(soft music) - [Jim] Josephine Baker is receiving one of France's highest honors.

We couldn't go to Paris for the story, but Paris came to us.

- Josephine Baker is part of our culture.

So even kids know Josephine Baker.

- [Jim] Another born in St. Louis story, it started out as one man's attention, grabbing, tricked out pickup truck.

- And it just kept growing and growing and growing.

- [Jim] Into Big Foot and the rest is monster truck history.

In the fall of 1949, the crowds, the photographers, the newsreel cameras were focused on a St. Louis Church, where a local widowed secretary, mother of two was about to become the second lady of the United States.

- She had no idea.

She knew it was already news, but she didn't know it was gonna be that bigger.

(rain falling) - [Jim] And if this is flyover country, it is pretty impressive.

We take a bird's-eye view of this parade of granite perky domes.

It's all next on Living St. Louis.

(upbeat music) - I'm Jim Kirchherr.

And after all these years, years after her birth in St. Louis, years after her death in Paris, Josephine Baker is once again making news.

And once again, we'll draw a crowd of admirers when later this month, she will be given one of France's highest honors.

Her body will be reentered in the Pantheon in Paris.

Ruth Ezell, on our interest in Paris and Paris's interest in St. Louis.

- This is a cookie jar, and I take the top off, but it's hard to get back on.

And I don't know much about it, except that I love it.

(laughing) - [Ruth Ezell] Mary Strauss loves everything connected to the 20th century entertainer, war hero, activist, cultural icon and St. Louis native Josephine Baker.

- I think I can adjust her personality.

- [Ruth Ezell] The French loved Josephine Baker too, which is why videographer and editor Arielle Monage of France TV has come to Baker's hometown and to the home of Mary Strauss to see what is arguably the largest individually owned collection of Baker memorabilia.

- Josephine Baker is part of our culture.

So even kids know Josephine Baker.

- [Ruth Ezell] Monage and I didn't arrive here at the same time, just by chance.

In August of 2021, it was announced that Baker would be installed into the Panthéon monument in Paris.

It's one of France's highest honors, not the first bestowed upon Baker, and it's inspired the production of retrospectives of her life.

She was born Freda Josephine McDonald in 1906.

She started performing locally in Vaudeville and progressed to New York City, Broadway and eventually Paris, where she became a sensation.

But as Mary Strauss, one of Baker's biggest fans knows, it was just the beginning.

- Here was a black woman who, and I wanna read this.

"A strong woman of color, entertainer, freedom fighter, "civil rights activists and role model."

And I just thought, and she changed so much and she did so many things.

So this is their book that she wrote about the ring of rainbow tribe.

- [Ruth Ezell] The rainbow tribe was Baker's name for her 12 racially diverse children adopted from around the world.

It was a groundbreaking move in her personal life.

She was a trailblazer professionally too.

Baker rose to fame in French dance halls portraying a character from a colonial era story and was on stage clad in a short skirt of artificial bananas and little ells.

But as her store grew, Baker opened her own nightclub in which she had free reign to entertain audiences as a sophisticated songstress.

- Oh, this I thought was really interesting.

- [Ruth Ezell] It's a fashion photo of Baker taken in Havana during a world tour.

The banana skirt images turned on his head as a motif for a striking dress.

Stunning images are bound in the photographs, stage, and movie posters, limited edition prints, some of which have yet to be framed, ceramics and numerous other items in the Mary Strauss collection.

- I think I started collecting, Josephine, the seventies.

I think I can't remember the first thing I got, and those two large posters, I mean, they're gigantic.

Thank God I had a place to put them.

- [Ruth Ezell] Who did you convince to even try to hang those there?

- Don't.

(laughing) - [Ruth Ezell] That's a whole other story.

- Yeah, that's a whole other story.

- [Ruth Ezell] There's also a story behind the single most impressive item in the Strauss collection.

One of Josephine Baker's costumes.

At the time of our visit, it was on loan to the Missouri history museum for its exhibit St. Louis sound.

- It's impossible to get her things.

They never come up.

There's a museum or something in Monaco where all her costumes and (indistinct) are shipped to.

But it was in the wrong auction.

And I got this outfit.

I couldn't believe it.

- [Ruth Ezell] That must've been like striking gold.

- It was.

- [Ruth Ezell] Baker's love for her adopted country, led the expatriate to become a citizen of France.

During World War II, she exploited her celebrity status to move easily between countries and spy for the French resistance.

Post-war she was decorated for her bravery.

Baker was also active in the US civil rights movement and was the only female speaker at the March on Washington.

On tour as an entertainer, she refused to perform at any venue where audiences were segregated.

