6.16.19 SB_S

STLTODAY.COM/LIFE • STLTODAY.COM/GO • SUNDAY • 06.16.2019 • S

ARTS + HOME + TRAVEL

Learn more about soap, jelly beans, chocolate, beer and more by taking a factory tour

BY JIM WINNERMAN

W

Special to the Post-Dispatch

hen added to a vacation itinerary, a behind-the-scene factory visit just might become the most memorable experience of a trip, especially if you are familiar with the product.

A surprising number of manufacturers offer factory tours, and product size does not matter. Tours exist for the production of tea packets at Celestial Seasonings to the manufacture of mammoth machinery like giant John Deere harvesters.

If food is involved, there might be free samples, and sometimes in unlimited quantities. At the Jelly Belly tour, for example,

SEEING INDUSTRY IN ACTION

Please see INDUSTRY, Page S10

ist of For a l tours y r facto , visit: te by sta ytours r o t c a f m usa.co

ABOVE (from top left): The eight-story tower at the Union Pacific Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb. (Photo by Barbara Winnerman) • Jelly beans hang from the ceiling of the Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. (Jelly Belly photo) • Tours at the Logan, Ohio, washboard factory start under the giant washboard. (Photo by Barbara Winnerman) • Visitors can watch farm machinery being assembled on John Deere factory tours. (John Deere photo) • Final inspection for Harry and David’s gourmet pear packages. (Harry and David)

Nothing comes easy in the Show-Me State

DAD & ME FATHER-CHILD LOOK-ALIKE CONTEST

ABOVE (from top): Grace Voiles (left), 13, and Mia Vongsiri, 14, pose for a cellphone photo with a copper mixing bowl during a tour in May of the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate factory in St. Louis.

(Photo by Colter Peterson, Post-Dispatch) • The Airstream factory. (Airstream photo) • The Harley-Davidson production line in York, Pa. (Harley Davidson photo) • A batch of soap at Herbaria Soap factory in St. Louis. (Herbaria Soap photo)

Fathers share more than looks with their children

A father finds help in fight to see his son

AND ELAINE VYDRA

BILL McCLELLAN

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Carol Neumann recently received a postcard from the Missouri Department of Revenue reminding her that her drivers license would expire in July.

The notice told her she had two options. She could choose to renew her current license. To do so, she would need only her current license and a utility bill, a paycheck or the renewal postcard itself.

Or she could apply for a REAL IDcompliant drivers license. As Missouri readers probably know, our current licenses are somehow not up to federal standards. As of October 2020, our current licenses will not be considered

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Every time Ann Shanfeld cuts her husband’s and son’s hair, the resemblance strikes her all over again.

“Even their hair is the same,” she said. Dark brown hair with little curls in the front. They flip it up the same way. Matching ears that stick out.

Unlike Rob, 42, their 5-year-old son, Easton, is still growing into his ears, she laughs. She’s a hair stylist, but she’s hardly the only one who notices their similarities.

“Anytime they are out together, people come up to her and say, ‘Your son looks just like your husband.’

Every person we come in contact with,” she said.

The family, who live in Valley Park, decided this was their year to

Please see MCCLELLAN, Page S2

AT HOME ‘SUPER EXCEPTIONAL’ CHESTERFIELD HOME IS FULL OF SURPRISES PAGE 3

Please see CONTEST, Page S3

AISHA SULTAN

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ONLINE VOTE PICK Rob and Easton Shanfeld

ARTS NEW DOCUMENTARY REVEALS LOCAL HIP-HOP ROOTS GO FAR BEYOND NELLY Page 6

Jeffery Waller, 36, will be back in court next week fighting for time with his son.

It’s a familiar scene after a bitter, two-year custody battle. He says he’s probably been to 40 hearings since he and his ex-wife split up after five years of marriage.

It’s drained him financially and emotionally.

He remembers hitting a low point in an unemployment office nearly two years ago. He was in between jobs. His family lives five hours away in Tennessee. There were times when he wouldn’t be able to see his son for Please see SULTAN, Page S2

BOOKS JON MEACHAM, TIM MCGRAW EXPLORE AMERICAN HISTORY IN SONG. PAGE 8 STLLIFE

1 1

ON OUR RADAR

S2 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

AMY BERTRAND lifestyle and features editor abertrand@post-dispatch.com • 314-340-8284

MORE AT STLTODAY.COM

GABE HARTWIG deputy features editor ghartwig@post-dispatch.com • 314-340-8353

M 1 • SUnDAy • 06.16.2019

JANE HENDERSON books editor jhenderson@post-dispatch.com • 314-340-8107

DONNA BISCHOFF vice president of advertising dbischoff@post-dispatch.com • 314-340-8529

Two-year-old pit bull mix Pinkie thrives when she can spend time chasing a tennis ball or jumping up playfully for a hug.

She gets along great with kids and already knows how to sit on command, so he would do great learning new tricks with the whole family. This potty-trained pup would also enjoy a home with a fenced-in yard where she has lots of room to run and play fetch. Pinkie’s tail is always wagging — and she’ll wag her way right into your heart and home.

Mystique, a 1-year-old Arabian and quarter horse, was born at the Humane Society’s Longmeadow Rescue Ranch after her mom came to the ranch from a rescue in March 2018. While at the ranch, Mystique has been halter trained, picks up her feet for the farrier and has been weaned from her mom. This lovely lady is an energetic and smart filly who is already as big as her mom and growing. Mystique is available for adoption to a home that has experience working with foals and yearlings.

To adopt • Apply in person at the Humane Society’s Macklind Avenue headquarters in St. Louis.

To adopt • Apply in person at the Humane Society’s Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in Union. Visit longmeadowrescueranch.org for hours, directions and more information.

PETS OF THE WEEK

PREP SCHOOL

Our food writer Daniel Neman shows you how to make laban (Middle Eastern yogurt). stltoday.com/food

FRESH PRODUCE

Use our interactive guide to find a farmers market near you. stltoday.com/ farmersmarket

AWESOME PLAYGROUNDS

Zip lines, castles, ninja courses, slides and more — these area playgrounds go beyond the usual. stltoday.com/lifestyles

NEW ON DVD MOVIES

One-year-old Chihuahua Barnaby is a little shy guy who would do best in a home with no young children. Before coming to the Humane Society Barnaby and his siblings came from an unfortunate rescue situation, so he needs some gentle and patient new human friends to help him find his way. Barnaby would be a great fit for someone who can take him home and show him all the love he deserves.

To adopt • Apply in person at the Humane Society’s Best Buddy Pet Center in Maryland Heights.

Last week’s pets • A rabbit named Papa and dogs named Henry and Titan are all still available for adoption.

Hours and directions • hsmo.org

COMING TUESDAY • “Us”; “Wonder

Park”; “Hotel Mumbai”; “Run the Race”; “The Beach Bum”; “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”; “Under the Silver Lake”; “Crypto”; “Giant Little Ones”; “Slaughterhouse Rulez” COMING JUNE 25 • “Dumbo”; “The

Aftermath”; “The Hummingbird Project”; “Maze”; “Poison Rose”

TELEVISION

COMING TUESDAY • “Killing Eve,” Season 2; “Patrick Melrose”: “Suits,” Season 8; “Will & Grace” (revival), Season 2

GARDENING Q&A

McClellan

Wisconsin. She was a teacher.

He was an accountant.

They’ve lived in Milwaukee, From S1 Kansas City and, for 51 years, in Denver. They have friends valid for boarding airplanes and relatives all over. They or visiting military bases or nuclear power plants. The idea want to be able to fly to visit them. Valid passports work for behind REAL ID is to make it identification at airports, but tough for terrorists to obtain the Neumanns have allowed identification documents their passports to expire. under false premises.

“We’ve traveled the world.

As far as I know, we have We’re done,” Marvin told me. not had a problem with terCarol will be 91 in July. Marrorists using current Missouri vin is 92. They seem to be in drivers licenses to access great health. They moved here airplanes, military bases or nuclear facilities. Then again, from Denver three years ago to be close to their daughter.

I remember talking to an airThey bought a home in Ellisline pilot who was stopped at ville. They live independently. security in Phoenix. Agents The postcard from the Misconfiscated his fingernail clipper, which had a fingernail file souri Department of Revenue that could have been used as a specified what documents Carol would need for REAL mini-knife.

“I didn’t say anything, but I ID — a U.S. birth certificate or a valid passport, a Social Secuwanted to say, ‘I don’t need a rity card and two documents knife to get into the cockpit. I proving she was a Missouri have keys,’” he told me. Yes, I resident. If a name change was agreed. Better to say nothing.

In the same vein, if Homeland involved, she would need a Security sees Missouri drivers certified marriage certificate or a certified court order. licenses as a potential probShe got her birth certificate, lem, fine with me. Fine with her Social Security card and Carol, too. her real estate and personal She opted for a REAL ID property tax receipts. She took drivers license. them to the Department of Carol grew up in MichiRevenue office in Ballwin. She gan’s Upper Peninsula. Her took a number and waited. husband, Marvin, grew up in

When she was called, she took her documents to the clerk.

The clerk studied them.

Hmm. The birth certificate said Carol Richards. Carol explained that she has been Carol Neumann since she married in 1955. Because her current Missouri drivers license was issued to Carol Richards Neumann, Carol said she had thought that the name-change requirement would not be applicable to her.

But it was. The clerk told her she needed to return with a marriage license.

Carol keeps important papers in a safety deposit box.

So she drove home and got the keys to the safety deposit box, and then went to the bank and got her marriage license.

She drove back to the revenue office. She took a number and waited. She got the same clerk.

After examining the marriage license, the clerk said that it would not do because it did not have a raised seal.

“This is the license we were issued 64 years ago,” Carol said.

