(bright music) - [Jim] There's a new direct flight connecting St. Louis and Montreal.

Why that scene is good news for the city and the airport.

- And I don't think people sometimes realize the economic engine that we are.

- [Jim] There's never a good time to experience a tornado, but this one hit St. Louis just as the city was getting ready to host the Republican convention.

Fantasy author V.E.

Schwab is probably on a lot of summer reading lists, but she wrote her first book at a local cafe.

- And now I'm 23 books in, and it's pretty surreal to be back where it all started.

- [Jim] And 10 years after the death of Michael Brown, Cal and Michael Brown Sr. are dealing with their grief by helping others with theirs.

- You know, because you can't run from it.

- [Jim] It's all next on "Living St. Louis".

(bright music continues) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - I'm Brooke Butler.

A lot of our stories have to do with the way something used to be, the way it is now, and the way it might be in the future.

That's the case with Kara Vaninger's story about St. Louis Lambert International Airport, emphasis on international.

- We could not be more excited today with our partnership with Air Canada and our nonstop service to Montreal.

- Daily flights from St. Louis to Montreal will help attract more Canadian businesses and visitors to our city and put more dollars, American and Canadian dollars, into our local economy.

(crowd cheers) - [Kara] May 2024 was the latest milestone for St. Louis Lambert as it celebrated the acquisition of another nonstop international service, and the new opportunities it can provide for the city to grow as a tourist destination and business hub.

- Being able to travel internationally to St. Louis creates really logistical advantages for many small businesses and large businesses that are looking to expand into the United States.

- [Kara] Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and County Executive Dr. Sam Page were aboard the inaugural flight as part of a trade mission to Montreal, which was led by the World Trade Center St. Louis, and included a variety of delegates representing local businesses and cultural institutions.

- The St. Louis County Library is a member of the Urban Libraries Council, so I'm very excited to be representing libraries all over the United States and particularly in Missouri.

- 8688, the services to Montreal.

In just a few moments, we'll be starting our boarding process.

- [Kara] Over the next few days, the delegates were able to meet with their Canadian counterparts to network, exchange ideas, and share some highlights of St. Louis.

For these connections and potential partnerships to flourish in Montreal and beyond, reliable direct travel in and out of St. Louis is key.

- We, at the World Trade Center, led St. Louis's application in the Brookings Institution Global Cities Initiative.

And with it, we did the first-ever foreign direct investment study on St. Louis.

How much foreign investment is here?

How many are employed by foreign-owned companies?

What does it mean to our economy?

And so in doing that, we went out and interviewed 35 foreign-owned companies.

One of the key questions we asked was, what are the barriers to increasing your investment in St. Louis?

Time and again, the number one barrier was the lack of international connectivity.

- [Kara] Hearing this, St. Louis Lambert International Airport set out to secure a much needed direct flight to Europe.

And in 2022, the first nonstop Lufthansa flight to Germany took off.

- [Tim] And as Lufthansa said, it's been one of the most successful launches of a new market in recent memory.

- I mean, for the airport, it's been phenomenal because it was such an ask that this team here had to bring back a nonstop European flight.

And it had been a long time.

The Greater St. Louis just did a economic impact study.

And we, the airport, are 5.5% of the GDP here in St. Louis, in the state.

And so when you think about that, it's a huge statement.

And I don't think people sometimes realize the economic engine that we are and how important it is for a region to have a vibrant airport.

(bright music) - [Kara] Even before the graceful arches of the main terminal were designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the 1950s, the Lambert name was synonymous with flight.

Albert Bond Lambert was a significant part of the incredible sweep of aviation history that converged around Kinloch Park in the nearby 170 acres that would eventually become Lambert Field.

Over the years, Lambert Field was transformed into an international airport, becoming the hub for TWA until it was absorbed by American Airlines.

(customers chattering) For a multitude of reasons, including the 2008 financial recession, the American hub was lost in 2009, leaving St. Louis Lambert without the scope of service it was once able to offer the region.

- So when we were the TWA hub that most people remember, the bulk of our passengers were flying through St. Louis.

And when that hub went away, we lost most of that traffic.

