(upbeat cheerful music) - [Announcer] We take a look at some of summer's ups and downs, of dreams dashed and reborn, stars with stars, and kids with a cause.

We get up ahead of steam for a visit to this miniature railroad in Saint Louis County.

- When the public comes down and they see the real thing, it's like wow, I didn't even know this existed anymore.

- [Announcer] And a trip to London to talk Saint Louis baseball and Saint Louis business.

It's all next on "Living Saint Louis."

(cheerful jazzy music) (cheerful jazzy music continues) (cheerful jazzy music continues) (cheerful jazzy music continues) - I'm Brooke Butler and "Living Saint Louis" is back with new stories after our summer break.

But the last few months, we haven't just been lounging around the pool, here's a look back at what we've been up to.

Like many other Saint Louis-ans, we went to a Cardinals game, but this one was a bit farther of a commute.

In June, the Cards and Cubs played at London Stadium.

This was the first MLB game since 2019, hosted at the stadium, normally home to West Ham United Football.

It's part of a larger effort for the MLB to encourage baseball fans around the world.

We'll have more on that later in the show when we hear from some Cardinal greats.

Plus, you can get all the inside details in our Nine PBS special, the "Power of the Pitch," airing September 18th.

From a foggy day in London to some soggy days in Saint Louis, severe storms and heavy rainfall swept through our region, leaving parts of the city without power for days.

Another hard-hitting result of the elements, a four-alarm fire severely damaged the hidden north city gem of Sk8 Liborius.

The gothic revival church, formerly known as Saint Liborius, has been renovated over the past 10 years into a skate park, art and youth center.

- I've never helped to build something and then have it get destroyed and it mean enough to dozens of people that they come by and cry just to see, you know, have closure, and it's gone, I don't know.

- [Brooke Butler] I mean, what do you, what- - It just sucks, you know, like... - [Brooke Butler] A devastating loss for the community, but these mock blueprints from their social media accounts show that they are determined to get back up and running.

- We want to stay here for North Saint Louis and for our community.

There are a lot of people that use this place to become a better them.

- [Brooke Butler] Another community, showing their dedication to making the city a safer place to live, was the Mid-Town Community Services 34th annual Children's Peace March.

- [Children] One, two, three, four, peace is what we're fighting for.

- Kids of today are just more aware of things that are happening in society.

So it makes it that much more important for them just to be a part of a message of peace, all inclusivity, just spreading love and kindness throughout the community.

- [Brooke Butler] We gained a few names on the walk of fame, while another recently famous Saint Louis-an left the city for good.

I'm talking about the eaglet at the World Bird Sanctuary.

Murphy the Eagle gained major social media attention for fathering a rock in place of an egg.

So when his caretakers caught wind of an eaglet needing fostering, they knew exactly who to go to.

Beloved fans of Murphy and the eaglet, two, three, one, two, six, gathered for his grand sendoff.

(audience cheering) (applauding) And finally, we visited some sites known for their summer flora, both in sweet and sour forms.

June was peak season for Tenderloin Farms lavender fields in Edwardsville, Illinois.

July showed off urban blooms at the Sunflower Plus project site in North City, and early August caused quite a stench with the second corpse flower to open at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

(bright playful music) And now that we've got a break from the scorching temperatures, we're full steam ahead into the fall, which is my very corny segway into our first story, by Jim Kirchherr.

(quiet cheerful music) - [Jim Kirchherr] This past summer, I had the opportunity to take a little train trip.

Well, to be more accurate, it was a short trip on a little train, and I wasn't alone.

Every Sunday, out in Wildwood, from spring to fall, hundreds of people climb aboard the Wabash, Frisco and Pacific trains.

They're small, but they're really honest to goodness working locomotives, driven by fire, water, steam, and what seems over the decades now, to be an inexhaustible supply of dedicated volunteer railroad enthusiasts.

(steam hissing) This is what people really come for, the sight and sounds of a working steam engine.

Long gone now from our railroad system, but alive and well here at the Wabash, Frisco, and Pacific Miniature Railroad in Saint Louis County.

It seems that it would amaze people that these are actual operating steam engines.

- Yes, it is.

When the public comes down and they see the real thing, it's like, "Wow, I didn't even know this existed any longer," and that's kind of our forte with this club is to keep these steam engines running.

That's basically what everybody joined the club for is to help preserve the steam engines.

Obviously, they get involved in other things too.

- [Jim Kirchherr] The ride takes about 40 minutes.

It runs along the Merrimack River and through the woods.

It used to have this route to itself, but now shares much of it with a segment of the Merrimack River green way, which means tooting the whistle at numerous crossings.

(whistle shrieks) (steam hisses) Two trains operate at the same time, passing each other as one heads back and the other heads out.