The clerk explained that Carol should contact the county in which she was married — Vilas County in Wisconsin — and ask for a license with a raised seal.

Carol contacted Vilas County. An application for a new marriage license is $20, she was told. And yes, it can have a raised seal. When Carol got the application, she filled it out and sent it back with her $20.

Last week, she got her “new” marriage license with a raised seal.

She took it, along with her other papers, to the revenue office on Wednesday. Her papers finally passed muster.

She now has a temporary REAL ID compliant drivers license. Her official license should arrive in the mail soon.

At this point in the column, I would normally say something snarky about Homeland Security or government bureaucracy. But somehow that doesn’t seem appropriate.

The most remarkable thing about this story — maybe the only remarkable thing — is Carol’s attitude. In an era in which anger seems to define us, Carol told her story without a hint of rancor. She smiled and laughed. Maybe there’s a lesson in that.

She’ll be 91 on the Fourth of July.

Bill McClellan • 314-340-8143 @Bill_McClellan on Twitter bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com

Sultan MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

Male catkins on pin oak

‘Tassels’ that drop from oak trees are spent male flowers

BY CHIP TYNAN

Missouri Botanical Garden

Q • What are those “tassels” called that fall from an oak tree, and what is their purpose?

A • The “tassels” that drop from oak trees are called catkins, and they are the spent male flowers whose purpose is to shed pollen that is carried by the wind to female flowers.

If all goes well, the female flowers will then develop into the acorns that are the seeds of the oak tree. When the catkins fall to the ground, they can be left to decay in place, just as any other form of organic surface mulch.

Write to Chip Tynan of the Missouri Botanical Garden at chip.tynan@mobot.org or Horticultural Answer Service, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, 63110.

THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK • Take softwood cuttings to propagate trees and shrubs as the spring flush of growth “hardens” and matures.

• Lightly prune young fruit trees to establish a framework of well-positioned branches.

• Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation for the most efficient use of water during dry times.

• Control corn earworms once silks appear. In lieu of sprays, a drop or two of mineral oil applied to the silks is a safe, effective home remedy for the small garden.

From S1

months at a stretch. He noticed a flyer for the St. Louis Crisis Nursery, and out of sheer desperation, he called the hotline.

“Hey, I’m a dad,” he said to the woman who answered the phone. “I’m not being allowed to see my child. I don’t know where to turn. I don’t know where to go. I need some help.

Can you help me out in some way?”

The social worker on the line listened to his story. She offered to help him and suggested he also contact the Fathers’ Support Center in St. Louis. Waller had never heard of the group, but decided he needed to take whatever help he could get.

He called at 4:30 p.m. on a Friday. The center was closing in half an hour, the staff told him, but they had a free parenting course starting on Monday. Waller jumped in his car at his St. Charles home and drove 30 minutes to the Fathers’ Support Center office, where the staff stayed late to enroll him in the sixweek program.

Waller was initially skeptical when he heard the name of the group. He imagined a group of discouraged men sitting around in a circle telling their sad stories. He wanted no part of anything like that, and didn’t see any value in a support group. Talking about his troubles wouldn’t actually fix anything, he thought.

The program turned out to be nothing like what he had expected.

The faculty and staff had one question for all the participants: Are you here to be the best parent you can be,

Jeff Waller takes a selfie with his 5-year-old son. regardless of what the other parent is going to do? If so, the FSC would help them get there. Waller spent six weeks taking classes on effective parenting skills and child nutrition, and receiving credit counseling, legal counseling and employment counseling to help place him in a solid job. The center provides lunch several times a week, plus bus passes or gas money for transportation. And there’s always a counselor on hand to talk to when life gets too stressful.

“They make sure you have no excuse not to be there,” he said. He was amazed by the support, education and attention he received.

“I’ve never seen in my life

so many people focused on creating a cohesive family,” he said.

Once he completed the six-week course in December of 2017, they helped provide some legal resources. The course made him a better father, and it gave him hope.

He learned never to disparage his ex-wife or refer to her as a “baby mama.” He appreciated that most of the faculty had been through the program themselves and had lived through many of the struggles he was experiencing.

“They brought a realism and honesty to the subject that is completely ignored,” he said, referring to the societal lack of support for fathers. He’s started speaking on behalf of

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF WALLER.

the group to raise awareness of the resources available and to share his story. He gets a little emotional when he talks about his hopes and dreams for his 5-year-old son.

“The thing I wish the most for him, even after all the terrible things he’s experienced, is that he gets to see his mother and I in a positive light. … I want him to see, even though things are not ideal, they can still work,” he said.

It’s a dream he refuses to give up on — regardless of how many times he ends up in court.

Aisha Sultan • 314-340-8300 Home and family editor @aishas on Twitter asultan@post-dispatch.com

STL LIFE

06.16.2019 • SUNDAY • M 1

Lawrence Williams, 73, New Orleans (center) Son Aeneas Williams (yes, the former Ram and pro football Hall of Famer), 51, St. Louis Grandson Lazarus Williams, 17 Favorite Father’s Day gift: Being with family.

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • S3

Tim Burke, 53, Chesterfield Sons Landon (left), 25, and Carson, 22 Favorite Fathers Day gift or memory: Tim loves the crafts his sons made — a rock that has a smiley face painted on it, watercolor paintings that say, “Happy Fathers Day.” His sons said they loved making those crafts and hiding them and presenting them on Father’s Day.

Contest From S1

enter the annual Post-Dispatch Dad & Me Father-Child Lookalike Contest. It paid off. Rob and his younger son won the online vote among hundreds of entries.

When Easton was around 9 months old, Rob said he thought, “Oh my gosh, this dude looks just like me.”

“If I look in the mirror, and I look at Easton, I just see myself.”

They also share some interests and personality traits. They are both into sports and like to make people laugh, including each other. Rob helps coach his son’s baseball team. They love watching the show “American Ninja Warrior” together and going to Cardinals games with the family.

When he and his wife first became pregnant, he said he definitely wanted a son. He went to every doctor’s appointment with his wife, and they were excited to find out they were having a boy.

Their older son, Colton, is 8.

He was a colicky baby.

“He wasn’t the easiest baby for the first year or two,” Rob said.

“When you are first-time dad, you are just trying to wing it.”

There were times when he wondered if he was making the right parenting decisions. Sometimes he turned to his older siblings, who already had children, for advice. It also helps that his parents live nearby in Creve Coeur, and his wife’s family are in Perryville, Mo., a little more than an hour south of them.

When they decided to try for a second child, Rob hoped for a daughter.

He ended up thrilled with a second son, his mini-me, Easton.

“I have a special bond with my brother, and it’s nice they will have that same bond,” he said. In a way, it’s easier to be the father of sons.

“I know the ways boys

Bob Zuehlke, 57, Fenton Son Chris, 19 Favorite Father’s Day memory: Going on hiking adventures, enjoying the views and then getting a bite to eat.

Greg Wolfner, 62, Ladue Daughter Margot, 20 Father’s Day tradition: A family barbecue.

Steve Schwallie, 44, Chesterfield Son Kyle, 13 Favorite Father’s Day gift or memory: During our time in Northwest Arkansas, we made it a family tradition to go to Devil’s Den State Park, have a picnic, play in the creek and go for a swim or hike.

The happiness that you feel when you are with your wife and children having the fun and the freedom of being outdoors, are special times I will always remember. work,” Rob said. “But it’s also tough because I have a lot of responsibility to raise them the right away.”

His greatest desire is that his boys grow up to be happy and healthy. He wants to make sure they are well taken care of and

Corey Frey, 41, Highland Son Lucas, 7 Favorite Father’s Day memory: Visiting the Bass Pro shop in Springfield, Mo. grow into men who love their family and their faith.

“That’s pretty much the main thing,” he said.

Aisha Sultan • 314-340-8300 Home and family editor @aishas on Twitter asultan@post-dispatch.com

Go Wild With Missouri Natives

NEWSROOM PICK WINNER

William Kirchoff, 77, Chesterfield Son William Jr., 54, Cave Creek, Ariz.

William Sr. said he and his son didn’t look that much alike until about 15 years ago, when his son gained weight.

“We both ended up the same weight and began looking more and more alike,” he said.

The Shanfelds and the Kirchoffs won $250 from Stange Law Firm for their entries.

Favorite Father’s Day memory: We like to do float trips on the streams in Southern Missouri. We’ve also done some motorcycle traveling together, through Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. We’re both Harley riders.

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S4 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

AT HOME WITH BRIGETTE AND JACK LOYND

HOME

M 1 • SUnDAy • 06.16.2019

PHOTOS BY HILLARY LEVIN, POST-DISPATCH

A life-size Elvis is always on stage in the game room on the lower level. Brigette painted the mural of the lady in sunglasses while she was standing on a scaffold.

The two-person soaking tub in the master bedroom is behind the king-size bed that overlooks the Missouri River and hundreds of acres of farmland.

Brigette always wanted a red kitchen. Twin televisions above the bar are used when the couple entertain a large group of friends. The ceramic tile floors are made to look like steel plates. Underneath the bar top is a city skyline, which is made out of mosaic tile. “People were always scuffing the wall,” Brigette says, “and the tile fixed the problem.”

The red wall, pillows and carpet of the living room face the kitchen painted in the same candy-apple red. The large window to the left of the couch overlooks the party room 20 feet below. The window on the right overlooks the piano room, which features panoramic Missouri River views.

The circular pattern in the dining room mirrors matches the design on the chair fabric, but both were purchased separately. “We are just lucky they work together,” Jack says.

The three porcelain monkeys climbing down the kitchen chandelier are examples of the many pieces of entertaining art found throughout the house.