So trying to find a partner that could bring back that connecting traffic through St. Louis which gives more opportunities for our local region was key.

And that's why Southwest became such a big partner.

So they're 60% of our market share now, and 35% of their traffic is connecting through St. Louis.

So we want that to grow.

And it's a little challenging to continue to grow that in the terminals that we have because they're single-sided, they're long corridors.

Those planes are full.

They're short connecting times.

(bright music) I mean, this terminal was designed and built in 1956.

When it was built it was known across the world as one of the most iconic fronts of any airport.

As we grew over the years and as the industry changed, it's not the greatest setup.

We can't move forward if we can't let go of the past.

Let's talk about what's happening in the future.

We're getting the signatures right now for the next phase of our consolidated terminal project.

And that phase is to allow us to do architectural design.

So being able to go to this next step is about a $950 million commitment from our airline partners.

The new terminal was designed with dual-sided concourses so that Southwest will be able to move into that eastern wing, and they'll have gates across from each other which will make the opportunity for that connecting traffic so much better.

- [Kara] Plans also include a new garage with 47% more parking and a roadway system that provides a mile-long loop around the airport.

- That's also going to be some of the challenge of the phasing.

When we build a new garage, the existing one's gonna have to come down, and the roadway's going to have to have a lot of alternative routes as we work through the new roadway system.

But with all struggles comes a great product at the end.

Hey!

(laughs) (crowd clapping) - [Kara] And if all goes as planned, more flights, international and domestic, will fly in and out of St. Louis's airport driving economic growth and global connectivity in our region.

- Our link to Montreal, it's not only about connecting Canada and the US.

It's also connecting the St. Louis community to the world.

See you in Montreal.

Merci beaucoup.

(crowd clapping) - This August will mark the 10-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson Uprising that followed.

There are many things happening around St. Louis to commemorate this milestone.

But we took a look at the work that has been continuously happening from those most personally affected.

- How are you doing?

- I'm all right.

- [Brooke] Once a month, a group of community members come together for cookies and convo.

- We have people around... - [Brooke] Yes, there are treats and occasional visits from partners like Build-A-Bear, but the convo part is sometimes not as sweet.

- [Participant] I'm a mother that lost her children just like everybody in here.

- [Brooke] The gatherings are attended by grieving family members to gain support and understanding from others who have similar experiences.

- We are definitely thankful to you guys to still continue to come out.

- [Participant] Yes, yes.

- And get the support that's needed in our own way.

- Get the support.

- [Brooke] The group sessions are led by parents who are all too familiar with the tragedy of losing a child.

Following the killing of Michael Brown Jr. in 2014, Michael and Cal Brown created the Michael Brown Sr.

Chosen For Change organization.

- We created Chosen For Change in 2014.

In early October, a gentleman who I grew up with brought us a picture that was drawn by a 9-year-old at the time.

And somehow he got hold to Mike's obituary and he duplicated the photos that was on there.

And it was presented to us and it said, "Chosen For Change".

And we looked at each other and we like, "That's it."

(gentle music) We provide grief support for the entire family.

We have Chosen Fathers that create a space that is inclusive to a grieving father's healing.

We have Mothers of an Angel that provides a space that's inclusive to a grieving mother's healing.

We have COPES, Children Overcoming Painful Experiences with Support.

- [Brooke] They also have programs to support sisters and young women, families in the first 48 hours after losing a child, and an afterschool literacy program.

The Browns say that doing this work is part of the way they cope with their own grief.

- Yeah, I'm not sure what much else to say, really, other than like, I just have to learn to live with this pain for the rest of my life.

You know?

- [Participant] Yes.

- Like, I know it's never gonna go away.

- When you accept that this is a life sentence because you can't run from it.

These things will pop up at any time.

You can have a good week and that weekend, your weekend can be trash.

So when you accept that, it's gonna take some time.

There's always baby steps ahead.

But just know you'll learn how to walk again, right?

- [Participant] Right.

- But I tell people, "I don't have the blueprint to it, but I can definitely tell you how I'm going through it."

And maybe it can help some things.

Sometimes it help and sometimes it don't.

Some people have to find their own wave that helps them.

I put a lot of my work into the foundations.

