(upbeat music) - [Narrator] The story of the 1990 New Madrid earthquake that never happened, but how one man's unscientific, even fanciful prediction ended up informing the public that they should be ready anyway.

- Duck, cover, and hold!

- [Narrator] Their barbecue sauce started in the kitchen, and now, it's in 1,200 stores.

But Freddie Lee and Deborah James still run a mom and pop operation and will even help hook up the competition.

- Someone helped us.

It's part of like paying it forward.

- [Narrator] We remember the birthday of the growing boy who became the world's tallest man.

It's all next on Living St. Louis.

(upbeat music) - Imagine what would happen if after the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, someone here said, "We're next," and actually told us the exact day the earthquake would occur.

Well, that's what happened back in 1990.

While the prediction and the predictor were dismissed by the experts, a lot of people were getting ready just in case.

This old VHS tape was our contribution.

Veronica Mohesky found it in storage and used more modern technology to get the story out.

- [Veronica] In 1990, the St. Louis Earthquake Survival Guide contained important messages that could save Missourians from the massive tremors that were predicted to occur on December 3rd of that year.

- Probably everyone's worst fear is an earthquake hits, the arch falls over, and all of St. Louis is reduced to rubble.

Well, that would make a great Hollywood script, but it's just not gonna happen here.

- [Veronica] But to me, a social media producer in 2022, this video was TikTok gold.

Nine PBS posted four short videos from the Survival Guide on TikTok and they went viral.

- So they're gonna have to be secured and I'll show you how to do that later.

Now, put your feet against the wall, brace yourself, and ride it out.

If you're a burnout from the '60s and still have shag carpeting, grab ahold of the stuff.

- [Veronica] All this attention to the videos got me more interested in the events that made the survival guide happen.

So I reached out to the man in the viral TikToks to find out more.

- So they were looking for an individual who knew about earthquakes, who could be the talent, if you would, on this video.

So my boss just turned and looked at me and said, "They want to talk to you and see if you might be interested in doing it."

- [Veronica] That's him, Nick Gragnani.

He's the retired Director of the St. Louis Regional Response System.

Due to his expertise in natural disasters, he had a brush with fame in 1990.

- I would start off in the morning and I had a suitcase.

They had a slide projector in it and slides and all kinds of brochures and videotape.

I would start in the morning at schools talking about earthquakes.

I'd work the afternoon lunchtime with the Kiwanis Clubs and the Rotaries.

I'd finish up at night at community centers and stuff where people just wanted to know more information about earthquakes and how to prepare for this supposedly coming earthquake.

- [Veronica] The reason for Gragnani's busy schedule in 1990 can be traced back to one person.

- There is a probability, an enhanced probability of a large earthquake along all faults in the 30 to 60 degrees north latitude range.

- Iben Browning was kind of an interesting individual.

He was well-educated, but he was also kind of a self-promoter as well.

- [Veronica] Christopher Allen Gordon is the Director of Library and Collections at the Missouri Historical Society.

- By training, his actual field of study, he was a zoologist, and then he became basically a self-educated climatologist.

Somewhere along those lines, he also begins to theorize about seismology, and earthquakes, and geology, and he began to make predictions about quakes and so forth.

- [Veronica] Gordon says that at a Missouri Governor's conference, Browning made his famous prediction.

- He made a prediction that 50% chance or greater that there would be a six point to seven point earthquake that would occur in the New Madrid Fault Region and that this would have devastating consequences over an area like Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, and this entire region.

- [Veronica] Eventually, Browning had his prediction down to the date December 3rd, 1990.

- You cannot pick a day and time when an earthquake's going to occur.

You can predict over a period of time, over a period of years, a percentage of that just because of the activity and the built up of energy on those fault lines, but it's still just a guess.

- [Veronica] And although some experts knew better, many people in the area surrounding the fault began to worry.

- Keep in mind, there will be an earthquake in Missouri.

An earthquake can happen at any time without any warning whatsoever.

- Gragnani said interest in earthquake preparedness took off during this time.

