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Mystery Trippers Discover Surprising
Treasures in Old Town, Florissant
Story and photos by Pat Lindsey
A year ago, I invited a group of friends to go on a monthly mystery trip with me. I explained that these would be local day trips to places that were entertaining, educational, and inexpensive, if possible, and an outstanding place for lunch would be essential to every trip. To my astonishment, I received 12 positive replies, so the mystery trip group was formed and a tentative calendar was sent to each member.
To date, we’ve had two Illinois trips, one day in St. Charles, one day in Hermann, MO, a trip to West County, and several trips to various parts of St. Louis City. As I ran my daily errands around Florissant, it seemed only natural that one of our day trips should be the beautiful Valley of Flowers.
On a recent Tuesday morning, seven women met over coffee and donuts at Old Town Donuts. They waited anxiously for some clues about our first destination, but all they got were instructions to follow me down New Florissant Rd. toward I-270. We made a left turn into the McCluer High School campus and they were surprised to see the stately antebellum Taille de Noyer sitting atop a hill at the other end of the campus.
Taille de Noyer is the former home of Irish immigrant John Mullanphy and 140 years of his heirs. It originated as a log cabin trading post and Mullanphy bought it for a hunting lodge a couple of years later. In 1817, it was changed from a cabin to a lovely home in order to lure Mullanphy’s daughter and new husband, Charles Chambers, back to Missouri from New York. The Chambers family accepted the gift and lived in Taille de Noyer long enough to raise 17 children and expand their home to a stately 22-room mansion. Taille de Noyer remained occupied by Mullanphy heirs until 1960 when the property was acquired by the Ferguson-Florissant School District.
Carol Brady, a Florissant Historical Society volunteer, welcomed us at the front door and gave us an informative tour of three-story historical home that is filled with period furniture, hats, wedding gowns, and glimpses of the past. She knew we were on a tight schedule and our tour had to be less than an hour, because our escort Vicky Wittman was waiting to for us at the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine. After thanking Carol for taking us back to Florissant country life in the late nineteenth century, we got back in our cars and headed back north on New Florissant Rd. to rue St. Francois.
Old St. Ferdinand Shrine at #1 rue St. Francois is located in a park-like setting on a parcel of land between two spring-fed creeks. Dating back to 1764, it is the site of one of the earliest European settlements west of the Mississippi. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide, because ours was filled with personal experiences. Vicky had gone to grade school there and there was little about the Shrine that she didn’t know. Listening to her tell the tales of the early living conditions for the nuns and the children who attended boarding school there made us feel as if we were back in the late 1700s
An hour was barely long enough to soak in the history of the shrine and the story of the life of St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne, but we had a lunch reservation at Hendel’s Market Cafe and we didn’t want to be late. It was a gorgeous 75-degree day and we wanted to sit outside in Hendel’s garden next to the coi pond surrounded by Japanese maples and flowering dogwoods.
Everyone except our Lake Saint Louis friend was familiar with Hendel’s, but only a few of us previously had the outdoor dining experience there. We enjoyed our delicious al fresco lunches, but passed on dessert, because Fritz’s was calling.
It was difficult to imagine that any of these women would have room for Fritz’s Frozen Custard after lunch. After all, they had already eaten donuts and a big lunch, but when the vote was taken, Fritz’s won. We had just enough time to order single scoop cones and kiddie sundaes and then we had to drive back down rue St. Francois to our final destination—Stems Florist. Everyone was told ahead of time that our afternoon activity would cost $30, but they had no idea what they were going to get for their money. Our Missouri Botanical Garden Volunteer in the group was very excited when she found out we would be making a terrarium.
Floral designer Jenny Thomasson and her mother, Kim Brannan, had everything laid out for us to make large terrariums with assorted plants, flowers, stones and moss. The women were delighted with their creations and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. None the women, including the ones who live in Florissant, would have believed that a trip to the Valley of Flowers would be their favorite of the year.
To volunteer to be a guide at Old St. Ferdinand Shrine, call 314-837-2110 M-Sat. 9 a.m.-12 noon or visit www. oldstferdinandshrine.com/.