When she died in Paris in 1975, Baker received a state funeral with full French military honors, yet in the city of her birth, a street name for Baker and the Grand Center district, and a star on the Walk of Fame, in the Delmar Loop are among the few clues to her St. Louis roots.

So the people who know of Baker's life and legacy, appreciate how she's making headlines once again.

- And we still hear and I'm sure they still know most of them, her songs.

(foreign language) Paris and my country in Paris.

And this is for example, one of her famous song, and it's still very well known in France.

- Gathering up all of Josephine who lives on the third floor and bringing it down so it's in one place is, it was really sort of interesting, but she was a great entertainer.

She was loved.

(instrumental music) - We have another story about something that God had start here in St. Louis, but this one's still with us, still going strong, still drawing crowds.

I was gonna say it started out small, but it was Brooke Butler shows us that's not really quite accurate.

- [Brooke] At 12 feet tall, with heavy duty suspension, hydraulic steering and tires bigger than the drivers themselves.

It's no wonder we call them monster trucks.

And no, I don't really understand what those technical descriptions mean.

But what I do know is that it's pretty cool to watch them in action.

(upbeat music) - People really truly don't know until they experience the horsepower just goes right through you.

I mean, you know, the sights and the smells, and it just overtakes all your senses.

- [Brooke] It's been described as an assault on the census, which sounds intense, but this experience has captivated crowds for over 40 years.

It's spread all over the world, inspired other monster truck entities, is a highly desired toy for boys and girls and even has a university dedicated to training drivers.

And the coolest part about all of this is it started in St. Louis.

But for as powerful as the monster truck fandom has grown to be, its roots had a much humbler beginning.

- I'm Bob Chandler, I've created, a Big Foot four by four.

- [Brooke] And that's a big deal.

Look at all these people here.

- Well, I don't think it's a big deal.

I've been doing it for 46 years.

it's just my baby.

- [Brooke] See what I mean by humble.

Bob Chandler is the monster truck guy.

He started it all and he basically chalks it up to bending the rules in the right place at the right time.

And his brand new F250, he bought in 1974.

- Well, it's like that going off road or going places.

None of the people can go.

I had a four wheel drive truck.

I eventually started a company called Midwest Four Wheel Drive Center in Ferguson, Missouri by the way.

What I kept doing in my truck is putting product on it, making it look good and people would come in and buy more product for their vehicles.

So it was kind of a, it's an incentive for people to buy more product.

I guess that keeps us going.

And it just kept growing and growing and growing.

- [Brooke] The truck eventually featured four foot tires, military axles, a souped up 460 big block V8 engine.

And maybe those weren't necessarily the products Bob was trying to sell at his shop, but it definitely caught customer's attention.

- I'd come back Monday mornings after racing or doing something with a truck with it broken.

And my general manager started calling me Big Foot because I couldn't keep my foot out of the throttle wheel.

And we put the name on the side of the truck and it stuck.

- [Brooke] As word of mouth spread about Big Foot, Bob began participating in trucks and tractor poles and competitive off-road events.

But it wasn't until 1981, that the truck gained a national audience.

Big Foot had its Hollywood debut in the 1981 film, "Take This Job and Shove It".

And if you look closely enough, so did Bob.

But maybe more significant for that year, was the first car crush that has since become a staple event for monster truck shows.

With the constant requests for appearances, Bob built a second Big Foot and then another and another and another and another.

- This is 22 right here, yes.

- [Brooke] The design has evolved with each Big Foot model.

Number four was the first to be built from scratch as the monster truck, instead of modifying a factory stock pickup.

And number five, still holds the Guinness book of world record as the tallest and widest pickup truck.

Thanks to the set of 10 foot Firestone Tundra tires that Bob found in a junkyard.

- And we have one truck that's all electric, it runs on batteries.

- Wow.

- And we do a lot of stuff for autistic kids.

We don't like know, you know, they don't like to know, so this is perfect for them.

So, but most of the crowd, they want to hear that roar.

(car roar) - [Brooke] The trademark roar that Bob at 80 years old, no longer makes himself, but puts in the hands of his trusted team of drivers.

- I was once that little tight that said, that went to a monster truck show and I said, "Yeah, I wanna be a monster truck driver someday."

That's all I knew is, I wanted to be a monster truck driver, but I didn't know someday it was gonna be Big Foot.

(car roaring) - [Brooke] It's a common childhood choice of occupation, but it takes years of training and dedication to actually get behind the wheel.

- So I was a crew guy on different various teams.

And I finally got my lucky break, driving a truck with a different team in 2017.

And then Big Foot was looking for a driver.

And I kind of raised my hand like, hey, how about me.

- [Brooke] For Rebecca, the newest driver of the Big Foot team, it was the same sort of pathway, but a little more personal.

- Oh, my husband is a hundred percent responsible for my part in the driver's seat.

