St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 13

MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1 982 ST.LOUIS POST'DISPATCH SECTION 1-8D Avis Carlson Dr. Donohue Ann Landers Boggle Challenge Seek Find Page 2 Page 2 Page 2 Page 4 Page 6 111 ou, 8 1992 Climbing Toward A Solid mike royko The rocky days are over, Rock Hill boosters contend 9 I' 1 age More Than The ROCK HILL bBtin I 5 -IV 1 l.b 1 WsCJJ, ST CHARLES COUNTY jS' Jt 1 j-f f-fi" J0TCBSON COUNTY 7 -iT' I Children enjoy playground equipment in Oak Haven Park.lone of five parks developed by Rock Hill in the last seven years. Same Old Song ASPIRING song writers are responding enthusiastically to the proposal that Chicago have a new, official city song. This was the idea of Alderman Lou "El Supremo" Farina, who said he thinks this city needs a song that has dignity. He said he feels uncomfortable when he is introduced at great affairs of state and the band plays the lusty "Chicago, Chicago," or the bluesy "My Kind of Town, Chicago Is." Farina is, of course, known for his dignity.

When he was head of the city's Meter Maids, he designed himself a military uniform that made him look like a member of the Argentine junta. And he once received widespread publicity when he claimed to have found a pearl in his mouth after eating an oyster-topped pizza. So Farina, with Mayor Byrne's blessing, launched a search for an original city song, which will be chosen by a panel of musical experts and a few ward heelers. Always eager to contribute to civic betterment, I recently urged Chicagoans to compose songs and mail them in so I could pass them on to Farina and his panel. I'm not sure if the songs contain the kind of spirit that Farina has in mind.

But some are interesting and do offer a certain view of the city and its leaders. A few examples: Barb Unger, who plays piano in a night spot, composed these lyrics to the tune of "Chicago, Chicago." Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town, toddlin' town Chicago, hey mister, get up off the ground. Bet your last three dollars you'll lose them, too, in Chicago, Chicago That's the town where the potholes get you down. On Broadway, in New Town, I just wanna say, theyre mostly gay They do things they don't do in L.A. (Heyl) You'll see the slime, the grime of your life I saw a man he danced with YOUR wife In Chicago, that's my town! Using the tune of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," Adrian Guerrero wrote these lyrics: I'll fix you anything my friend If you make me feel all right.

I'll fix your tickets and potholes, too For a measly hundred and five. 'Cuz I don't care much for lots of money I just want a li'l bribe. I ain 't making much as an alderman I know you'll understand You gotta give me some of your dough To make Chicago go. Well, I don't care much for Jots of money A li'l bribe looks good to me. Mike Henry sentin an entry all the way from Indianapolis.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that Henry's lyrics were influenced by my recent observations on his city. Henry noted that his song should be sung or chanted or recited with "a Chicago nasal impediment: Chicago, Chicago, the armpit on the lake Policemen, aldermen who knows who's on the take. A million Polacks and Bohunks a few million Puerto Ricans This is the only city I wanna be from. Greasy politicians, crooks writing the news All washed clean with State Street ooze. Asphalt and trash everywhere I look I hope 1 make it to the before my life gets took.

The Cubs, the Bears, the Bulls and the Sox All wear pantyhose instead of jocks. Real friendly people everywhere you meet A few hundred dead every day on the street. Strip that car, beat that old man, Boy am I gad I'm a Chicagoan. Streets like parking lots and all we moan But it's kind of fun living in a combat zone. Mrs.

O'Leary's cow made one big mistake, oh pity She couldn't spread gasoline all over the city. You can take Mongolia, Afghanistan and Borneo, I love living in Chicago. I doubt if Mr. Henry's song will have much of a chance in the judging, but I printed it as a classic example of the legendary Hoosier wit. There are many others, some of which I'll publish from time to time.

One other thing: A response to a few questions from Charlie Novak, a reader who says he is having trouble finding words that rhyme for his lyrics and sought my advice. Mr. Novak, with the word "Jay," you might try "pay." Or even "payday." (That's Jay as in Jay McMullen, husband of Mayor Jane Byrne.) And many words rhyme with Jane. Such as "pain." or "bane." As to your final questin: Yes, McMullen does call the mayor "honey." For rhyming purposes, just put an where the is. IS or -ig The modest structure was on the north side of Manchester, across from Fairfax.

They named it the Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, taking the name from two features of the land some nearby rocky projections and the upward slope of roads leading to it. The name fit so well that it was used again first for the road crossing Manchester just west of the church, then for the surrounding area and finally for the village that later became a city. The next milestone for Rock Hill came in May 1853, when the Pacific Railroad (a predecessor of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad Co.) opened a line from St. Louis to Kirkwood. The train made it much easier for city folk to get out to the Marshalls' place.

tr -tr -tr Rock Hill stayed a quiet farm community for many years. In 1885, its population was estimated at 50. Most land was used for crops or dairy cattle. Commerce developed along Manchester Road, which kept a steady stream of wagon trains and visitors moving through the area. Only a few houses were built, and change came slowly.

Finally, in the mid-1920s, parts of Rock Hill went suburban. Scattered tracts mostly in the eastern and northeastern parts of town were subdivided for houses. Rock Hill incorporated as a village on April 29, 1929. A 1930 estimate credited it with 1,309 residents. The village grew quickly, and in April 1947 residents voted to become a city.