That helps, you know, it's part of the healing for us.

That's where we get our justice from, helping other families.

(upbeat music) - Fantasy novels are likely to be a part of a lot of people's summer reading lists, and fans of the genre may well be familiar with V.E.

Schwab.

She's written a lot of books, but got her start while a student at Washington University.

That's where Ruth Ezell met up with her last year.

(steady music) - This is a really fantastic story of an alchemist who tries to bring back his young apprentice who's dying.

- [Ruth] "New York Times" best-selling fantasy author Victoria V.E.

Schwab, that's her on the right, got the VIP treatment at Washington University courtesy of the Curator of Rare Books, Cassie Brand.

WashU is Schwab's alma mater.

- What's crazy is I did book arts here too, so I did bookbinding classes while I was here.

- Oh, that's fantastic.

- [Ruth] Schwab was in town in October to promote the release of her book, "The Fragile Threads of Power".

It's the first story of a new trilogy, a spinoff of her popular "Shades of Magic" series.

- And then these were meant to add your family crest.

- Okay, so it was a highly personalized document.

- Yes.

- It was one of those, almost like a Psalms book or a prayer book where it would've been personalized to the owner.

- Exactly.

- [Ruth] The morning before her scheduled author appearance, Schwab and Brand poured over a selection of centuries-old books on alchemy, witchcraft, gothic fiction, and related subjects.

- [Schwab] Now is this a manual?

- Yes, so this is a legitimate, here's how you identify... - A witch.

- A witch.

- Wow.

- [Ruth] V.E.

Schwab was born in California and raised in Nashville, Tennessee.

But when it came time to decide where to go to college, she chose this one.

And how did you decide on WashU?

- I decided for the trees.

I toured 19 colleges, and then two days before Christmas, I came on a whim and visited Washington University.

Fell in love with the campus, and applied and got an early decision.

Was meant to come for astrophysics, changed my major six times and ended up graduating with a degree in book design because my parents were like, "Please, just graduate.

We know you're gonna be a writer."

- [Ruth] They knew that.

- Yeah.

- [Ruth] When did you know that?

- I think I loved telling stories from a really young age, but I never thought I'd be a novelist because it's a huge lift.

The idea of keeping a three or five or 800 page novel in your head, it seemed too large for me.

So I avoided it until I was 18.

And then I was just about to turn 19, and I realized that the reason I hadn't tried to write a novel was because I was terrified of failing to write a novel.

I have a very adversarial nature when it comes to fear, and so I sat down here on campus and began to write my very first novel when I was 19.

And it was terrible.

It didn't get published, but it did get me a literary agent.

And when I was a second semester senior here at the Sam Fox School of the Visual Arts, I started checking out of my studio space every night and going over to Kaldi's Coffee Shop.

And between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. when they closed, I would work on my next book, and that would become my first published novel.

The fall after I graduated, it would sell.

- [Ruth] That novel, "The Near Witch", was published in 2011.

It was a milestone event, but for Schwab, not exactly life changing.

- I think you expect the world to change, and it doesn't.

I mean, it's incredible and it's exciting, but like so many firsts, the best part about it is that you come out of it with the experience of how to do it again and how to do it better.

You come out of it with the knowledge that you can.

So I did not shoot to the top of a bestseller list.

I did not become a really big name.

I did not become a household figure.

I was a baby author.

I was a 21-year-old with a tiny book that went out of print after 18 months.

And then I wrote another book, and that would become the beginning of a trilogy that would be canceled after two books.

And I was 25 and I think I was about to quit publishing.

And instead I decided to write a swan song, a book that was exactly what I wanted it to be.

I wrote a book called "Vicious", and that book would end up becoming my first adult novel and would change the shape of the rest of my career.

And now I'm 23 books in, and it's pretty surreal to be back where it all started.

I would love it if people just assumed that like, oh, I must have like made a deal with the devil to get my power.

- [Ruth] Schwab maintains a loyal following, due in part to her astute use of social media and the internet.

- Hi, and welcome to the official "Shades of Magic Readalong".

I think the only thing that makes it official is the fact that I wrote the book and I'm the one doing the readalong.

This is how it works.