This is nothing new though.

The club was first started back in 1939 by some railroad enthusiasts who got a hold of a miniature locomotive and laid out some track up by Lambert Field, just for themselves to enjoy, but then they also started giving rides.

20 years after its founding, the land near the airport was needed for development and the club needed a new home.

- And then in 1961, the club found this location here in Glencoe, we're Wildwood now, set up track and started running in 1963, and we've been running ever since.

- [Jim Kirchherr] Yeah, and the turn out's still pretty good.

- Oh yes yes yes.

Even with the pandemic, we were closed for one year, but then right after that, when we could open up again, we've just been going crazy.

We went to a reservation system and that sells out every Sunday.

- To fully appreciate what goes in to running these Sunday excursions, you've got to get up pretty early in the morning.

But I'll be honest with you, 5:00 a.m., that was too early for me.

(steam hissing) It takes time to get a cold engine ready to run.

It's all about fire, and water, and literally building up a head of steam.

- I will spend, like I was down here yesterday getting everything ready.

Been here since 5:00 this morning, firing this one up, getting her all ready to go.

- [Jim Kirchherr] So there's a lot going on here before the first ride leaves at 11:00.

There are several engines that will be operating and it's all about building pressure, and sometimes relieving pressure when necessary.

The volunteers, they come from all walks of life, and one thing you might notice, more young guys than might be expected.

- So I got started when I was about 14.

I'm 25 now.

Yeah, we've got younger guys coming in all the time, you know, that's the next generation.

I'm kinda to the point where I'm like, I'm not the next generation anymore, it very much is like I'm here doin' it.

- [Jim Kirchherr] On this morning, he was working with Colton Fisher, who is 14 years old.

- So I've been, as a kid, I used to come through all the time, just to ride the trains.

A couple years ago, one of my friends reached out to me and asked if I'd want to join.

So I joined and I've been here ever since.

- [Jim Kirchherr] So can you actually get one of these things running yet?

- Yeah, I can.

- [Jim Kirchherr] You can't drive a train with passengers until you're 18, but by then, he'll know these engines and this operation inside out.

The knowledge of maintaining and running these engines has been passed down over generations, often within the same families.

That's how Ellen Lawson ended up as president of the Wabash, Frisco, and Pacific Railroad.

- My dad brought me here at the age of two.

So I used to help him conduct.

He would come out, I would ride in the back with him, and I would help him punch tickets when we got to the other end of the line, and as I grew up here, and made a bunch of friends, I actually met my husband here.

So they're very glad we got one couple coming out of this railroad.

- [Jim Kirchherr] Some folks come early and the volunteers are always willing to talk about their trains.

Allison Creswell came early to set up for her son, Anderson's third birthday party.

- He loves trains, he's all excited about his train ride with all of his friends.

He's worn is conductor hat the whole week that we've shown it to him, around the house, and he's ready to go.

(people chattering) - Signal on the outbound, from yard limits.

- [Jim Kirchherr] Well trains like these are gone.

Trains never get old for kids, do they?

- No they don't.

We have so many kids who come here and say, "Oh, I just love trains," and so when we hear that, we usually try and hand them a membership application as well, (laughs) and say, "Well you know, you could come out and actually help run these."

(train whistle toots) (playful upbeat music) - [Jim Kirchherr] Ticket reservations can be made and the Wabash, Frisco, and Pacific website, and the trains will keep running until the last Sunday in October.

And will almost certainly be back on track again in April.

(upbeat cheerful music) (energetic dramatic music) "The Post Dispatch" called it the grandest and most perfectly appointed railway station on the continent.

This week, 129 years ago, September 2nd, 1894, the grand opening of Saint Louis' New Union Station.

Thousands showed up to get a look at the enormous station and to listen to the speeches.

It was in immense and fantastic structure, at the time, the largest railroad station in the country.

19 miles of track, 30 tracks leading into and out of the train shed, but it was also all the dazzling, electric lights.

(cheerful nostalgic music) Today, it is considered one of the great achievements of architect, Theodore Link, but in 1894, it was just as much considered Dr. Toussig's train station.

William Toussig came to Saint Louis from Prague, a physician who moved into business and ended up president of the Terminal Railroad, and it was he who set in motion the plans to replace the Old Union Depot at 12th Street with a new, modern station and attached hotel.

And Union Station served the city well, through the era of the World's Fair and world wars.

For generations, this was Saint Louis' front door, but train stations were overtaken by highways and airports, and Union Station closed in 1978.

But it remained an imposing landmark, revived once as a tourist attraction with shops, and now again, with an aquarium, restaurants, and a Ferris wheel.