Distinctive Chesterfield home defies categorization

A player piano sits alone in front of a panoramic view of the Missouri flood plain in

BY JIM WINNERMAN ceramic tile complete with the distance. “One day when I Special to the Post-Dispatch the likenesses of four large have time I want to learn how “I wake up each day with metal screws in the corners to play it,” Jack says. of each tile. a smile,” Brigette Loynd of the Missouri River and To the left is an ultrasays, relating how happy farm fields seen through sleek contemporary she is in the home the the floor-to-ceiling winkitchen with candy apple couple designed and built dows. Below, a grand piano red cabinets. Straight in 2005. “Every day is like sits on a perfect circle of ahead, beyond an indoor being on vacation.” velvet red carpet. window wall, a wrapPerched on seven acres “There is a lot more to around balcony overlooks on a high bluff overlooksee,” Jack says leading the a huge party room 20 feet ing the Missouri River, it way up a spiral staircase is impossible to categorize below. A peek over the and into the mammoth balcony edge reveals a the residence within normaster bedroom. “We have mal architecture vernacu- life-size figure of Elvis, singing and gyrating on an a theme to each bedroom, lar. Jack Loynd suggests a and this is the beach elevated stage. Off to the new category name needs room.” Twin palm-tree side the word “HOLLYto be invented. “Super WOOD” is in large stacked shaped mirrors sprout over exceptional, nontradiblock letters and is lighted each vanity. Nearby a twotional” might be a workfrom behind. Elsewhere in person circular soaking able start. the room, which is consid- tub sits in the center of the The layout is so unexbedroom, near a walk-in erably larger than needed pected, for a first-time glass-walled shower with for a half-court game of visitor who steps past the tropical fish painted on foyer and into the home, it basketball, a basketball the glass. The bed faces is a struggle to focus where hoop is attached to the the Missouri River, seen wall above a mural of a to look. Overhead lights through nine windows. garage door. in the form of starbursts The “Oh La La” bedroom To the right, a large brighten and dim as if opening in the wall reveals is hot pink, with black they were fireworks. The floor appears to be square, an octagonal-shaped room curtains, while the junglethemed bedroom features with an 18-foot ceiling 18-inch industrial steel and an awe-inspiring view a leopard-patterned carpet plates, but it is actually

and a bathroom vanity with inlaid wood in the pattern of giraffe skin.

The stairway continues to a fourth-floor lookout tower and a spectacular 360-degree panorama of the countryside, somewhat akin to the view from an airplane several moments before touchdown. “We go up there to enjoy sunsets and to watch storms brewing that are headed our way,” Jack says.

Whimsical décor is everywhere and is a visual testament to the couple’s sense of humor and enjoyment of life. Three porcelain monkeys descend on a white rope onto the formal dining room table. High on a wall in the piano room, a private balcony is home to two life-size Muppets, Statler and Waldorf. A 6-foot statue of the cartoon character Betty Boop welcomes guests onto the wraparound balcony off the kitchen that overlooks the party room below. She is holding a “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. A rubber plucked chicken with a pained expression lies prone on top of a kitchen cabinet. In the party room a mural envisions what each of the couple’s four cats would look like as members of the rock band KISS. The cat mural, and several other decorative murals and art throughout the home were created by Brigette. The largest is a 10-foot-by-10-foot pop art mural in the party room of a woman in sunglasses perched on her nose above her ruby red lips. “I did it on top of a scaffold while Jack projected a grid from the balcony across the room,” she says. In the master bedroom, she created a lifelike wall-hanging of a colorful underwater ocean scene by molding insulation foam into the shape of coral.

Brigette is quick to point out their home was the result of a perfect collaboration between the couple and their contractors. “We were both always open to each other’s ideas, and those of the architect and builder,” she says. “I told Jack that if he would build it, I would decorate it. That is exactly what happened.

“We built this house for us, not for resale. This will be where we will live, laugh and love forever.”

Brigette and Jack Loynd Ages • She is 47, and he is 65.

Occupations • He owns several firms in the transportation industry.

Home • Chesterfield Family • Brigette says they have only “cat children.” Their four rescued stray cats are Slim Shady, Bogey (found on a golf course,) CoCo and Ribino.

The “Ooh La La” guest room is decorated in hot pink striped wall paper and black accents.

06.16.2019 • Sunday • M 1

STL LIFE

ST. LOuIS POST-dISPaTCH • S5

MADE IN ST. LOUIS

Jewelry design comes naturally to Queen Beedz ‘Bee’ of Beedz.

“My grandmother was a On July 1, 2017, Susan Hackney wonderful gardener. I live in the house I grew up in, and my launched her jewelry business, garden is my passion. I volunteer Queen Beedz. She had retired as a Master Gardener on Saturfrom the regular workforce for days at the Kemper Center for the third time. Maybe this time, retirement would stick. Hackney Home Gardening at the Missouri had a plan. She knew she needed Botanical Garden,” she says. She to keep her mind and hands busy. also volunteers at the Wild Bird “I liked the freedom of retire- Sanctuary.

Nature inspires her work, ment, but I missed being chalincluding her choice of the lenged in my work,” Hackney semiprecious stones she calls says. “I enjoy learning new “Mother Nature’s jewels” to things, and I do my best when the findings and metal stampI’m busy.” ings of leaves, fronds, starfish, Go where the fates take you seashells, birds and flowers that • “During the time I was still accent her pieces. “I also make working, fate guided me in certain directions that would shape essential oil jewelry using lava beads, which absorb oils,” she my retirement. When I was working in Webster, I would take says.

Ask the right questions; find a daily walk and stop in at Lady Bug Beads as part of my circuit,” the right answers • Hackney’s skills from her work in customer she says. service translated to the jewelry The shop was packed full business, especially in the areas of beautiful beads, and its big of problem solving and negotiaschedule of how-to classes tions. intrigued Hackney. She signed But she wasn’t prepared for up. Ever the practical one, she had good reason to learn to make the legal aspects of how to start a business, and for the recordbeaded jewelry. keeping and essential paperwork Tiny wrists and a big idea • she would need to learn. She Hackney had a personal quest. contacted the office of Small “I couldn’t buy nice bracelets Business Development Center at to fit my tiny wrists,” she says.

Southern Illinois University at She shopped in the children’s Edwardsville. departments to find the right Now, I can work as little or as size, but the childish designs much as I like. I’m a one-woman rarely suited her. show — salesperson, accounThe bracelet classes at Lady tant, product manager, purchasBug Beads channeled her creing agent, designer, inventor and ativity into a bead-focused PHOTOS BY COLTER PETERSON, POST-DISPATCH shipping manager — I do it all.” hobby. She made grown-up A pairing of one of Susan Hackney’s bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

Focus on the future • Hackbracelets that fit her wrists and her style. Hackney signed up for ney’s future plans include more classes, making necklaces, expanding her retail presence in and around St. Louis. She also earrings and even fancy beaded Designer • Susan Hackney wants to develop better packagbookmarks.

Age • 62 ing and presentation materials She honed her skills with for her line. workshops, following You Home • Granite City Although Lady Bug Beads in Tube videos and subscribing to What she makes • Earrings, braceWebster Groves has closed since bead-making magazines. Her lets, necklaces, beaded bookmarks she made her first bracelets hobby spilled into the corners and more created with semiprethere, she’s discovered other of her home. “It looked like a cious gemstones, Swarovski crysbead store threw up in my living outlets for high-quality materitals and pearls with sterling silver als, such as the Bead Place in room,” she says. and gold findings.

Fairview Heights.

Bees, nurture and nature • She’s is planning a studio in “I never consciously planned Where to buy • Restoration Alley her basement so she can reclaim to open a business. It’s been in Ellisville; at the Women’s Expo her house. “The coolest thing an ongoing journey; a fun one, on June 29 at Kirkwood Community about my business is making that just seemed to happen,” Center; on Etsy.com she says. “Even the name came people happy with my pieces,” How much • $15 to $120 for items she says. I’ve met so many new to me easily. Queen Beedz is a in her line; $150 to $200 for custom people, and made new friends; play on my dad’s nickname for work it’s been a great experience,” she me — Queenie. The name also Susan Hackney models a necklace and bracelet pairing she made. reflects my love of nature in the says.

BY PAT EBY

Special to the Post-Dispatch

Queen Beedz

ARTS

S6 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

M 1 • SUNDAY • 06.16.2019

HANDOUT PHOTOS

St. Louis-born rapper Nelly (Cornell Haynes Jr.), photographed early in his career under the Gateway Arch.

Hip-hop history in St. Louis started long before Nelly A new documentary recognizes figures from the city’s burgeoning rap scene ‘Background Check’ screening

BY KEVIN C. JOHNSON

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Everyone knows Nelly put St. Louis hip-hop on the map in 2000 with his “Country Grammar” album. But veteran DJ G.Wiz says the music and culture had a history long before that.

That’s the focus of new documentary, “Background Check: The Story of St. Louis & East St. Louis Hip Hop From 1979-1995.”

It premieres Tuesday at the Missouri History Museum.

“If you go to a youngster in St. Louis, they don’t know about people prior to Nelly. But when you sell 10 million albums, you know their name is coming up first. It knocks everyone else out,” says director-producer G.Wiz, aka Ronald Butts.

His 2009 film “The Rink” focused on the history of the local roller-skating scene.

With “Background Check,” G.Wiz wants viewers to recognize not only St. Louis’ hip-hop history but also how it connects to the bigger picture. For example, an East St. Louis radio station, WESL, was the first to play Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979 after DJs elsewhere refused, he says.

