Culinary arts student Ciera Esty sautées green beans and walnuts on the industrial stove. (Photo by DeJuan Baskin)

Culinary arts students practice on the public

October 14, 2013

Forest Park students, faculty and staff can eat in a new “restaurant” almost every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Culinary arts training includes practice runs for students, who take turns planning and preparing lunches and dinners and serving them to the public. “(In their last semester), all students rotate through every position they may potentially work in a restaurant situation,” said Clarke Griffin, instructor of restaurant operations. […]

Linda Foster reads to a day-care student; she lost her job when the center closed, prompting her to enrol at Forest Park. (Provided photo)

Student earns degree while fighting cancer

July 29, 2013

Linda Foster walks the halls of Forest Park with a bright smile, hiding the challenges she’s faced in the past year. The 62-year-old student from North St. Louis completed an early childhood education degree in May while battling cancer. “I didn’t want to be a hindrance to anybody, so I tried to get (chemotherapy and radiation) treatments on the days I didn’t have school,” she said. […]

The old Highlands carousel is still in use at Faust Park in Chesterfield; people pay $2 a ride or $5 for three rides. (Photo by Justin Tolliver)

Campus sits on site of amusement park

July 22, 2013

July 19 marked the 50th anniversary of the loss of a beloved St. Louis landmark. A fire destroyed the Forest Park Highlands, also known as “The Highlands,” an amusement park that stood where St. Louis Community College at Forest Park is today. […]

Customers take shelter from the rain under the awning at Crown Candy Kitchen, which sits at the intersection of St. Louis Avenue and 14th Street. (Photo by Jamie Greene)

Crown Candy marks 100 years

July 1, 2013

On the north side of downtown St. Louis, there’s a little family owned and operated restaurant that has been patronized by St. Louisans for 100 years. Walking in the door of Crown Candy Kitchen is like taking a step back in time with the malt machines, small jukeboxes at every booth and vintage Coca-Cola signs on the walls. […]

Graphic design major Raheem Hitchins, 23, draws model Eric Peniston, 47, in Figure Drawing I. (Photo by Chris Cunningham)

Nude models secure in their own skin

July 1, 2013

Imagine sitting on a stage completely naked. The room is quiet as an art instructor tells students how to sketch you – fat rolls, wrinkles and all. Sound scary? This is part of a regular day for nude models, who bare it all in Forest Park art classes. “I’ve never been nervous,” said Bert Haier, 72, of Webster Groves, a retired hairdresser who has been modeling for 35 years. “I have always been comfortable with my body.” […]

Richard Athens, center, chats with Erik Blankenship while Danny Borgers and John Wagner work on a serpentine belt. (Photo by DeJuan Baskin)

Automotive teacher grew up fixing cars

May 6, 2013

Richard Athens was 15 years old when he bought his first car for $45 in 1973. It was a yellow, green and gray 1956 Chevy. A customer at his father’s service station sold it to him after determining he couldn’t afford the repairs. “It was the first in a long line of cars,” Athens said. “I remember blowing the transmission drag racing on Grand.” Athens, 54, has been teaching in the automotive studies department at Forest Park for 25 years. He recently was promoted to department chair. […]

Ethan Coble, 8, Hana Noueriy, 8, and Andrew Burns, 9, work on their Lego machine. (Photo by Chris Cunningham)

“Little Einsteins” build machines with Legos

April 22, 2013

The Lego Gryphons are elementary school students during the week, engineers on weekends. The team of three boys showed up at a Junior FIRST Lego League exposition at Forest Park last weekend with an “Escalator Chair,” a machine made of Legos that carried a figure named “Mr. Pickles” up and down. […]

Student competes in state pageant

April 22, 2013

A Forest Park student with a colorful background competed in the Mrs. Missouri United States pageant last month. Wauneen Rucker, 50, was one of six contestants from across the state. She’s a baking and pastry major, a Baptist minister and a mother of two. She formerly served in the U.S. Marines and worked as a police officer. […]

The Coffee Cartel sits at a busy intersection in the Central West End. (Photo by Garrieth Crockett)

What’s up St. Louis

April 22, 2013

Life can get busy – really busy. To keep up the fast pace, people stretched between multiple responsibilities turn to caffeine, and most get their “fix” from coffee. St. Louis is a coffee city. It’s a little-known fact that until the mid-1920’s, the city was the coffee-roasting capital of the world, boasting more than 75 major plants. I have patronized coffee shops and coffee houses throughout St. Louis. Recently, I came with my personal list of the Top 5 close to the Forest Park campus. […]

Volunteer Ann Coleman allows Lovey Duvey to sniff the snow; she is one of 300 people who walk shelter dogs at the Humane Society of Missouri on a weekly basis. (Photo by Garrieth Crockett)

Volunteer walkers get dogs out of the kennel

March 4, 2013

Ann Coleman knelt down to comfort Lovey Duvey, an 11-month-old pit bull that was frightened by a passing truck. Minutes later, the excited dog was jumping and eating snow along Macklind Avenue. “This is the immediate gratification,” said Coleman, 54, of St. Louis, a former freelance writer who lives in St. Louis. She is one of 300 volunteer dog walkers at the Humane Society of Missouri, which is next door to St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. More volunteers are needed. […]

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