Still in business, but a very different business, nothing like Theodore Link designed it for, or what William Toussig could have ever imagined for his train station, when it opened this week in Saint Louis history, in 1894.

(cheerful nostalgic music) - This past June, the Cardinals, Cubs games in London were part of baseball's efforts to spread the sport's popularity.

Part of the London activities was a conversation with some legendary players led by Cardinals broadcaster, John Rooney.

And we were there to hear them talk about, well, what else, Saint Louis and baseball.

(cheerful upbeat music) - We have some of the biggest names in Cardinal baseball history with us here, and let's start with Al Hrabosky, the Mad Hungarian, one of the finest closers in the game.

Hall of Fame catcher, Ted Simmons, what a terrific baseball mind as well a great hitter and a great player.

And then number one, Ozzie Smith, the greatest shortstop who ever lived.

By far.

Well, second seat here, what is so important about Saint Louis and baseball that you wanted to spend the rest of your life in Saint Louis, Ozzie?

- The people and the relationships.

I think that you see all of us who now make Saint Louis our home, we decided to do that because of the relationships that we were able to develop while we played and the relationships that have come since we've retired.

- You know, Mary and I came however many years ago, from the Detroit area, to Saint Louis, and when we got there, realized that this community was wrapped around a baseball team, unlike either one of us had really ever seen.

And so the longer we stayed there, the more we realized that this community was a really very, very special place.

We touched people all over the Midwest, and throughout an eight state contiguous region where, you know, Des Moines, Nashville, Evansville, Indianapolis, Memphis, Little Rock, all of these cities found their way to Saint Louis on the weekends, summer after summer after summer after summer.

- I married a Saint Louis girl and she told me that you'll never fully be accepted in Saint Louis until you marry a Saint Louis girl.

And there's a lot of truth to that.

Now, we raised a family there because we were treated so well, by the fan base, and let's face it, we all had to get jobs after our playing days.

The money was a little bit different.

Teddy came up when the minimum salary was $7,500.

I came up when it was $12,000.

Ozzie came up when it was three million.

(everyone laughs) But it is fly over country, but boy we got something very special in Saint Louis, and if you don't wanna acknowledge that, you can keep on goin' West or East.

- Let's go Cubs!

(upbeat enthusiastic music) - And talk about the Cub series, it doesn't matter who's anywhere in the standings, first, last, middle, it doesn't matter, the Cardinals and Cubs play like it's the World Series.

Would you agree, Ozzie?

- You know, it's nice when you can look up in the stands and you see the wife wearing a Cardinal hat and the father wearing a (laughs) Cubs hat, and I think it's one of the unique rivalries in all of baseball in that we battle when we're on the field and people ask, they used to ask me all the time, "Do you guys hate each other?"

No, it was the competition, and as you said, it doesn't matter where we are in the standings.

You know, you're always looking for that, the ability or the reputation to be able to say that, you know, we beat the Cubs.

And we did beat 'em a lot.

- I love going to Wrigley Field because the Cub fans always educated me.

I never knew my mother could do some of the things that they told me.

(audience laughs) So it was always fun, but the Cardinals and Cubs is just neighbors, family members, it's just the best rivalry because it's the safest and I think you'll be surprised the representation of the Cardinal fans out there, they've traveled here to London.

How many people did you have to talk to in the airport?

(Ozzie mutters off mic) (Al laughs) - And Ozzie's the most gracious guy.

Teddy was my catcher.

You know, we just had fun playing, but we didn't like the opposition, you know.

We had a job to do and that was to win and it was just fun playing.

- [Speaker] Got a question, if I may.

- Yeah.

- [Announcer] Baseball's changed some, gentlemen, since your playing days, interested in your take of what y'all think of the modern game?

- [Speaker] Very good question.

- Well, here we go.

(everyone laughs) You know, I like the clock.

I think that that has always been one of the complaints that the game is too slow.

For the shift, don't like it, and I don't like it because it takes away my ability as a defensive player to play to my strength.

To me, it just shows an inability of the athlete to do what it takes for him to be successful.

As far as the bases are concerned, the only base that I would have changed would have been first base, and made that bigger, toward the baseline, which gives the guy more straight line to first base.

- [Speaker] So I've got a question for Ted.

So my question to you, what's your favorite pitch and who are your top three pitchers that you've played with, with that pitch?

- The best pitcher I ever caught was Bob Gibson.

To say his fast ball was better than his slider is insane because they're both such superior pitches that it's ridiculous to say one's better than the other.

Faced Tom Seaver, he was a great pitcher, similar to Gibson in that way, both tenacious, both very highly competitive, and both, when they were on the mound, could literally control a game.

