- [Jim] Steinberg Ice Rink has been a winter destination for generations of St. Louisans, but now there are plans to make it a rink for all seasons.

St. Louis jazz musician, Ronnie Burrage, has been performing and composing for a long time and got off to a very good start.

- [Ronnie] I got an opportunity to do two concerts with the great Duke Ellington.

I was nine years old.

- [Jim] They played it on The Hill, but this game has been adapted for these players, although some things stay the same.

- [Interviewer] So, it's not just for fun.

You get a little competitive with it?

- Yeah.

- It's all next on "Living St.

Louis."

(upbeat music) I'm Jim Kirchherr.

What better place to spend a beautiful autumn day than Forest Park?

Our first story though is actually about making Forest Park an even better place all year round.

Here's Anne-Marie Berger.

(upbeat music) - [Anne-Marie] St. Louisans take pride and come together around many things in this region.

To name a few, Cardinal baseball, Ted Drewes, and the magnificent Forest Park.

Now, magnificent may sound subjective, but I'm telling you, it's not.

It's simply a fact.

There are 1,300 acres.

That's 500 more than Central Park, filled with world class institutions and beautiful, natural, and recreational areas.

- That's the thing I just love about Forest Park.

It's this really interesting mix of high energy, peace, and tranquility.

You can go to world-class cultural institutions or get lost in nature in the same visit.

You can't do that anywhere else.

- [Anne-Marie] Lesley Hoffarth is the president and executive director of Forest Park Forever, a nonprofit conservancy working in partnerships since 1986 with the city of St. Louis to raise money and care for the park.

- Our job is to really inspire the community to get involved with Forest Park, either through becoming members, or volunteering their time.

That's the success of Forest Park, is that the whole community helped to save it when it was crumbling and has stuck around to help us rebuild and help us take care of the park every day.

- [Anne-Marie] Since Forests Park opened in 1876, St. Louisans and visitors from all over the world have enjoyed its amenities.

Like the Steinberg Ice Skating Rink and Pavilion, located on the east end of the park, it was erected in 1957.

- [Lesley] It was created as a space to welcome all St. Louisans.

The gift from Etta Steinberg was made after visiting New York City and thought we need a big ice rink here too.

And I'm gonna give this gift to the city and I wanna make sure that there's no segregation here.

We wanna make sure that this space is open and welcoming for all St. Louisans.

- Steinberg is a popular spot in the park, but only during the winter months.

Forest Park Forever is hoping to change that.

(upbeat music) - Fast forward 65 years, not a lot of improvements have happened in the space in that time, but we wanna take that vision and that original intent from that original gift and make sure that we're really honoring that.

- [Anne-Marie] Forest Park Forever and the city are looking to transform Steinberg into a year-round venue.

Don't worry, ice skating isn't going anywhere.

They just wanna make it an attraction the other eight or nine months of the year.

So, Forest Park Forever is asking for input from the people whose opinion matters the most, the park visitors.

- So, we're asking people to get involved.

We're reaching very deeply into all communities in St. Louis to ask them, "What would you like to see in the year-round space?"

And then those big things that are rising to the top, we're designing them into the space.

- [Anne-Marie] What is rising to the top?

What are we gonna see and what does making improvements look like?

- Roller skating, more food and beverage options, music, lawn games, shade, and we'll have a water feature.

It's kinda hot if you've been on that side of the park in the summertime, it is kinda hot.

So, having some type of a water feature to invite kids and families to come and play in the water, get something to eat, go for a walk.

(upbeat music) - [Anne-Marie] The re-imagined Steinberg Project is still in the planning stages, so don't expect to see these changes for a few years.

But you can be a part of the process now by providing your input.

Just visit the Forest Park Forever website.

In the meantime, I'll see you at the park.

(upbeat music) - And now, another upbeat story and downbeat as well.

Ruth Ezell profiles a St. Louisan whose drumming has long been part of the American jazz scene and that's really saying something.

- And right now, please give a warm round of applause to our musical heritage, Ronnie Burrage and Orchestra.

(audience clapping) - [Ronnie] I love music.

I love all types of music.

- [Ruth] And that love showed, as percussionist, composer, and University City native, Ronnie Burrage, performed at the 2022 edition of Music at the Intersection in Grand Center.

His appearance capped off a residency in partnership with multiple artistic entities, including the Kranzberg Art Center.