- I mean, I would show up at a meeting where somebody said, "Could you come talk about earthquakes?"

And there might be a dozen people there.

When this started, I was at the Florissant Community Center and I think there was over 500 people in the hall.

The fire marshal had to close the doors because there were so many people in the room, it had exceeded the level of what was safe for having that number of people in the room.

You know, just two years ago, nobody really cared or there wasn't that much interest in earthquakes, and now, it was really a true panic.

- [Veronica] And their worries weren't unfounded.

Catastrophic earthquakes had hit Missouri before, the most famous being the New Madrid Missouri Earthquakes of 1811 to 1812.

- There was an earthquake as no one had ever felt before.

It was something had severely shocked people, scared people.

Even after that first earthquake, people began to move out of the region.

Then there were two more powerful earthquakes.

Actually, the most powerful of the earthquakes occur in February of the next year.

New Madrid, as a town, was basically devastated.

- [Veronica] These three major earthquakes destroyed almost all the buildings in the sparsely populated Southern Missouri town, and are estimated to have reached between seven to 8.8 on the Richter scale.

- The most devastating of the earthquakes, and this is probably what people equate with this event, is that the Mississippi River in one section actually backed up and ran backwards for a while.

- [Veronica] But even if people in the St. Louis region weren't familiar with the New Madrid Fault Line, several other events caused earthquakes to be fresh on their minds.

- [News Announcer] You are looking at an earthquake.

This one hit the San Francisco area last October.

Here in the St. Louis region, an earthquake is not a question of if.

It's a question of when.

- FEMA, just coincidentally that same summer of 1990, released a report on what would happen if there was a devastating earthquake in the New Madrid Fault region.

So that was kind of fresh information that was just coming out.

And of course, it was saying that the losses, without the right preparations, the losses would be devastating.

There was also in 1989 kind of a fresh memory of people watching the World Series.

And they saw an earthquake live on television during the 1989 World Series.

So people were thinking about that.

Then in September of 1990, there was actually like a 4.7 earthquake down in the Cape Girardeau area.

- All of a sudden, we started getting phone calls and we were getting phone calls from the press saying, "Do you know about this Iben Browning and the earthquake prediction that he is making?"

- And it kind of snowballed from there.

And so local newspapers pick it up first and then the television stations start talking about it.

And before long, it's just national attention.

- [Veronica] But Browning's unfounded prediction caused real changes in St. Louis.

- In Missouri alone, there was $22 million in new earthquake insurance that was just taken out in the months before.

I mean, this unnecessary insurance basically.

And schools would close, things like emergency management agencies were having to print all these disaster literature packets and things like that.

- Just duck, cover, and hold.

- [Veronica] This includes the creation of a certain earthquake survival guide, but not all of the effects of the frenzy were bad.

In fact, the panic caused St. Louis to adopt safer construction codes.

- [News Announcer] Some steps have already been taken to reduce the risk of earthquake hazards.

The city of St. Louis recently adopted a tougher building code.

A new construction is being designed to withstand seismic forces.

Older buildings like this Veteran's Administration Hospital at Jefferson Barracks are being reinforced in case of a major earthquake.

- [Veronica] And while Browning's prediction was bogus, that doesn't mean that St. Louis is out of the woods.

Gragnani says an earthquake is still very likely for our region.

- So in reality, yes, we have a risk.

And I do believe that someday, we're going to get some level of an earthquake.

What we are trying to do is trying to tell people, "You can't worry about just that day.

You've gotta be prepared forever, for always being prepared for something like this."

- [Veronica] The 1990 panic may seem silly now, but the information from the survival guide is still relevant.

So don't forget to pack up your safety kit because, and it's worth repeating, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

- Have a flashlight and portable radio.

The radio is really important.

You want to keep in touch with the outside world.

Now, both of these are powered by batteries.

- And now, a local success story, but not a get rich quick story.

No, it's taken years of hard work and risk taking for Freddie Lee and Deborah James to build their barbecue sauce business.