The documentary recognizes many of the figures who were part of the burgeoning rap scene — rappers, DJs, producers, promoters, dancers, music biz folks and others. Some of those names include Dr. Jockenstein, “Gentleman” Jim Gates, Edie Bee, DJ Kut, Tossin’ Ted, James Biko (formerly known as Nappy DJ Needles), Colonel Lee, Kid Sharp, the Original Godfather,

When • 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Where • Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, Forest Park How much • $10; wear 1980s hiphop attire for the red carpet More info • mohistory.org his first set of turntables. G.Wiz accompanied him to lounges and parties, where he practiced in a clique, so getting interviews recognized,” Falls says of St. Fly D-Ex, DJ Alejan, Penelope, mixing and scratching, initially Louis’ earlier hip-hop culture. was no problem for me. And if King Cool Odie, Maurice with disco, R&B and blues before As the documentary was taking “Snoopy” Falls, the Golden Boys, I’m interviewing you, I’m puthip-hop exploded. ting you in. I’m not gonna waste shape, he says, “My heart just Juicy, JAT, Sheryl the Pearl and G.Wiz also founded his own filled with the fact G.Wiz underyour time.” the Rocket Dancers. stood we have a place in hip-hop label, Wiz-A-Tron Records, and DJ Kut — aka Brian Nelson, In addition to the music, the says he was the first to do video that’s not being recognized assistant program director for documentary looks at classic mixing back in 1996, though he across the country.” elements of hip-hop, B-boying, 95.5 R&B for the Lou (WFUNdoesn’t get credit. He had two G.Wiz started working on FM) — says G.Wiz is the perfect emceeing, DJ’ing, graffiti and video shows, “Street Vibes” and “Background Check” around person to take on a hip-hop beatboxing. G.Wiz, a self“R&B With a Touch of Jazz.”

2011; he continued to work on documentary. He first encountaught filmmaker, worked on But he put all that aside to tered G.Wiz as an eighth-grader, it sporadically over the years.

“Background Check” with cofocus on the broader topic of Among the holdups: tracking attending a Normandy Junior producer and cinematographer local hip-hop. “It’s way bigger High School party, where G.Wiz down photos to include in the Cecil Parker. than me,” he says. “It’s about project. was playing.

The full documentary will be hip-hop culture before 2000.”

“Some people I talked to had DJ Kut says “Background three volumes; the first focuses It remains to be seen whether images, but a lot of them didn’t,” Check” is required viewing for on the late 1970s to the early the documentary will have he says. “You need images to anyone from St. Louis trying to 1980s. screenings outside of the Mishelp tell this story.”

“I couldn’t do a documentary break into the music industry souri History Museum. “It fits He says he was inspired to — many of whom “don’t even that was four hours long — make “Background Check” after into June as Black Music Month, know hip-hop in our own city. nobody would want to look at initially considering a documen- so everything was perfect,” he that,” G.Wiz says. “I had to break We’re the only city that doesn’t says. know our hip-hop roots — know tary about himself and his own it up, leave you hanging, then G.Wiz is currently working on background. who did what before you.” come back later with Part 2.” the rest of the documentary.

On 95.5 R&B for the Lou, Maurice “Snoopy” Falls, now The complete project will “If I thought Part 1 was work, G.Wiz hosts “The Time Tunnel” the director of operations for include interviews with more and “The BoomboX.” He started 2 and 3 are really gonna be work,” Aldermanic President Lewis than 100 people. Getting the he says. “It’s more work and DJ’ing in summer of 1978, right interviews was easy, G.Wiz says. Reed, was part of the Rocket more stories.” out of Normandy High School.

Dancers from 1976 to 1984. The “Several people told me I’m His next-door neighbor, group opened for acts such as probably the only person in St. Kevin C. Johnson • 314-340-8191 Brothers Johnson, GQ, SOS Band radio personality Sylvester the Louis that could do a film like Pop music critic Cat (former Pine Lawn Mayor and the Bar-Kays. this,” he says. “I have alliances @kevincjohnson on Twitter kjohnson@post-dispatch.com Sylvester Caldwell), gave him “We were not being with everybody. I’ve never been

DJ Kut

G.Wiz

Ben Broadnax

Larry Shepard

‘Friends,’ ‘Grace and Frankie’ creator outfoxes sexism Marta Kauffman is focused on what’s now, next, not what’s past

despite her gender and continues to be robust is proof of Kauffman’s writing and producing skills and her tenacity. It’s easy for her to summon early memories of being a woman in a man’s

BY LYNN ELBER world.

Associated Press During meetings with her then-production company LOS ANGELES — Ask Marta partners Crane and Kevin Bright, Kauffman if there will be a other men in the room would “Friends” reunion someday, and “look at Kevin and David, but not the answer is a crisp “nope.” at me. So to a certain extent, I felt Kauffman, who created the invisible.” enduringly popular sitcom with Such attitudes survived David Crane and was an execudespite the success of “Friends.” tive producer from start to finish, She recalled working through a is focused on what’s now and taping one Friday night despite next, not what’s past.

MELISSA MOSLEY, NETFLIX feeling unwell and trying to She’s moved on from the brush off a man who asked about 1994-2004 network-airbrushed From left: Writer/producer Marta Kauffman, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on the set of “Grace and Frankie.” her apparent discomfort. She adventures of young New York finally told him she had menpals to the unvarnished pains and strual cramps — not exactly a boomer-speak, the power of pleasures of older women — and, yes-it-went-there revelations fatal or uncommon condition. sisterhood. of body changes “because she subordinately, men — in “Grace “And his comment was, ‘This While gender equality may be thought she was a freak,” Kauffand Frankie.” getting a #MeToo-powered push is why I hate to hire women,’” man said.

The Netflix comedy is in the Then there’s the show’s unex- in Hollywood, there’s been barely Kauffman said. She declined to hunt to add 2019 Emmy nominaidentify him, but said it wasn’t a dent in ageism, as the rarity of pected appeal, she said. tions to those earned in its first “We had no idea that we would TV series or movies lead by older an isolated incident. four seasons by stars Jane Fonda There was “incredible speak to younger women,” Kauff- actors and from older producand Lily Tomlin, who also have misogyny and sexuality and man said, “that younger women ers can attest. “The Kominsky received Screen Actors Guild, objectification” connected with Method,” from producer Chuck were looking for role models, Golden Globe and other nods of the show, she said. “And the way Lorre (“The Big Bang Theory”) were looking for information, recognition. people dealt with me, I was a and starring Michael Douglas were looking for people to talk “Friends” can boast of nabbing a best comedy series Emmy about the stuff that they’re going and Alan Arkin, joins “Grace and woman first. I would be called a ‘tough broad,’ a ‘tough cookie.’

Frankie” (created by Kauffman to expect. in 2002 and trophies for cast The male producers were never and Howard J. Morris), as an “But it’s also aspirational for members Jennifer Aniston and called names like that. They outlier. women, period,” she added.

Lisa Kudrow. But whatever lies never had to be qualified” by an Kauffman’s disregard for Grace and Frankie team up ahead for “Grace and Frankie,” adjective, she said. the industry’s youth obsession Kauffman, 62, has already gained to start their post-divorce lives How did she overcome it? extends to the personal: her hair, anew after their husbands, rewards beyond another shelf“I guess to a certain extent, which started turning gray when longtime law partners played hogging statuette. just sheer resilience. I felt like I she was 40, is untouched by dye

by Martin Sheen and Sam Among them: How much couldn’t let the demeaning men and fully silver.

Waterston, reveal they’re also viewers appreciate seeing their win,” she said. As for whether the No value in such cosmetic longtime lovers who want to own experiences with aging outcry provoked by misconduct tricks? “Like who we fooling?” reflected on screen, including the live together. The show is about revelations is having an effect, she replied, laughing. resisting a reductive view of woman who shared her delight Kauffman expresses measured That her career flourished aging and, to put it in appropriate over one of the show’s candid,

optimism about the future: “Just because it’s out in the public doesn’t mean it’s going to change overnight, but I do think people are trying.”

Hannah KS Canter, her daughter, offers an insider’s perspective on her mom’s success. Canter is a development executive with Okay Goodnight, Kauffman’s production company, and a producer on “Grace and Frankie.”

She called Kauffman a strong, steady leader who fosters a humane workplace in which all voices can be heard, especially women’s. “She makes sure they are heard and supported and amplifies their voice when needed,” Canter said.

Perhaps tongue-in-cheek, Kauffman suggests she’s saving the juicy career stuff, including names, for a post-retirement memoir (cue nervous male laughter). But that’s nowhere in sight, with Okay Goodnight’s projects including “Grace and Frankie,” development of a TV adaptation of Karen Jay Fowler’s novel “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” and the current Netflix documentary “Seeing Allred,” about activistattorney Gloria Allred.

So why isn’t revisiting “Friends” in some fashion on the horizon? The idea pops up now and then, most recently when Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the sitcom, expressed interest after long dismissing the possibility. The actress later said there are no plans, and Kauffman insists it’s staying that way.

“Why mess up a good thing?” she said. “We wouldn’t want a reunion to disappoint fans.”

06.16.2019 • Sunday • M 1

ST. LOuIS POST-dISPaTCH • S7

Congratulations to our 2019 Man & Woman of the Year

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Please contact Lindy at 314.590.2231 for more information.

S8 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

BEST-SELLERS Here are the best-sellers from Publishers Weekly for the week that ended June 8.