Every week I'm gonna upload a video, talking about a specific section of the book.

You can either read that section before you tune in, or you can just tune in and treat this as a recap.

- [Ruth] So with an assist from YouTube, both newcomers to V.E.

Schwab's work and longtime followers gain insight into the author's creative process.

- It's nice, and I think it's a really special experience when the writer does it, because there are little backstories, little notes that I can tell you about why I wrote a specific moment or how it felt to write it.

And I think what social media does is create that sense of community.

Now, books themselves create a sense of community, because I read a book, you read the same book, and we have a shared experience now, where we have obviously brought very different things to the book that we're reading, but they've lived in both of our minds.

For me though, social media has always been really important because I started in publishing when I was so young.

And to start in publishing at 19, the thing that they don't tell you about the first book experience is that it's pretty lonely.

You are an island.

And because you don't have a lot of context, because you can't really see what's happening in everybody else's journey, you assume that when you're having hard days, it's a reflection on you and not the fact that the industry is hard, not the fact that creating is hard.

And so I set out a goal, I guess like 17 years ago when I started, that I wanted to make my platform about authenticity.

That I wanted to be really honest about the creative journey.

I wanted to be honest about the great days and the bad days.

I wanted to be honest about the fact that writing books is lonely and difficult.

And I find that, if nothing else, it's less about communicating with my readers about my books, and it's more about communicating with readers and writers about the process of making books, about giving them a little bit of a behind the scenes look so that they feel just as invested in the story and its journey to publication as I do.

- Calliope Antigone Burns is the youngest and the only female in a family of two boys.

Her biggest thing is just trying to prove to her family that she deserves respect as a monster hunter.

- [Ruth] The Netflix series "First Kill", a supernatural tale of teenage love between a vampire and a monster hunter is based on a V.E.

Schwab short story.

She served as a writer and producer for the series.

The author found the experience a radical departure from working solo.

- Talk about a very different experience of creativity.

When you're writing a novel, you're essentially playing God.

For everything that you invent, for everything that lives on that page, you are responsible for it.

And you go to TV and film and you work in adaptation, and you are the smallest god in a very large pantheon of gods.

And so it becomes a communal effort.

And I always think it's kind of extraordinary whenever anything is good, because when you have 300 people working to bring one vision to life, what you really have is 300 visions.

And so it's an incredible experience, though, the very first time I was on set and I saw the actors that were playing my characters walk into the room to do their blocking.

And I thought to myself, "I made you up on a Tuesday."

Like, I made you up.

Like, I made you up and I named you.

Like, I just think it's fascinating that then somebody can step into the world, and it's like seeing a part of your mind walk into the room.

"Fragile Threads of Power" starts seven years after the end of "Conjuring of Light", the third book in "The Shades of Magic" series.

But if you haven't read those books, you should be able to start with "Fragile Threads of Power".

Don't listen to the Shades of Magic readers, they will tell you you can't do it.

(audience laughs) - [Ruth] The evening after our interview, V.E.

Schwab and fellow writer Alix E. Harrow spoke to a packed house of more than 600 people at the Sun Theatre.

It's a far cry from her first book event, which she said drew a grand total of four.

These days, the author makes her home in Scotland.

The magical world she creates have made life pretty good in the real one.

- I feel so lucky to get to make things up for a living, to get to invent escapism for a living, and then to get to share it with other people.

When tour gets hard and when tour gets tiring, which it does, of course there's a huge amount of mundanity, I just remember that at the end of each travel day, I get to meet readers.

(pensive music) (active music) (typewriter clicking) (bright music) - [Jim] "This Week in History", delegates from around the country were arriving in St. Louis for the 1896 Republican convention, an event the city somehow managed to pull off.

The first problem, it was supposed to be held in the Exposition Hall at 13th and Olive, now the site of the main library.

But it was decided that the needed upgrades couldn't be done in time.

So the city decided to build a temporary wooden convention center.

And in just two months, St. Louis would erect a convention center on the south lawn of the new City Hall that could handle 8,000 people.

But just as they were putting on the finishing touches and getting ready to host the delegates, this.

