimental Home: The St. Louis Globe Democrat describes 9007 Ellison as a display home that is part of Schuermann’s successful series of experimental homes built to test buyers’ reactions to new home innovations. The property sketch depicts a different positioning of the 840 square-foot home, whereby the long side of the living area stretches from front to back rather than from side-to-side. The living area of the house also has a setback from both the one-car garage and the open frame porch, rather than being positioned flush with those components. The article mentions a variety of new offerings for this two-bedroom home: a large family kitchen combining kitchen and dining room areas; a covered concrete patio accessed from the kitchen-dining area; a modern patio wood privacy screen; a snack bar and built-in planter in the kitchen; main foyer entrances into the living room on one side and the family kitchen on the other; and a kitchen sink uniquely placed so that Mom can observe activity on the patio or in the family dining area. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 23, 1956. Many of the features on display in this experimental home were incorporated into Northland Hills Addition homes located south of Chambers and, subsequently, into Northland Hills subdivision homes located north of Chambers. These were exciting times for modestly-priced new homes in the Riverview Gardens School District.

Northland Hills Addition promotional ad. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 5, 1957.

With Northland Hills Addition, Schuermann took the plunge, offering eight different models and 12 different floor plans, described in detail on May 5, 1957, in the St. Louis Globe Democrat. Veering away from the full brick exteriors of the homes of Debbie Sander’s neighborhood, Schuermann’s homes of 1957 in Northland Hills Addition offered exterior designs distinguished by a long, lower look and new materials, such as Holiday Hillstone, Roman Brick and Tennessee Stone used individually or in eye-fetching combinations. Contemporary exterior color trims and masonite paneling provided arresting accents. The developer also emphasized a coordinated placement of house styles and colors and varied setbacks, giving buyers a wide choice of facing, trim and roof styles.

Interiors of these new homes were stocked with new products for comfort, convenience and beauty, among them dimmer controlled lighting, accent and indirect lighting, tinted ceiling bathroom lighting, finger-tip level light switches, French doors and picture windows in the kitchen, exhaust fan switches, stainless steel sinks, sliding aluminum windows, marble sills, Surftone wainscoting, “Uni-Bilt” fireplaces, Hollywood sliding glass doors overlooking rear patios, all chrome bathroom fixtures and sliding glass shower stalls and medicine cabinets. There were color selections galore: 16 wall colors; 10 tile colors for kitchen and bath; 10 ceramic tile floor colors for baths; 11 Vinylite kitchen floor tile colors; 9 kitchen countertop colors; 5 kitchen cabinet colors; and 6 bathroom fixture colors.

Interestingly, Earl Fey (RGHS 1949), Dorothy’s brother, was recognized as the architect who designed all of the Northland Hills Addition homes, emphasizing the new trends in community planning. Earl would have been around 26 years of age when he designed these houses. From the ad above, we see that two-bedroom homes were priced from $15,900 and three-bedroom homes were priced from $17,400.

A final innovation offered by Schuermann in Northland Hills Addition was the L-Shaped Home, described in the following article published in the St. Louis Globe Democrat on July 21, 1957:

Property Sketch of L-Shaped Home at 9725 Venice: Brick home built in 1957, with 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths; main brick dwelling (1,107 sf) and frame dwelling (220 sf) combined to create an L-shaped home.

Property Sketch of L-Shaped Home at 9701 Perch: Brick home built in 1957, with 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths; main brick dwelling (1,025 sf) and frame dwelling (256 sf) combined to create an L-shaped home.

Are you ready to pivot and roll up to Northland Hills located north of Chambers and east of West Florissant in the City of Dellwood? Let’s go!! How about a cheer, Cheryl and Carol!!!

Roll up

That’s an invitation

Roll up for the History Tour

NORTHLAND HILLS

(NORTH END)

Northland Hills No. 4 promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 4, 1958.

