Stop Me if You've Heard This One....

Let's see...it starts off like this....

"T. S. Eliot's Grandfather, a Catholic grade school boy's soccer team,  and a bunch of Hookers......"


Actually, I can say for certain that the histories of the three listed above all merge at one place....and that place is on "The Hill." Why am I certain?  Because I was on that Catholic grade school soccer team.

Bob in his "Glory Daze"....(back row second from the left)

Many years ago, when I was a young, up and coming soccer player, I played many a game at the Sublette Park soccer field for the Resurrection of Our Lord boy's soccer team.  In fact, even today I ride by this park most days, on my way to work, never realizing the history of the location.

Little did I know, that when I was scoring my one and only goal as a Winger, or intimidating opponents with my dazzling and unpredicatable clumsiness on defense, that this very site played a major role in St. Louis' experiment with legal prostitution.  For located on the exact site of the field was the Social Evil Hospital (a medical center for the legal prostitutes of the city) , and it's companion, The House of Industry (to "teach" the "working women" more socially acceptable "workplace skills").

Photo from Missouri History Museum

Current soccer field where the hospital was located.

Below are two links that tell the story much better than I ever could.  And even though this location does not technically land within the boundaries of "The Hill" neighborhood, it is nevertheless located on "The Hill."  So it is close enough and interesting enough to warrant mention in this blog.

And if you really want to know what "The Saint of the West," the Reverend William Greenleaf Eliot (grandfather of THE T. S. Eliot), and what THE Josephine Baker had to do with all this....you'll have to click on one or both of the links below.

Seriously....this one is really, really, interesting:
https://www.distilledhistory.com/socialevil/


http://www.stltoday.com/news/archives/look-back-st-louis-briefly-experiments-with-legalized-prostitution/article_cbff5b95-42bb-5f16-a221-13aa03984301.html


And a post script to this post.  I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to my employer's role in planting pollinator gardens all around the city.  Below is a sign from Sublette Park that explains our involment and how a group of St. Louisans are trying to help Monarchs and other pollinators.

Click this text to find out what your Center for Native Pollinators is doing.

Gardens and sign are located at the Northwest corner of the park....and elsewhere throughout the City.
Check out that Saint Louis Zoo logo!