As Jim Kirchherr shows us, what started out as a little mom and pop operation is now a bigger mom and pop operation.

- Today, I got here about four o'clock.

Normally, I'm here at three o'clock.

I love coming down here early like that because I don't have no distractions and I can focus.

So once the sauce is all already and I got my seasonings all ready, then I just start mixing everything.

And when the guys come in to work, sauce is ready to go.

- [Jim] The man who first cooked up his barbecue sauce for family and friends in 1986 in a pot on the kitchen stove is now making it in 60 and 80 gallon kettles.

He's still the chief cook, but he is now in a position to hire some bottle washers.

- We're just doing all pints.

We're gonna do 50 cases.

- Oh, okay.

- [Jim] The product is Freddie Lee's Ghetto Sauce.

The same product is sold at Schnucks as American Gourmet Sauce.

And that's okay with Freddie Lee because Schnucks was really his first big customer.

They wanted a name change and they got one.

- Immediately, they gave us five stores.

And when I started doing demos at those stores, they gave us five more, and then told me they gonna put us in all of 'em, so we're in 99 Schnucks stores.

- [Jim] Other stores like Dierbergs are selling it under the original Ghetto Sauce name.

One of his biggest customers is the Iowa-based Hy-Vee chain.

And when those stores need more sauce, Freddie himself still gets in the truck and hits the road.

- I go to Des Moines, Iowa, I drop it off at their warehouse.

Or I go to Kansas City, or I go to Columbia or Jefferson City.

Wherever the Hy-Vee store is, that's where I go.

- [Jim] This was not our first time doing the Freddie Lee story.

In 2017, we did a program about Missouri entrepreneurs.

Freddie Lee and Deborah talked about how they moved the business from their home to the St. Patrick Center's business incubator, which rented out its kitchen to entrepreneurs and gave advice and mentorship.

And when money was running short, they got startup loans that kept the business and the dream alive.

After this, they contracted with the commercial food operation to make the sauce in bigger and bigger batches.

But Freddie wasn't always happy with the quality control, the taste.

- You can't really find people who's going to take care of your product.

And that's what we've tried it and it didn't work.

So I figured if it's gotta go, I gotta do it.

Now, I taste everything before I put it in a jar.

Oh, it's right on, it's right on point.

Now, it's ready for the jars.

- [Jim] If there's a secret to the success of this business besides the sauce recipe, it's the partnership.

This is a food business.

Freddie is the food, Deborah is the business.

- She's been trying to teach me, man, I'd tell her, "Baby, you handle that.

Let me handle this."

- So now, we have graduated and purchased our own building.

- Have to probably borrow some money to do this, right?

- Yes, we did.

We sat down, talked about it, what it was gonna look like, how it was gonna feel, how much hair we was gonna lose, (laughing) but it was the right move.

It was time because we were steady growing.

- Part of the growth is making small batches of other people's sauces.

They charge for that.

But if you want advice, that's free.

So you'll even help somebody who's making barbecue sauce.

- Yeah.

- Get on the shelf next to you.

- Absolutely, I have.

Yeah.

I'm not in competition with nobody.

- Freddie and I always say that someone helped us to get to where we are and we want to do the same thing.

It's part of like paying it forward.

- [Jim] And part of that is staying in the city of St. Louis, buying the small strip mall that once housed a convenience store.

- But no, I'm rooted and I want to stay in the city of St. Louis.

That's what helped us build.

So why run when you start getting somewhere?

- [Jim] So you've been in this business for how long now?

- 18 years.

- It's doing well.

- Yes sir, it is.

- So, why are you still coming in at 4:00 a.m. to spend a day cooking sauce, spending another day going to Des Moines or to Kansas City and deliver these things?

Why don't you kick back and let somebody else do this stuff?

- Well, you have to talk to the wife about that.

- Freddie and I kick it around sometimes, do we ever wanna sell our company?

No, no, no.

We like what we do.

- [Jim] And they've done well against the odds, really.

And they're willing to help others follow in their footsteps, sometimes with some very simple advice.