“There must be a reason when 269 homes are sold in one subdivision in only four months….Because we build hundreds of homes annually, we must be continually aware of trends and changes in homebuyers’ demands and must anticipate those trends whenever possible. Several years ago, we saw a strong demand in the lower price brackets and concentrated on planning and building the best possible homes for this market. Recent improvements in building materials and methods are used in these homes to give the utmost in living comfort at down-to-earth prices.” Norman Schuermann, as quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 7, 1958. The 269 homes were located north of Chambers Road in Northland Hills No. 4.

NORTHLAND HILLS NORTH END SUBDIVISION MAP

A review of the Northland Hills North End Map gives us the lay of the land. All of the 1,020 Northland Hills homes built north of Chambers in the late 1950s and the early 1960s were located in the City of Dellwood, except for nine homes located in the far southeast corner on Northland Hills Court that were part of unincorporated St. Louis County. The dates posted in the six sections of the map signify the year that the corresponding plats for those sections were filed of record in St. Louis County. Northland Hills No. 4 opened in May 1958. Of the 360 homes built in this section, 269 were sold in May, June, July and August 1958. Schuermann filed the first four plats in 1958; Plat 5 for 16 homes on Yarwood in the southwest corner was filed in March 1959. Streets in Northland Hills No. 4 were named Champlin, Chesley, Babcock, Varnum, Tanner, Reba, Quaker, Nashua, Emery, Bon Oak, Doane, Ittner and Janson, and classmates who lived in No. 4 were Ron Greifzu, Lawrence Koessel, Barb Uttley, Carol Moore, Mike McLane and Chris McCarthy.

Without skipping a beat, Schuermann tapped into the trends, materials, designs and innovations that came to life in Northland Hills Addition homes found south of Chambers. Northland Hills No. 4 previewed frame homes with brick or vertigroove hardboard trims, modern low pitched roofs and narrower than usual asbestos siding, creating long horizontal shadow lines that provided a strong contemporary accent. Brick homes also were an option in No. 4. These homes could be purchased with or without basements. Homes with basements were offered with carport, garage and patio options and 1,001 square feet with hardwood floors; homes without basements were offered with carports and 1,136 square feet of living area, including a laundry/utility room and asphalt tile floors throughout. All of these homes trended to larger kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. Buyers had a choice of exterior and interior colors, all coordinated to individual taste. The preview price for the base home rang up at $12,225.

Northland Hill No. 4 promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 4, 1958.

According to Schuermann, a large number of the 269 homes sold in Northland Hills No. 4 from May through August of 1958 were sold to previous owners of Schuermann-built homes (or their friends) who had first-hand knowledge of the quality of Schuermann homes.

Northland Hills No. 4 promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 7, 1958. I have included this clip so that you can read about the features of the Northland Hills No. 4 living room, bedroom, living and dining areas and kitchen. The photos and and captions are a little rough, but you can make them out with a little effort.

Moving into 1959, when the Class of 1969 spent its days in both the last half of second grade and the first half of third grade, Schuermann began marketing “New Northland Hills,” an ambiguous, nondescript name. The plat for Northland Hills No. 5 was filed in March 1959; the plat for Northland Hills No. 6 was filed in July 1959. I believe New Northland Hills was a direct reference to Northland Hills No. 5, which included streets named Nashua, Pearson, Trask, Paducah, Dacey, Green Valley, Deem and Imperial. Karen Beard, Dan Matthes, Roland Englert, Darlene Green, Kathy and Chris Langley, Craig Braun, Larry Guerdan, Greg Dees, John Kolve and Sherry Strattman lived in Schuermann homes constructed in 1959 in Northland Hills No. 5.

Northland Hills No. 4 promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 1, 1959.

The ad above is for a Display Home located in Northland Hills No. 4 at 10350 W. Florissant Road at a price of $15,950. The price suggests that the Display Home was loaded with options and the sale itself suggests a close-out and completion of Northland Hills No. 4.

Northland Hills promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 6, 1960.