(upbeat music) This concert of original works was a musical home coming for Burrage who lives in New York.

Considered one of the finest musicians in the jazz world, Burrage jokes that his artistic journey began pretty much from birth.

- My grandparents told me stories.

I used to pull the pots and pans out and just play them in my diapers.

But the family, it started my family, right?

So, my great-grandfather, played oboe and trombone in the first American circus bands and his brother played I think it's clarinet.

So the two of them together, I have pictures.

I did the research from the first American circus band that turned into Barnum and Bailey Circus.

It was a all black band primarily.

- [Ruth] Barrages grandfather was Allan David Mahr.

He was a poet whose writings on social justice issues have inspired music by Burrage.

Mahr regularly took his grandson and the rest of his family to see the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, while at the same time exposing them to the best of jazz and blues.

- My grandfather had a grand piano in the living room.

My mother and then her brothers, everybody had different musical tastes, so there was always music on the third floor, the second floor, the first floor, all types of different music.

Plus we liked movies.

So you know, we would sit on the couch, the entire family.

I'm the youngest and we're looking at like "Magnificent Seven" or "Doctor Zhivago."

- Some great scores.

- "Exodus."

- There you go.

And everybody in the family will tell you that I would get up off the couch and go to the piano and start picking out those melodies.

- [Ruth] But it wasn't his prowess on the keyboards that led a young Burrage to share the stage with a music legend.

- I got an opportunity to do two concerts with the great Duke Ellington.

I was nine years old and I was reciting poetry.

He had his orchestra, his Sacred Orchestra.

Course, I didn't know who he was.

I mean, the music was always playing in the house, you know?

Couple years later I'm like, "Oh, that was the guy, that was the guy."

And then growing up and playing and then learning about his legacy that this man was so brilliant and he composed for his musicians.

I think that really before I even knew what it was to really compose, it stuck with me that that's what he did because that's what I do.

I hand pick my musicians, I compose my music specifically for that sound.

- Our conversation with Ronnie Burrage took place at his high school, alma mater, University City High.

And look who we have over here.

- Yep, and there I am.

- [Ruth] Burrage's photo was among those of dozens of other distinguished alumni on display in the high school's Hall of Fame - When they inducted me into the Hall of Fame and gave me the book of all of the people that are, you know, I'm like, I had, I didn't have any idea that it was so much talent that came outta the school.

I knew while I was here, there was tons of talent.

I can go all over the world and sometimes somebody will say, "I heard you went to U City."

I'm like, "Yeah."

They say, "I did too."

It doesn't matter.

It seems like it doesn't matter where I am, it could be anywhere in the world.

And I've been on all seven continents playing music and teaching and research and all types of things.

But I always, there's somebody who always says, "I went to U City too."

And it's just amazing, the connection.

JD, I'm thinking you on the first chair.

Everybody, this is Rassu.

Anybody who don't know him.

My uncle's in from Paris.

- [Ruth] Many of the musicians gathered for this rehearsal came from out of town and are members of Burrage's New York band.

Most have roots in St. Louis.

In preparing for music at the Intersection, Burrage juggles his jobs teaching at two colleges on the east coast with traveling back and forth to St. Louis to hold sectional rehearsals here.

- And it'll be a choir over there and strings.

- Who glowed in the dark like huge fireflies.

- [Ruth] And as you might expect, spoken word.

Noted St. Louis author and poet Quincy Troupe.

- And yes, we retain our magic and power, divinity as mysterious artists do.

(bass strumming) - See you at the festival.

(upbeat music) - [Ruth] This composition titled "Always" is from the album "Dance of the Great Spirit," by Ronnie Burrage and Holographic Principle.

It's a sacred piece that was performed with a choir wedged onto a tightly packed stage under the big top in Grand Center.

(upbeat music) Over the course of his career, Burrage has performed and recorded with a long roster of distinguished jazz artists.

But like many of his contemporaries, he's also a dedicated educator.

He explains how music can be a tool for teaching the darker chapters of our country's history and for promoting social justice.

- And I get students every year that have no clue.

They never heard about Tulsa, Oklahoma.

They never heard about the St. Louis so-called Race Riots and all of these things that were actually not race riots, but they were more terrorist acts placed upon our people.

So, I tell those stories also through the music and I tell them when I teach.

- [Ruth] In addition, Burrage and his wife, who's a geographer and researcher, founded the nonprofit organization, World Rhythm Academy.