The decade of fastest growth came in the 1940s, when the population approximately doubled. Population peaked in 1970 at 7,275, and the 1980 Census showed a 22 percent drop, leaving Rock Hill with 5,702 residents. it -tr -tr Over the years, Rock Hill has retained its quiet character, but one event that sticks out in many residents' minds is the night when the Rock Hill Quarry turned into a lake. The quarry is actually in Ladue, just across Old Warson Road from Rock Hill. It is no longer active as a stone supplier and is being filled in with debris from construction and demolition projects, but even today the first glimpse of the quarry's steep walls can be a shock to passing motorists who see it for the first time.

From the road, the bottom is out of sight. In 1957, the quarry was 190 feet deep, 1,200 feet long and 600 feet wide. In a 12-hour period that June, about nine inches of rain fell. Around dusk, Deer Creek surged over its bank and into the quarry. The next day, says Russell T.

Wagner, a longtime Rock Hill resident, "It was plumb full of water. It looked like a big lake." Draining out all the water took 61 days of continuous pumping. A -tr A i A major chapter in Rock Hill's history came with the blockbusters, real estate dealers who profited by changing See ROCK HILL, PageS made their way out the old road to Jefferson City (now Manchester Road) and settled near Deer Creek, on 800 acres of what is now Rock Hill and northern Webster Groves. The Marshalls' slaves built a log cabin that soon became a focal point for activity in the area. It was a trading post, store, post office and stopping point for the stagecoach from St.

Louis to Kansas City. Within a few years, James Marshall married and had his slaves build a large house. The house, called Fairfax, was set back from the south side of Manchester near Rock Hill Road. (About 40 years ago, the house was moved to a new site, not far from the old one. Fairfax now faces Manchester, sitting next to the driver's license office at 9440 Manchester.) Around 1845, Marshall had a church built for his Scottish wife.

He donated the land, and his slaves built the church of stones they cut from Marshall's quarry. 02' tfr Hill for 1 1 years, is as personal as the houses. A buyer can get more for his money than in any of the neighboring suburbs, Page said, and that's why he and other young professionals are moving to Rock Hill. Houses in Rock Hill are mostly of medium size, with the majority of red brick, but scattered throughout the city are larger homes, most of them white frame, that were often built by farm families. -tr -tr James Collier Marshall, Rock Hill's most prominent early settler, was a Virginian who came to visit relatives in St.

Louis in the early 1800s. He liked what he saw so much that he went home and persuaded several family members to pack up their goods, gather their slaves and move westward around 1830. It was no easy trip. A horse-drawn wagon got them over the Appalachians to the banks of the Ohio River. From there, they took a flatboat to the Mississippi River and up the Mississippi to St.

Louis. Then the Marshalls The office of Jesse Stroup, mayor of Rock interest he takes in his city. fil Oml Mm Story by Llsha Gayle Photos by Wayne Crosslin Of th Post-Dispatch Staff TO get to know Rock Hill, a good place to begin is with Jesse Stroup. Stroup, 56, a car salesman, has been mayor of Rock Hill for 11 years. Talking with a bit of a drawl, he calls his constituents "our folk" and smiles when he says, "I've lived my whole life within a mile." Stroup is more than fond oflhis community just north of Webster Groves he is proud.

But "when I say proud, I don't mean cocky," says Stroup, a man slow to anger and quick to show gratitude. A St. Louis County employee put it this way: "The county people love to deal with Jess Stroup because he knows what he has to do, he does his paperwork, and when he gets the money he says, 'Thank Pride in Rock Hill is something Stroup shares with plenty of the city's 5,700 residents. Among the most-mentioned objects of pride are the friendly people, the full services and the success with integration. "I consider Rock Hill the best city," said Tim Hightower, who lives on Rockman Place.

"I've lived all over the world, but here I have good neighbors in the truest sense of the word. We look out for each other." When new residents first come to City Hall, City Clerk Alice Wolf said, "Many are surprised they get as much as they do for the amount of tax they pay. What they get includes five newly developed parks, a recreation program, a fine library and praiseworthy police and fire departments. What they pay is 70 cents for each $100 assessed valuation a rate that stands in the lower-middle range among St. Louis County municipalities.

What draws the most praise, however, is the manner in which services are provided. "People are people to us," Mrs. Wolfe said. "You're not a house number or a Social Security number. We call you by your name.

I think that makes a difference to people." Mary Johnston, who lives on Tavalon Avenue, said, "When you have a problem with your child, the police are your friend, not your adversary. They take the time." Stroup's "humanistic approach" is one of the keys to Rock Hill's successful integration, Hightower said. "Every time something flares up that might be construed as racial," he said, "Jesse is right there. He says, 'Let's reason with the Rock Hill is also lucky to be part of the Webster Groves School District, which has a solid reputation for quality education, said Aldermen Phil Page and Bradford L. Stevens.

Kindergarten through sixth-grade students attend Steger School on Rock Hill Road. For higher grades, they attend schools in Webster Groves. Rock Hill's Schall and Hudson schools closed in 1975 and 1978. Schall School is now the state drivers' license office at Manchester and Rock Hill roads. Rock Hill's other assets include a central location and a good selection of affordable ROCKmTT BUILDING POLICE I A.

1 Liiebu -111 i' A A- 1i ilrnili i.in I irm i. Hi. 11 in mi i) ml, The Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, founded about 1 845, says it is the oldest church west of the Mississippi. The church gave Rock Hill its name. Sayers Printing in the background to the left of Rock Hill's municipal building, won zoning concessions by promising to be a good neighbor..