Quote:
Originally Posted by CGII
Bitch please. You wish you had more Germans than us. My grandmother called me a Polack today as an insult.
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Eastern Missouri is pretty German, but it's not as celebrated as in Wisconsin. Missouri as a state doesnt have a more singlular identity like Wisconsin, it's really three regions that happen to be in one state. WW1 and WW2 really put the clamp on German St. Louis, to be sure, and there was a sense of putting to rest a lot of the old ways and ties to the old world. All the German language street signs were taken down and my old street was changed from Berlin ave to Pershing. St. Louis feels more serious northern German, lots of brooding dark architecture, people sweeping their steps - very seriously.
The Germanic aspect of St. Louis is very very understated. I think Cincinnati is the same way. In 1860 there were around 100,000 Germans here already. So it's an older population of German-Americans as such here. They kept the Armory of the West out of Confederate hands, there was no proper southern army that could march on this city. 30,000 German Americans from St. Louis wore Union blue in actual battle, second only to New York. I think Milwaukee only had 45,000 people total. The highest ranking German-American, Franz Sigel, lived in St. Louis.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/...6c9f00acd3.jpg
He has another statue in NY.
Technically more people of German decent came to St. Louis than Milwaukee, and they came earlier. Germans from Wisconsin/Milwaukee are just louder, and more proudly Germanishy than here.
Not to mention the waves of Irish, African Americans, Polish, and Italians on top of the earlier Germans. I think we have more Italians than most midwest cities outside of Chicago - we have a pretty damn big, and urban Little Italy that nobody knows about.
The German restaurant selection in St. Louis needs some help. They are a little dusty.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...utAndAbout.jpg