HARDCOVER FICTION 1. “Where the Crawdads Sing” • Delia Owens 2. “Unsolved” • Patterson/ Ellis 3. “City of Girls” • Elizabeth Gilbert 4. “Queen Bee” • Dorothea Benton Frank 5. “Fall; or, Dodge in Hell” • Neal Stephenson 6. “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” • Ocean Vuong 7. “Skin Game” • Woods/ Hall 8. “Redemption” • David Baldacci 9. “The 18th Abduction” • Patterson/Paetro 10. “Sunset Beach” • Mary Kay Andrews HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. “Unfreedom of the Press” • Mark R. Levin 2. “Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered” • Kilgariff/ Hardstark 3. “The Pioneers” • David McCullough 4. “Siege” • Michael Wolff 5. “Howard Stern Comes Again” • Howard Stern 6. “Naturally Tan” • Tan France 7. “Becoming” • Michelle Obama 8. “Sea Stories” • William H. McRaven 9. “The Moment of Lift” • Melinda Gates 10. “Girl, Stop Apologizing” • Rachel Hollis MASS MARKET 1. “Shadow Warrior” • Christine Feehan 2. “In His Father’s Footsteps” • Danielle Steel 3. “Liar, Liar” • Lisa Jackson 4. “Past Tense” • Lee Child 5. “Triple Homicide” • James Patterson 6. “Texas Nights” • Debbie Macomber 7. “Riding Shotgun” • William W Johstone 8. “Unbridled” • Diana Palmer 9. “Spymaster” • Brad Thor 10. “The Gray Ghost” • Cussler/Burcell TRADE PAPERBACK 1. “The Mueller Report” • (Scribner) 2. “Before We Were Yours” • Lisa Wingate 3. “Little Fires Everywhere” • Celeste Ng 4. “Long Road to Mercy” • David Baldacci 5. “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” • Heather Morris 6. “Calypso” • David Sedaris 7. “The Outsider” • Stephen King 8. “The Woman in the Window” • A.J. Finn 9. “My Hero Academia, Vol. 19” • Kohei Horikoshi 10. “The Mister” • E.L. James Here are the best-sellers at area independent stores for the week that ended June 9. Stores reporting: The Book House, Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, the Novel Neighbor, Subterranean Books.

ADULTS 1. “Naturally Tan” • Tan France 2. “Calypso” • David Sedaris 3. “Where the Crawdads Sing” • Delia Owens 4. “Good Omens” • Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman 5. “Park Avenue Summer” • Renee Rosen 6. “Indecency” • Justin Phillip Reed 7. “There, There” • Tommy Orange 8. “Lake of the Ozarks” • Bill Geist 9. “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” • Ocean Vuong 10. “Searching for Sylvie Lee” • Jean Kwok CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULTS 1. “Dragons Love Tacos” • Adam Rubin 2. “Calling All Witches” • Laurie Calkhoven 3. “Our Rainbow” • Little Bee Books 4. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” • JK Rowling 5. “Aru Shah and the Song of Death” • Roshani Chokshi 6. “The Someone New” • Jill Twiss 7. “Counting on Community” • Innosanto Nagara 8. “Paper Towns” • John Green 9. “The Rest of the Story” • Sarah Dessen 10. “The Hate U Give” • Angie Thomas

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

BOOKS

M 1 • SUnDAy • 06.16.2019

Exploring American history in song Country star Tim McGraw and political historian Jon Meacham team up for ‘Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation’

BY KRISTIN M. HALL

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On a recent spring day inside Tim McGraw’s sprawling Nashville mansion, the country superstar got a friendly ribbing from his friend and neighbor, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential biographer Jon Meacham.

McGraw was wearing his typical black cowboy hat and was tanned from one of his recent spear-fishing trips. Meacham, a journalist, author and professor, wore a dress shirt and khakis and held an unlighted cigar in his hand.

“I’m smoking cigars, and he’s lifting weights,” Meacham remarked. “Mr. Healthy!”

What this “Odd Couple” duo does have in common is a love of history and a new book they wrote together, “Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation,” which came out on Tuesday. They were in rehearsals for a book tour that’s unlike anything the two of them have done before, a mixture of songs and lectures on American history and culture. (It includes seven cities but not St. Louis.)

At McGraw’s house, they laid out copious notes and lyric sheets as they worked through their program, which will include Meacham talking about the book and McGraw singing a few songs that relate to the themes. McGraw won’t be singing any of his charttopping hits. Instead, he’ll be covering some of the songs mentioned in the book, even a song from before the Revolutionary War called “The Liberty Song.”

“It allowed me to use such a different part of my brain and such a different part of my artistry,” McGraw told the

“Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Tim McGraw and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham Music That Made a Nation” share a common love of history and music.

By Jon Meacham and Tim McCraw exhaustive list of American Published by Random House, Associated Press. political songs — it’s more 320 pages, $30 The two took a break like a conversation starter. from rehearsals to snack with knowing what the Meacham provides chapon pizza, while Faith Hill, song means. ters on eras in American McGraw’s wife, brought “That song strikes an history and the songs that over some iced tea. The emotional chord, but inteldefined culture, wars, friendship between the lectually, I know instinchistorian and the Grammy- political movements and campaigns. McGraw offers tively that song is a racist winning country star sidebar reflections on indi- song,” McGraw said. began when Meacham Said Meacham: “My vidual songs. invited his neighbors view of writing history and “The whole task with McGraw and Hill to a dinprose is how do you bring it biography is, complexity ner party. McGraw, who had read Meacham’s books alive? How do you make it is your friend. And to me what was so interesting visual?” Meacham said. on American presidents, The book starts with the about looking at history was initially shy around through the aperture of birth of the country, years Meacham and his friends. music was how consis“I remember sitting back before the Declaration of tently the music reflects in his library, and they were Independence, and goes smoking cigars and talking through the Sept. 11, 2001, the conflicts of the time.”

But Meacham also about history, politics and attacks and the 2008 elecpointed to songs that tion of President Barack current events, and it was brought people together, just really enjoyable to me,” Obama. The songs cover such as Brooks & Dunn’s a wide range of American McGraw said.

“Only in America,” a song musical touchstones, Seven years later, from battlefield songs like used by George W. Bush in McGraw said, he’s more campaign rallies and also “Yankee Doodle Dandy” confident in keeping up played as Obama accepted with Meacham’s encyclo- to Choctaw songs and African American spiritu- the Democratic nomination pedic knowledge of hisals, to civil rights anthems for president years later. tory, politics and people.

Although they don’t like “Lift Every Voice and Last year, McGraw asked address Trump-era poliSing,” to more modern Meacham if he had ever rock and country songs like tics, Meacham said they considered writing about are aware the book is “Born in the U.S.A.” and the impact that music coming out in an “incred“Okie From Muskogee.” has had on American ibly divisive and partisan Especially in times of politics. Meacham was deep political divide, music moment.” surprised that he hadn’t “I believe as strongly has reflected the nation’s really thought about that as I believe anything that conflicts. McGraw writes himself. eloquently about the song history and music have the “Believe me, I hate capacity to open hearts “I Wish I Was in Dixie to give him any credit,” and minds in a way that Land,” an anthem of the Meacham joked, to which conversations about what’s Confederacy, and having McGraw replied, “Espegoing on today cannot,” he to reconcile his memories cially intellectual credit.” of growing up in the South said.

The book is not an ASSOCIATED PRESS

FICTION

New Weiner novel trades wit for earnest social issues

BY MARION WINIK

Newsday

Jennifer Weiner’s big, cozy 13th novel, “Mrs. Everything,” follows a pair of sisters named Jo and Bethie (sorry, no Meg or Amy) from their childhood in the 1950s to just a few years ago, with an epilogue set in 2022. All of Weiner’s familiar themes — relationships between women, the disappointments of romance, weight loss, feminism, Jewish culture and family life — weave through the book, and as in her 2001 debut, “Good in Bed,” there’s a character inspired by her real-life mother, who came out as lesbian at 55. It is her most ambitious and serious book to date, exchanging the witty tone and oneliners of earlier work for a more earnest approach to social issues.

We meet the four Kaufmans in 1951, standing on the curb in their new development, moving “out of the bad part of Detroit which Jo’s parents said was crowded and unhealthy, full of bad germs and filling up with people who weren’t like them.”

Dressed in their finest, they are gazing at a house Ken Kaufman labels “The American Dream,” though his 6-year-old daughter, Jo, is unimpressed. This thing is no castle — it looks just like the boxy red houses in her Dick and

“Mrs. Everything” A novel by Jennifer Weiner Published by Atria, 464 pages, $28 Jane readers. Meanwhile, she is struggling with her itchy dress and wishing her mother had let her wear pants.

Two-years-younger Bethie is the little cutie of the family, doted on by all. Jo adores her father, who takes her to Tigers games and showers her with kindness, but has a difficult relationship with her mother, whom she can never please, mostly because she won’t give up her sporty, headstrong ways and enjoy being a girl. By the time she is 14, Jo has been on plenty of dates, usually doubling with her best friend, Lynette, but the “clammy hands” and “wormy lips” the boys present have left her cold.

Then one magical day, Lynette invites Jo home

after school to show her a little something she was lent by a counselor at summer camp. “I am going to change your life,” she promises.

Bethie’s life is about to be changed by sex as well, but in a much darker fashion, courtesy of her father’s wealthy optometrist brother, Uncle Mel. The doleful effects of his abuse resonate through the next several decades of Bethie’s life, which unfold alongside her sister’s, both set against a backdrop of American politics and pop culture.

After high school, Jo heads off to the University of Michigan; when Bethie visits her there in 1962, she sees “girls in long, loose dresses … with unstyled hair tumbling past their shoulders” and “Negro students, male and female” with “hair that stood out like crowns around their heads.” A barefoot boy with hair so long it’s tangled in his chest-length beard flashes her a peace sign. Meanwhile, sister Jo is lapping up humanities courses — though she’s also obediently earning her teaching certificate — and hoping desperately to run into a slender, dark-haired, thick-lashed rich girl named Shelley Finkelbein who showed up just once in her philosophy class.