For about 10 years now, I have been working on his stuff and been growing in the shop with the guys and in 2019 they offered me a driver's seat for the Hot Wheels monster trucks live European tour.

I grew up going to the monster truck shows, but never in my wildest dreams, did I expect that I was going to be a driver of a Big Foot machine.

That is the highlight of my career right now.

It's being an inspiration to young men and women, especially the little ones.

They are so excited to see a female actually behind the wheel of one of these 10,000 pound machines and be able to wheel it around.

Just as easy as one of the guys do.

- [Brooke] Christian and Rebecca worked from the ground up to get their drivers status.

But there's a more traditional educational route at Monster Jam university where they train drivers technicians and show hosts.

However, I should note that Monster Jam is a separate entity from Big Foot.

A monster truck rookie like myself, might not notice that insight, but it's kind of a big deal for their community.

- I mean, Bigfoot is the name of the game.

I mean, it is the first one that ever showed up, in crushing cars, and it just exploded.

All these lifted trucks you see driving around and all these monster truck shows you see it all stemmed from here.

And Bob Chandler, he didn't know it, but he just, shook the whole world with what he did and what he started with Big Foot one.

And now look at the sport.

It's just on a global scene and it's just insane.

- [Brooke] For its worldwide reputation, Big Foot still hosts an annual open house at their headquarters in Pacific Missouri.

People from all over the country, come to this event to get an inside look at the monster truck world, but maybe more popular than the attractions is Bob himself.

- You know, it just keeps going.

And each year my wife and I talk about, we gotta keep going because it's not gonna last.

Next year it's more and more so I don't understand why they want my autograph.

It's humbling and I don't really don't know, but it's fun.

(upbeat music) - Our next story takes us back to 1949 in this church building at Holy Corners.

That day, November 18th, the area was just filled with crowds of people and reporters and photographers.

A big TV truck for live coverage, all this for a small wedding, that was very big news.

Because inside, was the vice president and a St. Louis woman, who was about to become the second lady of the United States.

- [Male Announcer] All the way loved the lover.

And that old thing holds true for America where vice president, Alben Barkley and the former Mrs. Carleton Hadley, were joined in matrimony at St. Louis.

The groom was the first vice-president of the nation ever to be married while in office.

- [Jim] Alben Barkley, age 71, long-time Senator from Kentucky.

He'd been sworn in earlier in the year as Harry Truman's vice-president.

Jane Hadley, age 38.

She called this a Cinderella story.

She was a widowed St. Louis' secretary with two teenage daughters.

The older daughter Anne, had just graduated from University City High School and was about to start college.

She now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

- I don't think I was surprised at how much attention it got.

I mean, he was the vice-president, but I get surprised that it was all happening to mother, to our family.

- [Jim] Her father Carleton Hadley had been general counsel for the Wabash Railroad and died a few years before, and was taken out of private school and her mother went to work as a secretary.

So how did a St. Louis secretary meet the vice president of the United States?

Well, it was through her friend, Clark Clifford, a former Washing law school, classmate of her husband.

The St. Louisan was now Harry Truman's white house counsel.

And when Jane came to visit in Washington, Clifford invited her to a party on the presidential yacht.

Truman wasn't there but the vice-president was and when introduced, the man they called the Veep, barely left her side the entire evening.

- I think you could say he was a fast worker.

He saw every day that she was in Washington visiting and then started flying out to St. Louis and he was smitten and it didn't take long for her to build same.

- [Jim] And the press fell in love with the story, the coverage, the gossip started immediately.

When the vice-president starts showing up in public with a much younger woman at his side, it makes the front page.

After all, he was a 71 year old widowed father and grandfather, and she was 38.

The press dubbed her, the attractive widow.

- People talked about the fact that he was considerably older than she, but it didn't seem to matter.

When you were with them, the way they looked at each other, you could tell that they were thoroughly enjoying each other.

And he was absolutely charming and so is she.

- [Jim] Every time they showed up together, it was news.

Even when they didn't show up together, it was news.

And there was always, the big question was a vice-presidential wedding in the works.

If there was, they weren't telling.

Even daughter Anne who was in California, visiting relatives that summer did not realize how serious things were getting.

- Nobody said a word, to my sister and me, and I went on back to St. Louis after the visit to California.

And all of a sudden, my mother told me that Air Force Two was coming to pick us up.

And we all went to Paducah which is home.

And I think I went along as a chaperone.

- In late October, Alben Barkley, and Jane Hadley who had known each other for just a few months, decided to get married.

Jane decided they would make the big announcement at a press conference in her apartment here on Pershing.

She still didn't really get, had no idea that it would cause a traffic jam.