“They’re on their way to Northland Hills” is the last prominent Northland Hills Schuermann-published ad that I could find in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It appeared on March 6, 1960. Two months later, on May 15, 1960, a brief notice appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch announcing Charles F. Vatterott Jr.’s purchase from Norman Schuermann of all of the Northland Hills subdivisions that remained incomplete. A Vatterott associate, Robert W. Chamberlain, was given charge of completing the development. WHAT HAPPENED??? Maybe Vatterott made Schuermann an offer he couldn’t refuse. Things seemed to be going gangbusters for Schuermann and Northland Hills. I have not been able to figure it out, and newspaper accounts have left few clues. I did, however, find a funeral notice in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Norman Schuermann’s wife, Josephine Schuermann, age 48, died on August 16, 1960, of cancer, after a long illness. It is entirely possible that Norman Schuermann sold the Northland Hills development due to his wife’s illness. I found nothing in the papers regarding any other high profile residential real estate project in which Schuermann could have been involved around that time.

Northland Hills by Vatterott promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 15, 1960.

In any event, there was a definite changing of the guard, and Vatterott left no doubt that he had a plan to forge ahead. The Vatterott ad above announced the near completion of the “New 1960 Display Homes” on the same day that the Schuermann-Vatterott sale was announced. In the tract acquired by Vatterott, there was space for about 450 new home sites. Development work had already been done on approximately 160 lots; the remainder was raw ground. Projections were that Vatterott-styled homes would be constructed on the 160 developed lots during the remainder of 1960 and 1961, with development and building on the raw ground to follow in succeeding years.

As best as I can piece things together, Schuermann had substantially completed construction of most of the homes in Northland Hills No. 5 and a few of the homes in Northland Hills No. 6. when the transfer to Vatterott occurred. Streets in Northland Hills No. 6 were named Hudson, Cargill, Beecher, Keelen, Alliance, Trask, Prior, Ely, Tate and Olney. Classmates who lived in Schuermann-built homes completed in 1959 or early 1960 were Linda Gibbons, Sheilagh Lange, Rick Laux and Joe Reinsmith.

Northland Hills by Vatterott promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 12, 1960.

Vatterott wasted no time in identifying his Northland Hills market: Northland Hills homes are priced for moderate income families. See the very latest in Budget-Priced Homes. By contrast, Schuermann’s advertisements and promotional pieces were replete with lofty descriptions: We foresaw a strong demand in the lower price brackets and concentrated on planning and building the best possible homes for the market. Recent improvements in building materials and methods are used in these homes to give the utmost in living comfort at down-to-earth prices.

NORTHLAND "60" promotional ad. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 19, 1960.

The Northland “60” home launched the Vatterott Northland Hills No. 6 Grand Opening on June 19, 1960, with prices starting at $14,390. The Northland “60” was offered with aluminum, brick or asbestos siding and contained 1,000 square feet of living area. “These new Northland Hills homes are built to accommodate the growing family in complete comfort, without straining the family budget.” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 26, 1960. A two-bedroom version of Northland “60” brought the price as low as $12,890.

A three-bedroom floor plan and comprehensive list of features were included on a Grand Opening ad published on June 26, 1960 in the St. Louis Globe Democrat:

Northland Hills Grand Opening by Vatterott promotional ad. St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 26, 1960.

Northland Hills Grand Opening by Vatterott promotional ad. St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 26, 1960. The ad shows a Northland "60" 3-bedroom floor plan that includes an option for a second bath.

Northland Hills Grand Opening by Vatterott promotional ad. St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 26, 1960. The ad included a checklist of features for the Northland "60" model.

In the Fall of 1960 (not long after the Class of 1969 began its fourth grade school year), Vatterott introduced the “Norfield,” one of a series of three basic models in Northland Hills priced at $13,490. The “Norvelle” model was lowest priced at $12,490, and the “Norvaire” deluxe model, a three-bedroom, one and a half bath home, was highest priced at $14,990. The Norfield was available to G.I. homebuyers on a no-down payment basis with a 30 year mortgage. According to Vatterott, the Norfield brought a new type of styling to Northland Hills. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 2, 1960. By March 1961, G.I. no-down payment financing also became available on the “Norvaire.”