- I try to tell 'em that.

If you don't want to put the effort in, you don't love it, don't do it.

That's money right there, baby.

- According to the 2022 State of the St. Louis Workforce Report, startups created nearly 15,000 jobs in 2021 around the St. Louis region.

Of course, not all of those businesses look like Freddie Lee's, but entrepreneurs do play a significant role in our local economy.

Joining us now is Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano who is the Vice President of Entrepreneurship at Cortex.

Welcome, Gabriela.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

- Now, Freddie Lee, he had a lot of success starting in his house and now in stores all over the place.

How often do we see success stories like this?

- I mean, Freddie and Deborah are amazing.

They really live up to what they say about sharing their lessons learned, and their journey, and they're supporters of the Square One program.

So we actually take our students to visit the facility.

We just were there in the fall in November.

And they really were just so open and welcoming, right?

So that's just one part of it.

But main street businesses and small businesses like Freddie Lee's are the economic engine of our neighborhoods, our community, and our region.

And you shared some statistics too.

The SBA says that new jobs are created and 2/3 of the jobs created are by small businesses.

So they definitely add to the vibrancy of our region and of the neighborhoods which is where the people are.

- And at Cortex, I think of more technology, scientific based startups, but you personally have experience with businesses, restaurants like Freddie Lee's.

- Yeah.

So I mean, traditionally, Cortex has focused through our Square One programs to really support IT, bioscience, and consumer manufacturing.

But our new strategic plan is really focused on inclusive economic growth in the region, in St. Louis, and in the neighborhoods.

And so I'm so excited because my family owns a restaurant to be able to start a new food track in collaboration with Propel Kitchen to really support a gap that has existed in the region for a long time for food entrepreneurs.

Because we see a lot of people really starting out of their homes and looking for commercial kitchens, but really just trying to provide a network for them.

And also, the resources in St. Louis are amazing.

So we have so many different pipeline partners and business service organizations that if we can't support an entrepreneur or a business that comes to us, that we can refer them to someone in the region that can.

- Yeah, and food business aside, this idea of the side hustle or profiting from your hobby, it's really trendy right now, really popular.

How else do you see that manifesting in St. Louis?

- Well, I feel like the side hustle being trendy is allowing us entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers, and innovators the opportunity to take a risk, and to follow our passion, and see where it leads.

And then on top of that, the pandemic really had us questioning and kind of re-looking at, you know, do I want to stay in this 9:00 to 5:00?

Or life is short, I've never had a chance to follow my true passion of a small business.

So the trend I feel is really empowering a lot of people.

And to be in St. Louis with that drive and that dream is really beneficial because like I said, there are so many resources here that really can support regardless of what type of business you want to start.

- And as a result of the pandemic, I assume there's a lot more opportunity to sell online and have a website, not a brick and mortar traditional store.

How do you see that affecting the St. Louis entrepreneurship?

- I think we were leaning toward online selling.

Just look at in the food industry, like all the new platforms that deliver, DoorDash and GrubHub, right?

And so I feel like during the pandemic, many of us were forced to either get online or figure out another way to do business because it wasn't gonna work.

And so I do see an increase in ask for resources and we also see technology changing and even just providing new services.

Through our Square One program, we have people that maybe are interested in an IT, an app, an online store that now can support the retail businesses because of the ideas and the innovation that they're developing.

We had someone that graduated from Square One last year.

She was from Israel, an attorney, couldn't work when she came here, but she came to follow her husband for a job in one of the corporations.

And the worst thing for her was not being able to find the food that she wanted, right, the nostalgia and to feel at home.

And so she's now creating an app that's going to connect the people that make the food with buyers that are interested in finding something that is not here at a grocery store perhaps.

- And that plays into you're an immigrant yourself and you spend a lot of time advocating for other immigrants.

How does diversity play into entrepreneurship in St. Louis?

- I mean, I think diversity is detrimental to the region, to the economy, to the neighborhoods.

