Missouri History Today

December 23, 1929, is the birthday of bowling legend Dick Weber. Weber moved to Florissant in 1955 when St. Louis was the epicenter of bowling competitions, and he joined the famous Budweiser bowling team. Along with Don Carter, Weber was a star in a city of sports stars in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He won Bowler of the Year honors in 1961, 1963, and 1965 while also racking up 26 Pro Bowling Association tournament titles, as bowling became a widely watched spectator sport in person and on television.

On December 22, 1945, the busiest day in the history of St. Louis Union Station. Train stations across the country were packed with soldiers returning home from World War II. On busy days, more than 100,000 travelers would make their way through Union Station, but this day was especially busy, as travelers reported lines of people at every door and hardly any floor space available for standing. 

On December 21, 2005, Tippy the Terrible Terrapin was looking for a new home in Springfield.  The very friendly reptile had outlived his human family and he was adopted by the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield.

On December 20, 1820, Missouri imposed a $1.00 “bachelor tax” on unmarried men between 21 and 50 years old.  

On December 19, 1984, the Callaway Nuclear Power Plant went into operation. Missouri’s first and only nuclear power plant had been debated for years before ground was broken in September of 1975. Even after the facility got the necessary approval following the federal government’s evaluation process, it was nearly a decade before it began operating near Fulton in Callaway County.

December 18, 1921, is the Birthday of St. Louis’s most famous waiter, “Mickey” Garagiola. In the 1940s, he worked at Oldani’s (Now Mamma’s) on the Hill when a chef, Terry Lane, messed up a ravioli order.  Mickey tasted them anyway and declared that, with some seasoning, they would be a hit.  Toasted ravioli was born as a St. Louis tradition.

On December 17, 2018, a hunter from Barton County was sentenced to watch Disney’s Bambi repeatedly during his year-long prison sentence after being convicted of killing hundreds of deer illegally.

On December 16, 1927, the doors opened to what became the most popular ballroom in Kansas City.  The El Torreon was at 31st and Gillham Plaza. 

On December 15, 1965, the Gemini 6A blasted off from Cape Kennedy in Florida. Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford were the astronauts on board the spacecraft, which had been manufactured in St. Louis at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. McDonnell had won the contract to build the space vehicles, making St. Louis ground zero for America’s human spaceflight program.

On December 14, 1818, Lincoln, Montgomery, and Pike Counties were established today.