- Purpose of that is to be able to bring people from all over the world into other spaces, especially to deal with people who are underserved and don't have the opportunity to meet those types of people and interact with their music or their art form or their language and their things like that.

(upbeat music) - [Ruth] Interaction was no problem with Burrage's music at the Intersection audience, despite technical issues that delayed the start of his performance by about 90 minutes, most of his fans stayed until the end which was nearly 1:00 AM, that's making a connection.

(upbeat music) (audience cheering) - And now sports, Brooke Butler's stories about a game that has survived the fall of the Roman Empire.

It spread around the world.

We know it here in St. Louis, but these days you don't just find it on The Hill because in this version of the game, it's been given wheels.

- On the board.

One point, we got the ball.

- When you hear bocce, you probably imagine something like this here at Milo's Bocce Garden, especially if you live in St. Louis.

Where else would you expect to play the popular Italian sport other than The Hill?

Well, as it turns out there is another place you can play, but this version of the game isn't designed for the typical player.

(upbeat music) - [Ryan] I am playing boccia ball.

- [Brooke] So it's boccia?

- Well, people say it all different ways.

- I say boccia.

- Boccia.

- Boccia, boccia, boccia.

- [Brooke] However you pronounce it, boccia is not to be confused with its ancient ancestor, bocce.

The objectives are the same for both games, but boccia is specifically designed for athletes with impairments that affect motor skills.

Although it's played from a wheelchair as a precision ball sport, it's not necessarily focused on physical ability.

- It's more a mental sport than a physical sport.

- [Brooke] Boccia was introduced in the 1980s and was originally designed for those with cerebral palsy.

Making its first appearance in the 1984 Paralympics, the game is now played in over 50 countries.

As one of the fastest growing Paralympic sports and one of only two that do not have an Olympic counterpart, the game's modifications have evolved with technologies that allow a wide range of athletes.

- We have a white ball known as a jack that we throw out first.

- [Brooke] In bocce, the jack is called the pallina and is smaller than the rest of the balls.

Bocce balls are also hard and weighted, compared to boccia balls which are lighter weight and made of leather.

- The way our courts are laid out here for practice, there are six ends per round.

So six people throw the jack.

- [Brooke] To allow for these six players, the boccia court is wider than a standard bocce court which can be played on various surfaces like sand, grass, or pavement.

Whereas boccia is typically played on a smooth indoor surface.

For competition purposes, boccia players are classified into one of four categories that determines their eligibility for assistance.

Certain players may need to kick instead of throw the balls or some may need to utilize specialized equipment.

- I use a ramp as well as this little tool I made up myself which is just a little piece of metal I found at the hardware store and we bent.

It's basically just put the ball on the ramp, put this in front of the ball or behind it, depending on how I had the ramp set up at the time.

Move this outta the way I let the ball roll.

- [Brooke] But that's about where the differences end.

The objective for both games is to get your team's ball closest to the jack.

Seems simple enough.

And for some it's just a relaxing backyard family activity.

But a lot of these players aren't just in it simply for the fun of the game.

- Our team has gotten many medals.

We've been able to do a bunch of tournaments We've gone to nationals.

- [Brooke] So, it's not just for fun.

You get a little competitive with it?

- Yeah.

- This is full competition.

This is either buckle up and play the best you can or you're not moving on.

- [Brooke] Zach has played with another disabled baseball league that was mainly focused on player participation.

The competitive edge is what drew him to the Disabled Athletes Sports Association, or DASA.

- We offer a wide range of sports and a lot of our athletes participate in more than one as well.

But yeah, I would say boccia is one of our popular sports for sure.

- [Brooke] DASA offers competitive and recreational programs to athletes of all abilities, in addition to adaptive fitness and exercise rehab through their ability gym.

- You know, it services a portion of the community that you know at times is not always provided resources.

Whether you're tall, short, fast, not, right?

I think that there's an opportunity for you to compete and to, you know, if you enjoy competing athletically if there's a big social aspect of it as well.

Teaches perseverance, and integrity, and communication, and relationship building.

So, I think just having an organization like that so that can provide that outlet an opportunity for folks who maybe couldn't participate in traditional sports as easily as others, is really important and we're certainly proud to be in the community and wanna provide that resource to anybody that's interested.

- We often do stories about St. Louis because that's what we do.