And for me being able to support entrepreneurs that are immigrants or from diverse backgrounds also adds to the diversity of the region, right?

I mean, in a sense, like the example I gave you, it's a retention tool.

So maybe no one else will feel that nostalgia to go back to their country or back to where they are familiar with because now they have a resource where they could find that food that helped them feel better.

I mean, we're a driving force.

The entrepreneurial mindset I think is just very much something that we all dream about.

And to have the tools here, to have the resources really just support the entrepreneurs to make sure that they can move forward with those dreams and make a difference in the region not just for the entrepreneurship, but for everybody.

- And so you've mentioned several times different resources that people can use.

What advice or resources would you connect other entrepreneurs with?

- So first, I would say don't be afraid to ask for help.

A lot of times, I feel like that as an entrepreneur, it limits us because maybe they won't have an answer, or maybe they can't help us, or maybe I'm not asking the right thing, right?

But it's through asking that maybe you come to me at Square One and I say, "Hey, well I can't help you, but here's who can," right?

So definitely get online, start looking up on entrepreneurship.

Start with our website at Cortex to be connected to the ecosystem partners.

I mean, The BALSA Foundation has grants, Arch Grants, of course, is very popular.

But not everybody's at an Arch Grant level yet, right?

The other thing about St. Louis is entrepreneurs are so helpful just like Freddie and Debra.

Like, they want to give back because at some point, someone helped us.

And it just goes back to don't be afraid to ask for help because the resources are there.

I know a lot of times, we want the money, the capital.

That could be a little harder to get, but the resources that are going to help you develop your your idea, find your target market, really connect are available to you, so definitely reach out.

Start with one organization and I know that they will connect you to all the others.

- Gabriela, thank you so much for joining us.

- [Gabriela] Thank you, thank you for having me.

(upbeat music) (typewriter keys clacking) - [Narrator] This week in history 105 years ago in Alton, Illinois, a boy named Robert was born.

He weighed about nine pounds.

He started to grow and never stopped.

They called him the Alton Giant.

He was born on February 22nd, 1918.

At nearly nine feet tall, Robert Wadlow went into the record books as the world's tallest man, but he died at the age of 22, so for most of his life, he was a growing boy.

Wherever he went, this was a youth YMCA trip to the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933, he couldn't help but attract crowds.

And that became his job with St. Louis's International Shoe Company, traveling from town to town, shoe store to shoe store.

But he did consider it a job?

- [Tim] He considered a full-time job.

His title was Field Representative for International Shoe.

- [Narrator] Tim Leone produced a documentary about Robert Wadlow's life in 1991 and had interviewed those who had known him.

Here in Alton is the place where Robert was best known and really was the place that he, the only place he could just be Robert Wadlow and not the World's Tallest Man.

- True.

To the people of Alton's credit, Robert was viewed and thought of as just one of the guys.

He had always been bigger than everybody.

He had been bigger than the teachers in grade school.

He was bigger than all the students.

He was bigger than every adult.

He was bigger than every car.

He was the biggest thing.

And he always had been that way.

So the people here, his classmates, the teachers, the people in the church and the various civic groups that he belonged to didn't really react adversely to him.

Robert had always been that way, so they didn't really think of it as anything out of the ordinary.

- [Narrator] The thing about him is that for someone who was the world's largest man, a man who stood out no matter where he went, he seems remarkably to have been well-adjusted.

- Very true.

Robert was very comfortable with who he was.

You have to remember he was always in the public eye ever since he was a very young person starting from about age nine.

And so he developed a certain sense of sophistication far beyond the experience of any of his peers.

And so he was pretty comfortable with who he was.

Like he said one time, he said, "People should utilize their handicaps instead of fussing about 'em."

He said, "Look at me.

I'm getting along all right."

- [Narrator] The Alton Giant, Robert Wadlow, born 105 years ago this week in history.

(upbeat music) - And that's living St. Louis.

Let us know your thoughts and ideas at NinePBS.org/LSL.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Ruth Ezell.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Living.

St. Louis is funded in part by the Betsy and Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.