Northland Hills promotional ad for Vatterott's three new models: Nouvelle, Norfield and Norvaire. St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 27, 1960.

Ever inventive, Vatterott next presented the all new “99er.” Priced at only $9,990, without the lot, the 850 square foot house could be built on a Northland Hills lot of the buyer’s choice, selling for as low as $3,000. The total price thus became $12,990. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 1961. The cost of both the house and the lot could be rolled into one convenient financing package!! Imagine that!

Northland Hills promotional ad for "99er" by Vatterott. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 17, 1961.

Vicki Schmidt, Phil Burger and Cindy Seidl resided in Northland Hills No. 6 in Vatterott-styled homes built in 1960-61, each, according to the real estate records, containing 912 square feet, though the style or model of their homes is difficult to discern. Northland “60”? Norfield? Norvelle? Norvaire? 99er? No matter, Vicki, Phil and Cindy were now within the fold—the RGHS Class of 1969!

By May 1961, Ball Lumber Building Department, a Vatterott affiliate, was the designated builder of the “99er.” On July 23, 1961, Vatterott reported that 119 “99er” homes had sold. St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 23, 1961. I am speculating that some of these homes may have been located in Northland Hills No. 7, which was part of the Hazelwood School District. By January 1962, Ball Lumber was offering a new all-brick “99er” for the same price as the frame “99er.”

Northland Hills promotional ad for new brick "99er" by Vatterott. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 28, 1962.

Northland Hills promotional ad for "99er" by Vatterott. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 30, 1963.

In November 1962 and January 1963, Vatterott filed Plat #1 and Plat #2, respectively, for Northland Hills No. 8 and opened the final section of Northland Hills. The streets in No. 8 were named Tanner, Hudson, St. Ives, Cargill, Varnum, Beecher, Keelen and Quaker. The all-brick “99er” was the premiere seller, and our Debbie LaBarge lived in a brick “99er” in Northland Hills No. 8!

1521 Keelen, Debbie LaBarge's brick home (a 99er), was built in 1963 on a lot that measured 65' x 113', with 5 rooms, 3 bedrooms, a full bath and a half bath, all within an area of 936 square feet. Her home also included a full basement and, as you can see, a one-car carport!

A PRIVATE HAVEN FOR

ALL KINDS OF

MUSIC LOVERS!

In the end, what ultimately compelled some of our parents to buy a home in Northland Hills? As always, Vatterott had his finger on the pulse….

Northland Hills promotional ad by Vatterott. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 14, 1962.

Northland Hills was the last of the great super-subdivisions to be developed in the Riverview Gardens School District. Its story is quite a saga—full of experimental homes, new innovations, modern conveniences, years-ahead electrical wiring, dimmer-controlled lighting, Hollywood sliding glass doors, brick, vertigroove and state-of-the-art asbestos siding, low pitched roofs, L-shaped houses and living rooms, borderlines in backyards, super-sized builders, twists and turns, Norvelles and Norvaires (not Chevelles and Corvairs), and 99ers for 69ers! Whew! I’m exhausted but happy to learn so much about another one of our spectacular “Hills” subdivisions.

How about a break? Time for a snack!

The Magical History Tour is hoping to take you away

Hoping to take you away….

THE END OF EPISODE 5BOT

THE MAGICAL HISTORY TOUR

IS CONTINUED in EPISODE 5CAT….

We’ll be rolling up to all of the neighborhoods

south of Chambers between West Florissant and Halls Ferry.

NEXT STOPS: Dellwood Park to Sun Valley and Everything Betwixt and Between!

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CLICK ON RGHSTORY 2 Ep 5CAT

KEEP ON TRUCKIN’ !!!!!

Photo taken in October 2021 by Jane Byers on the Byers-Niebur All District Tour. The truck was parked at Danforth Elementary on St. Cyr Road; however, this Danforth Elementary used to be Our Lady of Good Counsel School (which Pat Lingenfelter attended through 5th grade).