Forgotten in time -
- An epic flight launched from St. Louis in 1859. Its passengers nearly died.
Its record stood for the rest of the century.

"The Greatest American Balloon Voyage," it was called in 19th-Century newspapers and magazines. The gas balloon Atlantic left downtown St. Louis and stayed aloft for nearly 20 hours
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This kid from Kirkwood did fly -
- like a Mustang

When George Carper was a boy, he often rode his bicycle from his home in Kirkwood to the grass airport that was just west of the Route 66 bridge on the Meramec River. "I watched the airplanes and said I wanted to do that one day," George recalled. "They laughed."
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Could Missouri Be Ready to Increase a Tax? Really?

Recent progress on the new interchange being constructed at the Interstate 44-Route 141 interchange at Valley Park. The two-year, $22-million project is scheduled for completion this summer.
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Kid Seats Save Kids. Seat Laws Don't.

Pediatric traffic deaths decrease sharply as use of child safety seats and seat belts increases, according to two recent studies that examined child safety restraint use.
While outcomes varied dramatically by state along with estimated use of safety equipment, state laws regarding child seat and safety belt use had no quantifiable effect on usage or fatality statistics. Statistics for Missouri and Illinois closely tracked the national data.

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The Joy of collecting Old Cars!

Only way I can explain it is I love cars, love working on them love fixing them up so people set up and notice.
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Two Forest Park Shows on Easter

Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri and  
St. Louis Street Rod Association put on two good shows.
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Back from Extinction:

WAS THIS THE FIRST ST. LOUIS NEW CARriage REVIEW?

The Eclipse furnished "the most beatific enjoyment."
The new-car review has always been the foundation of automotive publications. This review from 1878 may not technically qualify as a "Motoring" story but it may have been the first "new carriage" review written about a St. Louis-built vehicle.
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Spit and polished!

Polished, vintage metals gleamed under the autumn sun when about three dozen historic vehicles assembled for the annual Brass and Nickel Show on October 1 at the National Museum of Transport in Kirkwood.
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It's always time
for a winery cruise

The return of cool fall weather releases the call of the open road. On the colder days of winter, too, a day of sunshine begs for a trip out of cabin fever. In this part of the country, wineries are popular destinations for days spent outside. "We have very beautiful wine roads and a lot of opportunities to see scenic views," said Annette Alden, marketing director of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board in Jefferson City. "There are a lot of great wine festivals in the fall and there are other activities in the regions that support the wineries. There are interesting restaurants and shopping opportunities. You can make a whole weekend out of it."
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The History of
St. Louis-Area Railroads

Just about anyplace we go in this region we cross or run parallel to railroad tracks. Many cities of the Mississippi Valley were clustered along the converging great rivers then attracted the railroads which further promoted their growth.
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The Legend:
Ben Chesney

"He was pretty good at a time when driving a race car was a pretty rugged thing."

The short old man walked with a jerky, painful limp. He'd had it since 1949, when he was thrown from a midget during a race in Macon, Illinois. Ben Chesney had half an inch of stagger in his hip ever after.

The crowd watched in horror that May day as Chesney was flung to the dirt from his tumbling car and then slammed hard by a following car. The red flag flew.


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Tim Seebold

OSAGE BEACH -- The 2017 boat racing season will be the first since 1938 to be contested without a Seebold behind the wheel. Tim Seebold, 52, retired following the 2016 season and went out with a bang -- or rather a splash. The USF1 series ended with three drivers listed within one point in the final standings. Seebold, who now lives in Osage Beach, scored 394, one ahead of former champions Greg Foster and Terry Rinker, who tied for second.  Last August Seebold, Rinker and Foster headed into the final race in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Regatta with the title up for grabs. 


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Steamboat Days

The prosperity of the Mississippi Valley always has depended upon location and transportation. From the First Americans who established a great city at Cahokia in the year 600 to the Europeans who founded St. Louis in 1764 until today, much of the travel and shipping has been carried by the region's great rivers.
The first motorized vehicle to reach these parts puffed and chugged up the Mississippi River nearly 200 years ago

Aug. 2, 1817.


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