On a cold (30°) and windy November 19th, 2016, (wind speed was in the mid 20″) the entire McCloskey family (the McCloskeys, the Thompsons, the Moores, and the Messners) gathered at three different St. Louis locations for a family portrait taken by Ed Courter. Each location represented a memorable period of time in the early years of each of our children’s lives. The first location, the footbridge crossing the Pine River from behind the high school to the athletic complex, was the site of countless hours spent participating in or watching all of the kids participate in high school athletics. The second location was the site of the farm home (8878 N Union Rd. St. Louis) where all the kids were raised until they left for college. While the home is now in a sad state of disrepair the memories are still as warm and vivid as they were at the time they happened. The two trees planted shortly after the deaths of Grandma McCloskey and Grandma Pluto are still there, now fully grown fruit trees and shrubs. As we pulled into the driveway I half expected to see our family collie, Ace, come running around the garage to greet us barking and wagging his tail. And yes, out behind the barn lay our Pet Cemetery, where hundreds of Whitey’s babies were buried in the middle of the night. I always felt sorry for Whitey as she searched endlessly for her missing babies. And finally location #3 was in a “waiting to be refurbished” apartment above the Blue Shamrock Pub in downtown St. Louis. This location was chosen by the family to reflect our pride in the tremendous efforts Monica and Michael have made to create one of St. Louis’ most successful businesses.
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