Fashions, songs, news events, fads and styles

appear as markers as the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s whiz by. Both a Jell-O mold and the exercise videos of Jane Fonda play a role in the plot. Though the original four Kaufmans are strong, believable characters, a few of the characters introduced in the second half of the book are underdeveloped, and some of the plotlines a little unconvincing. None of these is a serious mistake; there’s just one of those, which is tacking a prologue on the front of the book that gives away the resolution of the novel’s central dilemma — what Jo will ultimately do about her socially unacceptable sexuality.

Despite these complaints, “Mrs. Everything” is sure to delight Weiner’s legions of fans and win new ones. Though this Jo and Beth have much more complicated lives than their namesakes in the March family of “Little Women,” “Mrs. Everything” would be perfect for crossover marketing to teenage readers. I can imagine falling in love with it if I were about 16, which is about the age I was when I read Herman Wouk’s “Marjorie Morningstar,” another novel that follows a rebellious Jewish daughter into adulthood.

There’s no riper audience for dramas about outsiders and social injustice and people who can’t get along with their mothers.

NONFICTION

“Missouri’s Murderous Matrons”

By Victoria Costner and Lorelei Shannon Published by the History Press, 126 pages, $21.99 (trade paperback)

Poison was weapon for ‘Murderous Matrons’

BY HARRY LEVINS

Special to the Post-Dispatch

As the 19th century drifted into the 20th, Missouri produced two women who made arsenic a part of their lives — and of the deaths of many people.

The women were Bertha Gifford, whose last home was just outside Eureka, and Emma Heppermann of Steelville.

Authors Victoria Cosner of St. Peters and Lorelei Shannon of Seattle conclude that each woman had a different motive in “Missouri’s Murderous Matrons.”

They call Heppermann “a black widow spider” — one who killed six of her seven husbands for money. Gifford had a more complicated (and more interesting) motive. She posed as an angel of mercy, taking sick people into her home, where she nursed many of them to their deaths.

“Bertha loved the attention of her friends and neighbors,” the authors conclude, “but even more, she loved the power of life and death. She could choose to ‘nurse’ someone back to health if the notion struck her fancy, and she could just as easily take a person’s life away. In short, murder was Bertha’s hobby, and she did it because it entertained her.”

Between them, the two poisoners took more than 20 lives.

Both were arrested, tried and convicted.

Gifford copped an insanity plea and spent the rest of her days at Farmington State Hospital, dying there in 1951. Heppermann was imprisoned, then was sent to a psychiatric hospital and was released a few months before her death in 1968.

Costner and Shannon search for facts like vacuum cleaners searching for dust, despite (as they concede) the haphazard recordkeeping of that era. Trouble is, the authors inflict whatever they found (or didn’t find) on their readers, even stuff that hardly matters — for example, the history of arsenic, or recaps of other Missouri cases in which poisoners made headlines.

Newspaper editors call this practice a “notebook dump.”

Nowhere is this particular notebook dump better illustrated than at the book’s end, which contains two recipes — one titled “Bertha’s Biscuits” and the other “Emma’s Potato Soup.” But the book’s last words read as follows: “Neither of these recipes actually came from Bertha or Emma, and neither of them includes arsenic. Please do not add any. These are period recipes, however.”

Harry Levins of Manchester retired in 2007 as senior writer of the Post-Dispatch.

ARTS

06.16.2019 • Sunday • M 1

“Booksmart” has been criticized for sentimentalizing high school. “Euphoria” will no doubt get dinged for demonizing it, which is, I suppose, as it should be.

FOR IRB USE ONLY IRB ID #: 201807151 APPROVAL DATE: 06/06/19 RELEASED DATE: 06/06/19 EXPIRATION DATE: 08/13/19

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ST. LOuIS POST-dISPaTCH • S9

Why we can’t stop going back to high school ‘Booksmart’ and ‘Euphoria’ have wildly different tones, but both stories still resonate

BY MARY MCNAMARA

Los Angeles Times

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I honestly cannot understand why high school still exists. With the possible exception of Congress, it’s difficult to think of another institution that is blamed for so much and credited for so little. Say the words — “high school” — and fully grown, highly successful people wince, or cringe, or burst into tears. As an adjective, it is purely pejorative.

And yet we haven’t bothered coming up with a new system of educating

On view through August 25 slam.org/Poetics

#Poetics

Unknown; Untitled (rear view mirror), c.1960; gelatin silver print; image: 2 5/8 x 3 3/4 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of John R. and Teenuh M Foster 379:2018

Rediscover a Mexican masterpiece at the Missouri History Museum SPONSORED CONTENT BY THE MISSOURI HISTORY MUSEUM

The Missouri History Museum’s new exhibition, “Flores Mexicanas: A Lindbergh Love Story,” is centered around a true masterpiece that has been in the collections of the Missouri Historical Society since 1932. The monumental painting, “Flores Mexicanas,” by the Mexican master Alfredo Ramos Martinez, was given to Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow as a wedding present by the president of Mexico in 1929. The painting stands 9 feet high and 12 feet wide, and hasn’t been on display in decades.

Now, visitors will finally have a chance to see it and learn this amazing story.

WHY WERE CHARLES LINDBERGH AND ANNE MORROW GIVEN THIS PAINTING? Anne Morrow would become a celebrated aviator and author, but in the late 1920s, she was mostly known because her father, Dwight Morrow, was the very popular US Ambassador to Mexico. In fact, she met Charles for the first time at the US Embassy in Mexico City in 1927, while he was on a goodwill tour of Latin and South America. Lindbergh’s trip was a huge success. He helped to improve the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and he also met his future wife.

When the couple married in 1929, they received gifts from people all over the world. Because of Lindbergh’s successful 1927 trip to Mexico, and because of the Morrow family’s popularity there, the Mexican government wanted to make sure that their official gift stood out. The president, Emilio Portes Gil, bought a large painting by one of the greatest artists in the country, Alfredo Ramos Martinez, and gave it to the Lindberghs.

HOW DID “FLORES MEXICANAS” GET TO THE MISSOURI HISTORY MUSEUM? The Lindberghs did not have room for all the wedding gifts they received. By that time, though, Charles Lindbergh had been donating his medals and awards to the collections of the Missouri Historical Society. He had developed a connection with one of the curators, Marie Antoinette Harney Beauregard. Miss Nettie, as she was popularly known, convinced Lindbergh that the Missouri History Museum would be the perfect place for

FLORES MEXICANAS

Flores Mexicanas by Alfredo Ramos Martinez. Photo courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society.

them—it was a place where they could be safely kept, while also letting the public see them.

WHY HAVEN’T I BEEN ABLE TO SEE THIS INCREDIBLE WORK OF ART BEFORE? The painting was in need of conservation. The canvas needed to be re-stretched, dust and grime had accumulated on the painting and the frame, and a few spots required some touchup and repair.

Because of the size of this masterpiece, it was a massive project. But, thanks to a generous grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project, “Flores Mexicanas” was sent to one of the premier art conservation centers in the country, the Midwest Art Conservation Center (MACC) in Minneapolis, MN. After several months of painstaking labor, which included cleaning the entire painting with tiny cotton swabs, conservators were able to return “Flores Mexicanas” to its original glory, so it could go on display once again.

DOES THE PAINTING HOLD ANY SECRETS? It sure does! During the conservation process, x-rays were taken of the painting and the frame.

The main purpose of these x-rays was to see how the frame was put together, so that it could be taken apart safely. But surprisingly, they revealed that there had been another woman in the painting, near the top right hand corner, that had been painted over. It’s not entirely clear if Alfredo Ramos Martinez had originally wanted five women in the piece and he changed his mind, or if he simply moved one of the four figures currently in the painting.

There’s a lot more to this exhibit than meets the eye. It’s a name you know, and a story you don’t.

Learn more about this fascinating painting by visiting “Flores Mexicanas: A Lindbergh Love Story” at the Missouri History Museum, open through September 2!

MOHISTORY.ORG/EXHIBITS/FLORES-MEXICANAS

CHARLES AND ANNE LINDBERGH AT THE MISSOURI HISTORY MUSEUM

Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh at the Missouri Historical Society with Nettie Beauregard and Anne Kinnard. Unknown photographer, April 1933.

Photo courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society.

This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios in collaboration with the Missouri History Museum. The news and editorial departments of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had no role in its creation or display. For more information about Brand Ave. Studios, contact tgriffin@stltoday.com.

ANNAPURNA PICTURES

Billie Lourd (left) and Kaitlyn Dever in “Booksmart” young adults and balk at the notion of making major improvements to the old one. (Better paid teachers?

Higher teacher-to-student ratios? Nah.) Perhaps because if we did, the basis for all comedy, much literature and probably — now that you mention it — Congress, would simply melt away.

How you feel about your own high school experience is a personality tell.

Few escape completely unscathed, but those who say they enjoyed it, or downplay the agony, are considered morally suspect by those who did and do not.

Is it a time and place where friendship blooms and creativity springs, a challenging maze of people and events that presents, in four years, a crash course in the intricacies of life — and material for a lot of funny stories?

Or is it is an institution designed to test human survival skills at a time when the humans in question are at their most emotionally and hormonally vulnerable?

Perhaps because of these tensions, high school, like murder, war and apocalypse, remains a tantalizing and popular topic of fiction, a place of extremes where both society and the human soul can be examined in wildly different ways.

Case in point: “Booksmart” versus “Euphoria.”

On the face of it, the film and the upcoming HBO series have a lot in common. They both feature two nontraditional female leads whose deep friendship arms them, to varying extents, against the perils of near-womanhood in the modern age: Cruel gossip and body-shaming, the painful crushes and capricious hierarchy of popularity, the oblivious or interfering adults, the parties that rage dangerously out of control and all that excruciating, conflicting desire — for passionate love and peace of mind, for security and freedom, for personal identity and the ability to fit in.

