Last week, I often heard the song, 'Home For The Holidays.' Obviously, I thought of those yesteryear East St. Louis Holidays and how things were. I know the mere mention of East St. Louis these days brings to one's mind, poverty, blight, decay and crime. My recall, however takes me back to a proud blue collar city that was great in spite of known city government corruption, the underground gang element and the ever present prejudices.
The great numbers of ethnicities exemplified mid-America's melting pot promise of a reachable dream. Men punched the time-cards in dirty factories, great railroad terminals, smelly stockyards as a plethora of satellite factories supported the darling of East Coast monies, which was just across the Mississippi River...(St. Louis, Missouri). From inception East St. Louis was doomed to be the bastard child of St. Louis.
Kids from my East Side generation had a defined template before them. A work-ethic blueprint that would make us resilient in difficult times and tough enough to get up off our backside when doors were slammed and we were knocked down. We ignored political graft and pushed ahead. We marveled at the hypocrisy of those prejudiced taught fans who cheered our high school title teams comprised of whites, blacks, Italians, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Irish, Polish and other groups.
Young kids had their hometown role models. Entertainers like Miles Davis, Tina Turner. Athletes like Major league baseball players Sam Jethroe, Bob Turkey, Bill Walker, Johnny Wyrostek and even later notables, i.e. U. S. Senator Dick Durbin, Olympian Jackie Joyner, NCAA Coach Cuonzo Martin, NBA star LaPhonso Ellis, tennis great Jimmy Connors and Dana Howard (NFL).
Perhaps one of the most unsung American heroes from East St. Louis was Henry 'Hank' Bauer. Bauer was the youngest of nine children. A graduate of Central Catholic high school who went to work after high school in factories. Given a pro baseball contract he signed but then quickly enlisted in the Marines after Pearl Harbor was attacked. While serving in the military he engaged in 11-campaigns, received two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars and the Navy Commendation Medal. In the Battle of Okinawa, Sergeant Bauer was one of six survivivors of a Japanese counterattack, which saw fifty-eight from his platoon perish. When returning to the States he played 14-years for the New York Yankees where he won 7-World Series Championships and holds the record for consecutive World Series game hits (17). Bauer was no nonsense. When he heard that Teammates Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle were partying late nights, Bauer pinned Ford against the dugout wall and said, "Don't mess with my money." Bauer also stood atop a Yankees dugout during one game looking for the voice yelling racial slurs at teammate Elston Howard. Bauer said, "Ellie's a friend of mine."
East St. Louis, my hometown. A place I can no longer touch but a place that forever touches me.
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