Her daughter said it looked like the D-Day invasion out here or that inside they'd have to push aside all the furniture to accommodate the crush of reporters and photographers, but they made the announcement, they were engaged and they were going to be married November 18th in St. Louis.

The news flash was on the radio, even before they were done answering questions.

- She had no idea.

She knew that it was already news, but she didn't know it was going to be that big of a thing.

- [Jim] It wasn't a Royal wedding, but pretty close.

This footage shot by a newsreel cameraman, shows people showing up early outside the Methodist Church.

An amateur photographer put himself in the middle of the crush and captured the arrival of the vice president and just a glimpse of the bride to be.

And while it was something of a madhouse outside with thousands of people, inside was a small wedding in the chapel.

- I remember that it was just the family and a few very, very close friends.

And I remember looking at them, standing up at the altar and thinking that's the vice president.

And yet he was such a warm, outgoing person.

I wasn't in awe.

It was just very, the whole thing was just like any family wedding would be.

And we'd forgot about the people outside.

Then when the doors open, that was another story.

Wow, I mean, you couldn't see anything, but a sea of people and reporters and newsreel cameras in those days.

And people coming up and asking questions then, and totally different from what had been inside.

Sort of the beginning tastes maybe of what life was gonna be like.

(car engine roaring) (soft music) - [Jim] Alben Barkley was a kind of politician who loved pressing the flesh and sparring with the press.

That was his life.

Now it was hers.

- She went from living a rather quiet life in St. Louis, especially after daddy died and to being second lady of the land with everybody in Washington gathering round to entertain her, to meet her.

And that is the part that her life changed, really did.

And of course she was, if I can brag on my own mother.

She was a perfectly charming woman who could do all of that.

Made it look like it was easy.

I don't think it always was.

- [Jim] Although Jane said she had no desire to be first lady, her husband ran for the democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and lost to Adlai Stevenson.

In 1954 Barkley was elected to his old job, Senator from Kentucky.

And two years later, while giving a speech, he had a heart attack and died with Jane by his side.

She later wrote a book called, "I married the Veep" and it was dedicated to her two daughters whom she said shared her goldfish bowl sometimes with dismay, but always with dignity and good humor.

- But I still was able to live a normal college life, but I sure did in Washington.

I had a great time, very exciting things going on.

And my mother was the belle of the ball to say the least.

- [Jim] And Hadley (indistinct) by the way, still feels a strong connection to the city she grew up in.

She is still a St. Louis Cardinals fan and fondly remembers her childhood here.

Rollerskating, going to the Muny in Forest Park.

- St. Louis was, it really was a lovely, lovely place to live.

- [Jim] But one day her mother met a man on a boat, a vice-president on a presidential yacht and everything changed.

Jane Hadley widowed, mother of two, who became the second lady of the United States died in 1964, just short of her 52nd birthday, bringing to an end one unlikely and pretty amazing life story.

- It was quite something.

- [Jim] To understand why the country might've been so wrapped up in this love story, consider what was happening.

- [Male Announcer] President Truman dramatic enough, but that Russia have the Adam's secret.

- [Jim] And then there was this.

- [Male Announcer] President Alben Barkley and the former Mrs. Carleton Hardley were joined in matrimony at St. Louis.

In a time of turmoil, such happy endings are (indistinct) life.

- Finally, sometimes our region is known as even dismissed as flyover country, but we decided to take the positive view of that term.

So we went someplace that I've been to before, but I've never seen like this.

(tranquil music) It's more than an hour south of St. Louis and you can quickly see where it got its name, Elephant Rocks State Park.

(tranquil music) Geologists tell us this is an outcropping of Precambrian grant.

These are some of the oldest rocks in this part of the country.

(tranquil music) The biggest of the pink elephant rocks is known as Dumbo.

It weighs o'er 680 tons, and it's not going anywhere soon.

In fact, none of the rocks is really going anywhere.

So you can always pose for a picture like this.

That's my grandson on our trip.

And the top of the outcropping offers great views.

(tranquil music) The land was donated to the state of Missouri all over 50 years ago, but those giant granted boulders formed o'er, let's say about 1.5 billion years ago.

(tranquil music) While this is a day trip to visit from St. Louis, there is a closer connection.

In the 18 hundreds, there was a quarry here.

They cut out blocks of red granite we used in buildings.

Appears for the Eads bridge paving blocks for city streets.

And yes, even St. Louis's city hall.

(tranquil music) But seeing that rock in its native state is all inspiring.

And frankly, as they say fun for kids of all ages.

(tranquil music) And that's living St. Louis, thanks for joining us.

I'm Jim Kirchherr and we'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) - [Ruth] Living St. Louis is made possible by the support of the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation, the Mary Ranken Jordan and Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Trust and by the members of Nine PBS.

(upbeat music)