They’re also both set in high school, except those schools exist in two completely different universes.

In “Booksmart,” which is a comedy, high school is simply an obstacle course to be navigated on the way to that shimmering city on a hill — college. Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) have run the gantlet successfully by simply ignoring everything but their shared goal. The gentle teasing of their peers — kids made popular by beauty, athletic feats or general coolness — bothers them not one whit. Amy is openly gay, Molly a bit heavier than the social ideal, but they are loud, proud, self-consciously modern women. They give each other daily pep talks, remain untouched by cyberbullying and are aware of porn — but only as a learning tool.

When they realize that they could have achieved their dream and had some fun too, they decide to attend the big “crazy” party one of their classmates is throwing, which sends them on a voyage through Los Angeles during which the only truly predatory male they meet is the setup for a joke. Alcohol and drugs are imbibed but for comic purposes only; their insecurities are real but not crippling; their love has no limits and their message is clear: High school was hard but fun.

Not so much in “Euphoria.” Premiering Sunday,

it is the first YA show to appear on HBO, and a drama. The conclusions you might draw about its very graphic sex/nudity/ language are correct ones though probably do not go far enough (certain scenes are shocking even by HBO standards). Based on an Israeli series, it revolves around Rue (Zendaya), a 17-year-old addict who has overdosed, been sent to rehab and is now returning home to a life of sobriety she has no intention of maintaining.

Rue is not concerned about college or anything much except finding whatever substance will make her feel better, if only for an hour. Until she meets Jules (Hunter Schafer), a young trans woman who has transferred to her school.

They create a mutually affirming bond that is similar to Molly and Amy’s. But beyond the obligatory lockers and desks, their milieu bears no resemblance to that of “Booksmart.”

Now, some of the darkness could be attributed to Rue’s state of mind — she is an addict, after all — but at ol’ Euphoria High every student is in the middle of some abusive, debauched or dangerous situation.

Parties turn vicious, social media and the internet become instruments of degradation and exploitation, sex is invariably violent and devoid of love, and substance abuse is standard. (Indeed, one of the more honorable characters in “Euphoria” is Rue’s drug dealer.)

“Booksmart” has been criticized for sentimentalizing high school.

“Euphoria” will no doubt get dinged for demonizing it, which is, I suppose, as it should be.

“High school” describes a portion of our academic system, but more than that it represents a period of transition — from child to adult — that modern society still does not cope with very well. You can roll through those four years without so much as touching an illicit substance and still be drugged out — on hormones, anxiety, cultural awakening, social overload, boredom and/or the acrophobic realization that the launchpad countdown has started for real.

We remember those years as we experienced them — a perpetual oscillation of mood best described with hyperbole because the intricate realities are so numerous and fleeting they are virtually impossible to capture within a larger story; so many moments at that time feel like a larger story.

And that is why we come at high school from so many vastly different entry points. We need it, as one truly universal experience that we can actually remember, to unite us. And whether your memories are more “Friday Night Lights” or more “Riverdale,” more “Carrie” or more “High School Musical” — well, maybe that’s the point. Our experiences help make us who we are, but so do our memories of them. And often, they’re not the same thing.

In the end, both stories resonate despite their wildly different tones. You don’t have to be a drug addict to feel numb or lost or self-damaging, you don’t have to be hyperfocused valedictorian to suspect that some people are managing to get what they want while having way more fun, or that life seems to be occurring in completely different universes at the same time.

Especially in high school.

TRAVEL

S10 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Industry

M 1 • SUnDAy • 06.16.2019

the family the title of “Confiseur of Imperial.” According to the company website, confections today continue to be made using original recipes from the 1899 Bissinger Family Cookbook.

Innovative adaptations to the chocolate the family has perfected include apple ghost chili salt caramel.

From S1

visitors are welcome to consume as many of the 45-plus favors as their own belly can handle.

Sometimes you’ll find a factory store that has discounted prices, and frequently there’s a museum chronicling the history of the product.

Wherever you travel, it is likely there is a tour within reasonable driving distance, and depending on your interest, the tour may even be worth a several hour detour.

Always call before visiting a factory to take a tour. Reservations may be required, and often tours are not offered on weekends when the factory may not be operating. To get you started, here are four examples of factory tours in St. Louis, followed by examples of tours elsewhere throughout the country.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Co.

5025 Pattison Avenue; free; chocolatechocolate.com

More than 50,000 people a year who take this tour are told the name is not a typo, but a moniker bestowed in honor of the owner’s three lucky children. Imagine having a parent whose job is to make, among

POST-DISPATCH

Visitors looks at lager tanks in the Beechwood Aging Cellars during a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in 2018. The cellars are kept to a constant 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Celestial Seasonings Boulder, Colo.; free; celestialseasonings.com/ visit-us/tea-tour

In 1969 Mo Siegel was handpicking wild herbs from the A group of children look out onto the Ben and Jerry’s factory floor to see Rocky Mountains in Colorado how ice cream is made. and turning them into teas he sold to health food stores in not be able to sniff the pleasas well as a walk-through of an hand-sewn, muslin bags. Today ant scents emanating from this architecturally rich factory that that hobby-turned-business small factory, even before you is one of the largest and oldest sources the ingredients for more walk in. breweries in the nation. than 100 teas in 35 nations and Tours are offered almost as The brewery tour lasts 45 min- produces the equivalent of 1.2 soon as a shopper enters, and utes and is open to all ages. At billion cups of tea from the one you leave with a chemistry lesthe conclusion of the tour, adult factory in Boulder, Colo.

Herbaria Soap son, a free bar of soap and a lot of guests can sample two beers Certainly the 2 million-plus 2016 Marconi Avenue; free; friendly tail wagging from Soapy, from a choice of several beers of visitors that have taken this herbariasoap.com/store.html the store dog. the day. tour recall the sensation when, as part of the tour, they are This local tour involves a difescorted into the “mint room” ferent type of “bar hopping.”

Anheuser-Busch Bissinger’s More than 60 varieties of natural Brewery Tour Handcrafted Chocolatier where bags of the mint leaves used in various tea flavors are bars of soap and other personal 1200 Lynch Street; free; 1600 North Broadway; free, stored. Some make a hasty products such as deodorants and budweisertours.com but reservations needed; retreat back to the plant floor, DEET-free insect repellent are bissingers.com while others marvel at the powmade in this boutique shop. But Nestled in historic Soulard, erful scent, which is just one of the fact that no artificial frathe brewery offers both a prodThe beginning of this St. grances, colors or preservatives uct-oriented tour of cuttingLouis iconic firm dates to 1668 are used does not mean you will edge beer brewing technology, when King Louis XIV granted Please see INDUSTRY, Page S11 other treats, key lime truffle bars sprinkled with a graham cracker crust.

Whatever is being made the day of a tour, visitors will, hear, smell and taste the chocolates being produced a few feet in front of their eyes — and mouths.

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WHO AND WHERE • John and Marian Gravlin of O’Fallon, Mo., at Mount St. Helens in Washington state.

THE TRIP • They hiked the Harmony Trail down to Spirit Lake, which is at the foot of Mount St. Helens. The trees from the blast still float 38 years later.

TRAVEL TIP • You do need to watch the weather forecasts (including smoke from fires) and be prepared on the trails with sunscreen and water.

CONTRIBUTE • Email your photo to stlpost@gmail. com. Include the full names of everyone in the photo, including where they are from and where you are standing in the photo. Also include your address and phone number. Please also tell us a little about the trip and a travel tip. We’re looking for interesting, well-composed, well-lighted photos.

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06.16.2019 • Sunday • M 1

STL LIFE

ST. LOuIS POST-dISPaTCH • S11

Visitors admire original stained glass in the Clydesdale horse stables during a public tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery.

POST-DISPATCH

Industry From S10

many tourgoers experience as they pass along the factory floor.

The lobby features the artwork of the most popular Celestial tea box illustrations.

Airstream

Jackson Center, Ohio; free; airstream.com/company/ factory-tour/ While some factory tours opt for an abbreviated glimpse of the production process, this is not the case at Airstream’s in-depth, two-hour tour. Visitors walk among every element of the production cycle, often interacting with the technicians assembling the trailers by hand. Ear and eye protection is required and provided, and open-toed shoes are not allowed, but thousands of rivets and huge sheets of aircraft-grade aluminum will never be more interesting.

Jelly Belly

Fairfield, Calif., and Pleasant Prairie, Wis.; free; jellybelly.com If you are an aficionado of the gourmet jelly bean that comes in 45-plus favors, this is your tour. An elevated ¼ mile, glass-enclosed corridor guides visitors over the factory floor allowing a view of the seven-day manufacturing process for each bean from the time it is born out of vats of sugar water, until the hard outer coating is applied and the logo stamped on each shell.

The gourmet treat was first produced in 1976, and now 30 tons of beans are made daily in flavors such as chocolate pudding, island punch, caramel corn, margarita and very cherry.

Interactive exhibits along the tour include “touch technology” where guests can swipe misshapen beans off a 55-inch flat screen monitor, an art gallery of framed art made of Jelly Belly beans, and “smell stations” where visitors guess flavors based on scent alone.

The factory store offers unlimited samples of every bean flavor, and guests can purchase Jelly Belly “flops,” the candies that ended up misshapen during production.

At the Pleasant Prairie, Wis., location guests ride through the distribution Center on the Jelly Belly tram.

John Deere

Waterloo and Ankeny, Iowa and East Moline, Ill.; free; deere.com You do not need to be a farmer to enjoy this tour, described by the company as “plow to wow!”

