West Newsmagazine 8-4-21

FACEBOOK.COM/WESTNEWSMAGAZINE
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
August 4, 2021
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
The Chesterfield Regional Chamber
celebrates 45 years and growing
I CHESTERFIELD CHAMBER 45TH ANNIVERSARY I 19
By KATE UPTERGROVE
The year is 1976. Apple Computer Company
is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve
Wozniak. NASA unveils the space shuttle
Enterprise. “Rocky” captures the hearts of
audiences. And the Chesterfield Chamber
of Commerce is born.
Past president R.B. Clark III jokes that
its formation was purely personal. Clark,
who was senior vice president of Big Bend
Bank, was asked by County National Bank
Corporation, in 1975, to open a bank in
Chesterfield, which he did. But Clark was
also the president-elect of the Webster
Groves Chamber of Commerce.
“I thought, ‘Well, dang, then I’m not
going to get to be president of the Webster
Groves Chamber of Commerce,’” Clark
recalled. “So I thought, ‘I’ll start my own!’”
Chesterfield Chamber founder R.B. Clark III
with Chamber Director and CEO Nora Amato
and Rev. Carleton Norton
(All photos: Chesterfield Regional Chamber)
Rev. Carleton Norton, fellow founding
member of the Chamber, chimed in, “Great
idea!”
The men were gathered to share their
memories of the Chamber’s beginnings in
celebration of its 45th anniversary.
“In all seriousness, we knew that the
business community had no place to meet
and exchange ideas,” Clark explained. “I
don’t mean just business for profit but
the churches, hospitals, farms, everybody.
They needed a place to share ideas and
there wasn’t one. I sent out 200 letters. That
was about all the businesses and churches
and everything in Chesterfield at the time.
“I asked, ‘Would you like to join the
Chamber of Commerce if there were one?
And if so, would you like to help start it?’
So this guy (Clark points to Norton) says,
‘Yes, I’m good with it.’”
And from those humble beginnings the
Chamber grew to be not only a resource for
area businesses but also residents in search
of services and fun, such as the organization’s
long-running concert series.
“Carl, who is always generous, always
giving, said, ‘If you need a place to meet,
we’ll provide it,” Clark said.
The church, St. John’s United Church of
Christ, even provided lunches for the new
chamber’s meetings. But there was a challenge.
“The one handicap of meeting at the
church was that the chamber really didn’t
grow. We were really formative in those
days and just kind of really getting to know
each other,” Norton said. “Finally, we said,
‘If we’re going to grow, we have to get out
of here.’ That’s when we started going to
restaurants.”
The change of venue brought increased
awareness.
Naming a few of the Chamber’s first
members, Clark pointed to Rinkel’s Market,
“where you could get everything from
groceries to hardware;” Homer Mastorakos’
law firm, “which was located above
side-by-side barber and beauty shops;”
and J & J Siding and Window Sales, Inc.,
“which is in the Valley now.”
Clark said he believes J & J Siding
and Window Sales is the Chamber’s longest-standing
member. Other early members
included Maryville College (now
Maryville University), St. Luke’s Hospital,
according to Clark, “and banks were
always big supporters of chambers.”
From humble beginnings
came decades of growth
“The community was really changing
in the ‘70s. We came here in ‘69, at the
church. Our kids could have had lunch on
Olive Street Road right in the middle and
not been hit by a car,” Norton said.
One reason was that Olive and Clarkson
did not meet.
“They both connected to Hwy. 40,” Clark
explained, “but they did not meet and Hwy.
40 was a three-lane road with a what they
called a ‘suicide lane’ in the middle.”
Farmland dotted the community. Clark
recalls driving on Clarkson, close to where
Wilson Road comes in, to the west of the
road a farmer was plowing his field (“They
farmed 80 acres there.”) with a single plow
behind a mule.
“I thought how picturesque,” Clark said.
But those picturesque scenes were in their
waning days in the ‘70s and ‘80s as more
and more residents and businesses began
to call Chesterfield home.
“It was a great community to come into
because there was a lot of interest and a
kind of feeling that it was going to grow,
See 45TH ANNIVERSARY, page 20
Convenience Store
Gas Station – Great (LOW) Gas Prices
Auto Repair – 3 Service Bays
FREE
FOUNTAIN DRINK
Limit 1 per coupon.
Expires 9/7/21
10% OFF
OIL CHANGE
Limit 1 per coupon.
Expires 9/7/21
14298 Ladue Road
(between Olive Blvd. & Hwy. 141)
314-627-1476 | bradleyfuelandrepair.com
Hours: Mon-Sat 9AM-6PM; Closed Sunday
Check out our 5 star reviews!