It's kind of unusual for a national producer though to come to town to do a St. Louis story and one that's not about our problems.

Now, this is a war story and a success story and it's about somebody whose name you probably know.

We're gonna be running this documentary about Jack Taylor on November 1st.

And we were invited to a sneak preview at kind of an unusual place.

Well, at least for a movie.

A lot of folks got their first look inside the new soccer stadium downtown in early October.

But, it wasn't for a soccer match.

No, they were here to see a movie.

(dramatic music) The screening of a documentary about the late Jack Taylor that will air on Nine PBS, November 1st and on other PBS stations as well.

Taylor, who would've turned 100 this year, founded Enterprise Rent-a-Car, now Enterprise Holdings, and he and his family today have done much for their hometown, including bringing professional soccer to St. Louis.

Invited to the screening at the stadium where thousands of Enterprise employees.

The event was hosted by Jack Taylor's children.

That's Andrew Taylor on the right, who is now Enterprise executive chairman, and daughter, Joanne Kindle, who chairs the company's charitable foundation.

But the film is not so much about the company founded in 1957 by Jack Taylor, but what came before, especially the life-defining experiences as a carrier-based fighter pilot in World War II.

The film is narrated by Gary Sinise, actor and supporter of Humanitarian Services for Veterans.

- [Gary] He was assigned to Air Group 15, also known as The Fabled 15.

The squadron was- - Before World War II came along, which was Pearl Harbor, he had not figured out what his life's purpose was and the Navy, he would tell you later, changed his life, made him a better person, a better family man, a better business man.

- [Jim] Joanne, growing up, did he talk about World War II?

- Not growing up.

It wasn't until much later in our lives that he started to talk about it.

And from what I understand that's fairly common with people that served at during World War II.

- [Jim] Facing danger and their own mortality daily during World War II had changed a lot of boys into more serious, responsible, and mature men.

- I think anybody that's in the service feels they're doing the right thing.

They're protecting the country, number one.

And then after they're in, they're protecting their buddy.

- [Jim] This film was directed by Tim Gray who is founder of the World War II Foundation, has made more than 30 films about World War II veterans and their experiences, with 10 more in the works.

- Everything that I think Jack learned and defined his life, he learned in the military.

And then he brought that home like a lot of World War II veterans did.

And he took risks in the business world.

Coming home and maybe starting a business wasn't as risky as landing on Iwo Jima, or flying a B-17 over France when it was occupied by the Germans.

So, their lives in a lot of ways had already been defined by the time they turned 20 or 22 years old, they had been through the defining moment of their life.

And the lessons they learned during World War II, they just brought with them back and helped rebuild America.

- [Gary] Because of his love for anything mechanical, especially anything with an engine, Jack Taylor decided why not get into the car business.

in St. Louis?

He had loved cars.

- [Jim] Jack Taylor did more than serve his country and start a business which he would name Enterprise after the aircraft carrier he served on.

He made a lot of money and became one of St. Louis's leading philanthropists with huge gifts to the symphony, the Botanical Garden, Forest Park Forever, and many others.

The foundation continues to support cultural, educational, and historical organizations.

- Those things were important to him 'cause it says a lot about the city and that was very important to him.

- [Jim] And he had a business to run, isn't that enough?

- No, according to him, it was not.

And in 1982, he set up the Enterprise Foundation because he felt so privileged.

And again, it was a small company back then, or smaller, by a long shot.

But, he just said he felt a responsibility to the community and we've taken that on ever since.

And I was like 10 years old.

- [Jim] Those in this audience work for Enterprise.

They know the name Jack Taylor even if they didn't know the whole story.

And in St. Louis, the Taylor family name is prominent, but for the filmmaker, Tim Gray, this is not a local story, it's for a national audience.

- [Gary] Two passes on one of the world's most formidable battleships was considered suicide.

Somehow Jack Taylor survived.

- [Jim] And he says it's especially for young people today who may not know the history of what was done during World War II and more importantly, who did it.

- There's so many lessons that that generation left us that we try to impart on this generation.

Once they hear the stories, they're hooked.

And especially if it's a story about them, or somebody in their family, or someone just their age.

They're 16, they're going to the mall.

I know 16-year-olds who were landing on Omaha Beach when they turned sixteen.

It just shows you what the generation is capable of when called upon.

(light music) - And that's "Living St. Louis," thanks for joining us.

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

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

(upbeat music)