(unsettling music) The Great Cyclone of May 27th, 1896, tore through the city, devastating the Lafayette Square and Soulard neighborhoods, damaging the Eads Bridge, and then tearing into East St. Louis.

More than 300 people were killed, thousands homeless.

Neighborhoods were without power.

The city was in such bad shape that some thought the convention might have to be moved or postponed.

But damage to the convention center was minor and quickly repaired.

And St. Louis recovered enough, at least downtown, that by mid-June, the delegates arrived and the convention went ahead on schedule.

Former Ohio Governor William McKinley easily won the nomination and would go on to defeat William Jennings Bryan in November.

The convention center was one and done and was torn down.

St. Louis went on rebuilding after the tornado.

And the 1896 Republican convention went into the history books 128 years ago, this week in St. Louis history.

(attendees chattering) - Finally, this deep into the baseball season, the home team has been getting mixed reviews.

But we end with a profile of the Cardinal's most consistent performer.

And in fact, he's just as good playing for the St. Louis Blues.

("When the Saints Go Marching In") - My name's Jeremy Boyer, and I'm the organist for the St. Louis Blues.

I play the organ for the St. Louis Cardinals, and I'm also the Director of Music and organist at St. Francis of Assisi in Oakville.

I think my earliest memory of playing music was when I was about 12 years old.

I was already abandoning school.

And I came home.

My mom had an organ at the house, and I decided to start kind of applying what I'd learned in music at school to the organ and started teaching myself how to play.

So that was kind of my earliest memory of sitting down at the keyboard and trying to figure out how to play some stuff and learn how to play the organ.

So growing up as a kid in St. Louis, Ernie Hayes was the man, of course.

He was the guy playing the organ for the Blues and the Cardinals at the time.

And sitting around the house, I'd always try to mimic what Ernie was playing on the radio or on TV, sitting down at the keyboard and figuring out what was he playing and how he played it.

One day I got lucky enough to get to take lessons with Ernie at his home, in his studio.

And there I really fine-tuned my craft a little bit and got to know Ernie really well, which is a joy for me, and become a better musician and a better organist.

And of course, learn what it takes to become a sports organist too.

(lively music) (crowd clapping) (lively music continues) (crowd continues clapping) I studied music at Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau.

I graduated there in 2004 with my Bachelor in Music Education degree.

I played for baseball and basketball.

And a classmate of mine ended up being an intern for the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinals Triple-A team.

And they needed an organist, and she's like, "Hey, I know somebody."

So they gave me a call, they were like, "Hey, could you come down and give us a shot?"

And I'm like, "Yeah."

So I went down and started playing in Memphis for the Redbirds, and before long, the Blues had called me and asked if I'd be interested in coming up and auditioning for them.

And I auditioned for them, and it all worked out and been playing there ever since, about 17 seasons.

Two or three years later, the Cardinals asked me to come help out with games over there.

And came over to help out Dwayne Hilton, who also plays at Busch Stadium, and play some games at Busch Stadium as well.

(peppy music) I don't really get nervous playing anymore.

It's something I've done for so long now that I'm used to the situation, and I'm just focused on what I'm doing.

And I just play and it all comes out, and I don't really get nervous too much about it anymore.

My first year or two, maybe there were spots where maybe I got a little bit nervous.

But as I've grown into the role, I've kind of lost those nerves or shaken them off.

(Jeremy laughs) I think my favorite part about being an organist for a sports team is sharing what I love to do with the fans, both through my music and getting to share my music with the fans, but also the interactions with the fans where they get to come up and see the organ.

At Blues games, I'm out in the crowd.

There's lots of kids who come up and they're just big-eyed and got big smiles on their faces, and I love to share that with them.

I have them sit on the organ bench.

I have them touch the keys, the whole bit, 'cause that might be what inspires them to one day play the organ.

And I love to share that with them, that makes it all worth it to me.

(upbeat music) - And that's "Living St. Louis".

Don't forget, you can catch more of our stories on the PBS App and on YouTube.

And keep sending us your thoughts and ideas at NinePBS.org/LSL.

I'm Brooke Butler, thanks for joining us.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - [Veronica] "Living St. Louis" is funded in part by the Betsy and Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.