Shadow Stories Revisited

Part of this blog appeared on The Writing Life last April. I have been thinking about “the stories behind the stories” ever since I wrote it and have decided it's time to tell a few, just to see where they might lead.

What do writers do with their published work? Well, I keep mine. In fact, I have kept every article and book I've ever written. Over the years, I’ve done my best to consolidate, organize, and even purge; but I still have a lot of printed material. Why do I cling to more than 40 years of writing? One reason is that, behind every story I’ve written there is another story, a shadow story, of the real people behind the carefully phrased quotes and of what I learned or experienced that never made it into print.

Here is one of my favorites. It was called “St. Louis’s Modern Medicis,” and it was about 10 corporate and civic leaders who put their time, energy, enthusiasm, and influence behind "the arts" in all its varied forms. Without them, I wrote in 1978, St. Louis would not have enjoyed the richness of cultural life that made it such a wonderful place to live and work. At the time, I was the assistant editor of St. Louis Commerce magazine, the official publication of the St. Louis Regional Commerce & Growth Association. The RCGA’s board of directors comprised the most powerful corporate executives in our nine-county region, and those were the very men, who, along with their wives, supported the arts.

I had no illusions about the importance of my position when I called to ask for appointments and received timely return calls. It was the magic words “Commerce magazine” that opened the doors. Each of these executives had a pet civic project and was only too happy to see it get some free publicity. Maybe there was a little healthy competition there, as well. Who knows? What I did know was that they were willing to talk to me and were, for the most part, quite charming and down to earth. In one case, we shared coffee in bone china cups; in another, I saw pictures of grandchildren. In every interview, I heard real passion for the arts and how important they were the viability of our region.

At the time, I was so immersed in trying to tell their stories, I don’t think I realized that I was talking to the true giants of our community. Thirty years later, it seems quite obvious. I remember feeling comfortable with most of them. Only one was what I would call a “snob” (he shall remain nameless). The rest seemed to take me quite seriously, which was a mark of their professionalism, not mine. And one got my vote as the nicest person I had ever interviewed. (He still holds that designation.)

His name was Pete Love, and he was between jobs, in a manner of speaking — leaving Granite City Steel to become president of National Steel Corporation. He flew into St. Louis in a blizzard for the interview and photo shoot, which took place in the airport. I met Pete Love once and have never forgotten what a warm, unassuming gentlemen he was. Over the years, I have contacted him several times for different reasons, and he has always responded or had someone on his staff call me back.

At a time when corporate CEOs are known more for their greed and arrogance than for good manners and civic responsibility, I like to remember a time when the business world seemed a very different place.


(Just for the record, St. Louis's Modern Medicis were: Howard Bear, retired president of Aloe Company; W. L. Hadley Griffin, chairman of the board of Brown Group; Charles F. Knight, chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Co.; Howard K. (Pete) Love, president of National Steel Corporation; Morton D. (Buster) May, retired CEO of the May Department Stores Company; Joseph Pulitzer, publisher, St. Louis Post Dispatch; George S. Rosborough, president of The Measuregraph Co.; Homer Sayad, managing senior partner at Haskins & Sells; Tom K. Smith, senior vice president, marketing of Monsanto Company; and Ben Wells, chairman of the board of The Seven-Up Company.)