And Phil Niekro, for those of you who don't know, was a knuckle ball pitcher, and this pitch, you'll have to look it up 'cause I can't really explain to people who are unaware what a knuckle ball is or does or why.

But I will say, it's the most difficult pitch to throw, it's the most difficult pitch to catch, it's the most difficult pitch to hit.

Shortest version I got, man.

(everyone laughs) - Bob Uecker had the best way to catch a knuckle ball, when it stops rolling, pick it up.

(energetic dramatic music) - Sure, Saint Louis is a baseball town, but another message for the folks in London was that it's also kind of a big farm town, or more accurately, a leader in agriculture technology.

And as Veronica Mohesky shows us, that was a big part of the Saint Louis' delegation's focus in London.

(quiet cheerful music) - [Veronica Mohesky] Though they are thousands of miles apart, it turns out Saint Louis and London have a shared interest, combating climate change and world hunger through agricultural innovation.

During their visit to England, in June 2023, the Saint Louis Trade Mission Delegation met with ambassadors, U.K. business leaders, and of course, attended a Cardinals versus Cubs game.

The MOAD Tech Challenge with Agri-TechE, in Cambridge, was one of many events the delegation went to during their visit.

The group had the opportunity to learn more about agricultural innovation in England and share some of their own successes and ideas.

- We've been hearing some presentations from the Agri-TechE ecosystem, the researchers, the companies, and what we're doing is seeing some partnering going on, so there's those early collaborations and relationships being forged.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Agri-TechE is a networking organization that brings together people and businesses in the agriculture, technology industry in the U.K. CEO, Belinda Clark, says the organization has a long relationship with Saint Louis and hopes collaboration and problem solving will spring from the event.

- Let's face it, we've all got challenges in our agricultural sector, so we're hoping that our Missouri friends will have heard some tech which will really resonate to address some challenges.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Karla Roeber is the vice president of public and government affairs at the Danforth Plant Science Center.

She says international partnerships in agricultural innovation are more important than ever now, as issues like climate change and world hunger become more pressing.

- So there's a variety of technologies that we work on and other areas, such as Cambridge and Latin America, they're focusing on some of the similar things.

We have to grow more crops with less environmental footprint and less inputs to do so.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Some of the goals at the forefront of the ag tech industry involve genetically modifying crops.

Here are just some of the other objectives Roeber says the industry is focusing on right now.

Making crops more disease and pest resistant, increasing water efficiency, reducing greenhouse gases in agriculture, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizer, and increasing the use of beneficial microorganisms.

And Roeber says Saint Louis has an important role in making these goals a reality because of its position in the ag tech industry.

- Saint Louis is an epicenter for ag tech.

We have everything from basic research, like the Danforth Plant Science Center, universities, we have the world's largest seed company, in Bare Crop Science, and we have startups from small to mid-size to a recent unicorn public company in Benson Hill and other success stories, like CoverCress.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Roeber says Saint Louis' success in this industry is due in part to its geographic location.

This makes partnerships with local businesses desirable to companies across the globe.

- Within a 500 mile radius of Saint Louis, 50% of U.S. agriculture is produced.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Saint Louis' ag tech industry really began to expand in the late 90s, and those efforts continue today.

One of the latest developments in Saint Louis is the 39 North Ag Tech Innovation District.

The campus officially debuted in April of 2023 and it encompasses several agriculture tech institutions in the Creve Coeur area.

- Our goal is, is to build spaces and places where agri-food tech innovation can thrive.

And so whether that is literally helping to create space for early stage companies that are graduating from the Helix incubator on 39 North's campus, or looking for space for technology coming out of the Danforth Center to form a company and continue to grow, that's part of the physical infrastructure part.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Emily Lohse-Busch is the executive director of 39 North.

She says the Innovation District could help Saint Louis stand out in the global ag tech economy.

- The other part of it is building the narrative for the agri-food tech ecosystem, not just locally, but nationally and across the world, and making it clear why Saint Louis has a critical role to play in that.

- [Veronica Mohesky] Carla Roeber says Saint Louis' agriculture tech sector is ready to work with organizations like Agri-TechE to help solve global issues.

- It's going to take more than any one district can do to solve the world challenge of feeding the world by 2050, so you know, radical collaboration across the globe is gonna be necessary to meet that challenge.

(no audio) - We'll hear more about Saint Louis' trip to London in Anne Marie Berger's Nine PBS special, the "Power of the Pitch," airing September 18th.

And that's "Living Saint Louis."

You can send us your comments at NinePBS.org/LSL.

I'm Brooke Butler, thanks for joining us.

(bright carefree music) (bright carefree music continues) (bright carefree music continues) (bright carefree music continues) (bright carefree music continues) - [Announcer] "Living Saint Louis" is funded in part by the Betsy and Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.