The real John Deere himself built the world’s first successful selfscouring plow in 1837. In the 182 years since, this American firm has grown to be the leader in the assembly of machines that produce so much of the food we consume. Some of the largest, most technologically advanced machines in the world are assembled at the firm’s plants and include combines, planters, tractors, harvesters and bailers.

Tours are offered at three different locations and are frequently led by enthusiastic, knowledgeable retired Deere employees who include information on how the machines impact lives around the world.

Each stage of the

COLTER PETERSON, POST-DISPATCH

Tour participants watch as a worker lays chocolate pieces on a conveyor belt to be coated in chocolate during a tour of the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate factory in St. Louis. remote areas of the world.

When visiting Logan, Ohio, all one needs to do to find where the tour starts is to look for the brick building with a 40-foot-tall washboard on the side.

National Braille Press

Boston; $25 for five people or $3 per person for larger groups; nbp.org/ic/nbp/aboutus/ tour.html#tour The goals of the National Braille Press are to promote the literacy of blind children through CELESTIAL SEASONINGS PHOTO braille, and to provide access A hairnet-adorned tour group receives an explanation of how teas are to information that empowers made at Celestial Seasonings. blind people to actively engage ice-cream-flavored lip balms manufacturing process in in work, family and community included, from the first steel cut and combination “pint locks” affairs. To accomplish this worthat protect Ben and Jerry’s ice to the finished product. thy objective, the press churns cream from unauthorized eaters. out 8,000 braille-embossed pages hourly, and more than 10 Ben and Jerry’s million pages yearly.

Columbus Washboard Waterbury, Vt.; $4 per adult; Visitors are guided through benjerry.com/ Factory the five-step process, which about-us/factory-tours Logan, Ohio; $6; includes transcription, proofcolumbuswashboard.com reading, embossing, pressing A short film at the beginning of All but one washboard manu- and adding tactile graphics the humor-infused tour reveals so the reader can visualize an facturer disappeared long ago. it was a $5 correspondence course in ice cream-making and The Columbus Washboard Fac- image. In the finishing step volunteers assist in collating, tory, founded in 1895, remains a $12,000 investment that was folding and binding the books behind the first “scoop shop” the in business in this fast-paced, electronic age. Yearly production by hand (machines smash the partners opened in a renovated braille). today is in the thousands, far gas station in Burlington, Vt. below the 1940s when more than Guided tours of the flourish1 million were being produced ing business include a stop at Union Pacific Railroad’s the “flavor lab” where guests are every year. Yet, the process has Bailey Yard offered a scoop of the sample of not changed in nearly 125 years.

North Platte, Neb; $6; up.com In fact, the tour is more like the day. watching museum pieces being (Caution: the sample may be At 2,850 acres, this “factory” made, since the boards are described as a broccoli flavor is too large (and too dangerous) with kidney bean chunks with a assembled by hand, one at a for a walking tour. However time, using the same equipment if you take the elevator to the swirl of cheddar cheese, before employed in the late 1800s. the real treat is unveiled.) eighth floor at the visitor center However, while the producA picket fence-enclosed “flaof the massive Union Pacific tion process remains the same, vor graveyard” on the factory Railroad’s Bailey Yard in North the use of washboards has grounds contains tombstones Platte, Neb., you can watch as changed. Yes, they are still used 14,000 railroad cars are “sorted” for discontinued flavors. The by some for hand scrubbing, but every 24 hours. This is the largepitaph for Rain Forest Crunch they are now also purchased as reads: est “hump” yard in the world, a decorative pieces for laundry 1988-1988 name derived from the mounds rooms and kitchens, as furniWith aching heart & heavy sigh the remotely controlled railroad We bid Rainforest Crunch goodbye. ture accents and as good oldcars ascend before rolling onto fashioned American Bluegrass That nutty brittle from exotic one of 114 tracks where they will musical instruments. The firm places couple with other railroad cars Got sticky in between our braces. also sends washboards overseas to form a train heading east or to American soldiers stationed in west.

The factory store sells

The eighth-floor observation deck gives an inside, airconditioned panoramic view of the activity, while the open-air seventh floor observation deck allows visitors to listen to the diesel engines and the box cars clang as they are joined together.

Harry and David

Medford, Ore.; $5 per person; harryanddavid.com/h/view/tours Pears started it all in 1910 when they were marketed as “being so delicious you can eat them with a spoon.” Today Harry and David (the names of the sons of the founding pear picker) market gift baskets of fresh fruit, sweets and other products to more than 100 nations.

This tour begins in the assembly building where visitors watch from overhead as a guide explains the gift box packing process underway below. Then guests are whisked to the bakery and candy center where the sweet aroma of the firm’s famous Moose Munch permeates the air.

Samples are available at the factory store, and the $5 tour cost is applied to orders of $40 or more.

Harley-Davidson

Menomonee Falls, Wis., and York, Pa.; Free (in-depth “Steel Toe” tours are $38); harley-davidson.com There is no need to wear a leather jacket with a Harley logo, or even own a motorcycle, to appreciate the different stages in the assembly of this iconic American product. As promotional material explains, visitors get to see “the legend in the making,” and “passion forged in steel.”

Two different plants offer factory floor tours. The facility in York, Pa., produces motorcycles and various parts, while the Menomonee Falls, Wis., plant produces engines and transmissions for the final assembly plant in York.

STL LIFE

S12 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

M 1 • SUnDAy • 06.16.2019

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

Avoid these travel hacks for a smoother summer vacation

BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Special to the Washington Post

Travel hackers are thought to be some of the world’s smartest travelers.

But they may not be as smart as they think.

Consider what happened to the Lufthansa passenger who tried one of the oldest travel tricks in the book, a strategy called “hidden city” ticketing.

The passenger, booked to fly from Seattle to Oslo, skipped the last leg of the flight and traveled to Berlin from Frankfurt on a separate Lufthansa ticket instead, which reportedly saved him $2,385.

Lufthansa sued the unnamed passenger in Berlin, part of an industrywide crackdown on hidden city hackers. A lower court dismissed the case, and the airline has appealed.

Hidden city ticketing, where you get off the plane at a stopover instead of flying to your designated final destination, takes advantage of a quirk in airline ticket pricing. Sometimes, counterintuitively, it costs more to fly to the stopover city than to the final destination.

Iffy travel advice can ruin a summer vacation, leaving you with no airline seat or hotel room, and maybe even landing you in court. And some of the most questionable advice you can receive is about creatively booking airline tickets, collecting loyalty points and choosing destinations.

One of the best-known travel hacks is the one the Lufthansa passenger used. Sites like Skiplagged, which advertise “ridiculous” travel deals, allow users to plan itineraries that openly rely on “missing” the last leg of the flight.

But getting sued isn’t your only worry when you try to use hidden city ticketing, says Sean Messier, an analyst with Credit Card Insider, a

123RF

Experts advise travelers to avoid tricks, find a credit card that fits your lifestyle, spend normally and reap the benefits.

website that encourages the responsible, strategic use of credit cards. Passengers who use this tactic with affinity credit cards linked to their airline loyalty programs could also run the risk of having their accounts terminated, he says.

Another favorite travel hack: manipulating airline loyalty programs to score “free” flights or upgrades.

Some travel experts encourage you to purchase points or miles in violation of your program’s terms.

Buying points through a travel company is fine, though not usually a good deal. Purchasing them on the dark web or through a broker? Not fine.

For example, Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles terms clearly state that Delta reserves the right to terminate the account of anyone “who sells or barters Mileage Upgrade Awards, or who sells or barters mileage credit, vouchers, Award certificates or Award Tickets.” Other ways to run up a mileage balance are so problematic I won’t even mention them in this column.

When a points purchase goes south, “it is horrid for both the seller and buyer,” says Randi Winter, a Virtuoso travel agent for Passionate Travel in Vancouver, British Columbia. “You can lose your payment if the points are confiscated by the airline or hotel. There is no insurance for illegal activities.”

Winter’s advice for

would-be mileage hackers? Find a credit card that fits your lifestyle, spend normally and reap the benefits.

Legitimate travel experts avoid tricks meant to boost your mileage balance, such as transferring large balances or manufacturing spending or using cards in ways that were not intended. Eventually, the credit card companies will catch on, closing loopholes and maybe even canceling your account.

Playing the mileage game also requires that you turn a blind eye to an unavoidable truth: Loyalty programs always benefit the company more than the customer. No matter how well you play, the house always wins.

A less dangerous kind of travel hack is peddled by a broader cross section of travel experts, from travel bloggers to, ahem, travel columnists. It falls under the category of mindless contrarianism, by which I mean running in the opposite direction from the crowd without considering the consequences.

This may include booking a flight to a less popular airport without considering the inconvenience and the added cost of getting to your final destination. Or the old “book a hotel outside the city” hack.

“It’s true that hotels farther from the city center or the airport are often less expensive than hotels closer to the action,” says Calvin Iverson, a travel expert at the travel-deal website TravelPirates. But before you book one of those hotels for the low price, Iverson recommends researching transportation options, which may add to the expense of your trip. “Sometimes public transportation isn’t easy or inexpensive, and you end up paying more than you would have paid for a stay at a more conveniently

located hotel,” Iverson says.

He’s right. Even the smartest travel hacking advice can have a downside. Cheap hotel rooms are in the worst part of the building. (You know, the broom closet next to the elevator and above the disco.) Bargain hotels can be miles from civilization.

And no matter what a travel blogger tries to tell you, there’s no such thing as a “free” airline seat or upgrade. You will pay eventually — directly or indirectly — for the amenity.

The hackers make a valid point, though. Whether it’s the terms of your loyalty program or the

complex tariffs governing your airline ticket, the travel industry’s rules are complex and ever-changing. The rules also unfairly favor the travel company.

But you don’t fix them by breaking them.

Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United.

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