The Commerce Comet

 

Whitey Ford called Mickey Mantle “a superstar who never acted like one. He was a humble man who was kind and friendly to all his teammates, even the rawest rookie. He was idolized by all the other players.” He played his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle was an iconic baseball player with immense talent. Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974. He passed away on Aug. 13, 1995. He discovered he used alcohol as a crutch following his father's death in 1952, just after his 19-year-old rookie season. ... Mantle, who had received a liver transplant in June 1995, died two months later at the age of 63. Years of alcohol abuse finally caught up to the Mick.

Mickey Charles Mantle was born on October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Mickey’s father, Mutt, wanted his son to grow up to be a professional baseball player so he was named after Hall of Fame catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, Mickey Cochrane.The family soon moved to  Commerce, Oklahoma where Mutt worked in the Lead and Zinc mines. Every day when Mutt would come home from the mines, they would practice baseball next to an old tin barn. Mutt would pitch tennis balls (right handed) to Mickey while he batted lefty. Mickey’s grandfather, Charlie, would then pitch left handed to Mickey while he batted righty. By the age of five, Mickey was already showing promising signs as a baseball player and impressing the neighbors. Mickey’s childhood home and the old tin barn still stand in Commerce, Oklahoma.

Mickey attended Commerce High School and excelled in baseball, football and basketball. During a football practice in 1946, Mickey was kicked in the shin. A bone infection, known as osteomyelitis, developed which almost resulted in the amputation of Mickey’s leg. A new wonder drug called Penicillin saved the day and Mickey was soon back in action but the medical condition would prove to nag him throughout his career.

Mantle's 1952 mint condition Topps baseball card sold for a record $5.2 million in 2020.

The Commerce Comet sculpture by Dr. Nick Calcagno stands proudly adjacent to the High School and ballfield in Miami, Oklahoma.

Big Adventure - Feb 2021

 

My brother Greg is game for a road trip from Saint Louis. Bentonville, Arkansas is reachable by car in about 5 hours. My enthusiasm for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art seemed reason enough to add to his bucket list. A trip to Kinmundy, Illinois is already on his list. Kinmundy is consistent with his recent obsession with our family genealogy. On top of that, a Lake of the Ozarks visit with Lakewood High School alumni classmate Christopher Galloway seems a reasonable and drivable destination. Once we shuffled calendars we end up with a window in the middle of February for a road trip (or two, or three). Greg booked flights to/from his home of Tampa Florida to Saint Louis.

Lake of the Ozarks

We last saw Chris and his wife Melissa at a LHS reunion in Lakewood, Ohio in the Summer of 2019. Finally, with Greg on board a visit to their turf is on the agenda. Timing is such that Chris invites us to sit in on a recording session with his band, The Weekdays. The drummer is in from Nashville and bandmate Dave is owner of a top-knotch recording studio he built into his house at the Lake. The sound engineer is careful to keep the best tracks of 12 songs on hard drives and a drop box where they can be finished to perfection. Melissa is all smiles when I was able to present her with a framed piece from my Covid-19 Mosaic Art Project. (Nothing makes me happier than gifting artwork that is appreciated and destined to be on display in the lovely Galloway home at the Lake.) After the musicians wrap, a celebratory toast, at Dave’s big kitchen table, we disperse. Chris and Melissa invite us to sample PAPPO’s pizza. Chris is CEO of this restaurant and micro-brewery. His expertise has allowed him to develop and open a number restaurants: Springfield, Missouri; Quincy, Illinois; Saint Louis and another concept at the Lake and more. He is quite a talented fellow with music, food, drink, real estate and family among the endeavors he juggles.

Bentonville, Arkansas

Sam Walton started his vast retail empire with a five and dime in this northwest Arkansas town. Today, Bentonville is home office that hosts buying and distribution decisions that fuel the Wal-Mart organization. Sam’s daughter Alice Walton is a champion art collector. She led the effort to open Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in a facility designed by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie in 11-11-11.

It’s been too long since I first visited the museum in 2012. Visiting this showcase of five centuries of American artworks again, and with the fresh eyes of my brother, is indeed a celebration of the American spirit. Here you can see and study a range of works from George Washington (by Gilbert Stuart), Kindred Spirits (by Hudson River School artist Asher B. Durand) to works by George Segal, Keith Haring, Georgia O’Keefe, Jacob Lawrence, Jasper Johns and on and on.

Kinmundy, Illinois

Greg and I recall a family trip by car with our parents to this small town in Illinois. Our grandfather John Benjamin Morgan was born here. It’s just a couple of hours from Saint Louis. Our family tree branches out here. A visit to this quaint town is a treat. Remnants of middle America can be found including a water tower that served steam engines in the 1850s and the community. This tower was in operation for 100 years. The renovated structure is in the national register of historic places. There is a Kinmundy Museum, a public library, a post office and a non-profit Madison Street Historic Preservation that aims to reclaim some of flavor of a by-gone era. 

Greg is a road-warrior but he has lived in Florida for decades. The winter weather delivers temperatures in the single digits. We checked boxes at the lake, museum and family tree initiatives. I know he was anxious to return to the glow of his hometown Super Bowl Championship Trophy (not to mention the Stanley Cup).  

Great Scott

 

Dred and Harriet Scott filed suit for their freedom in this courthouse in 1846. Their case reached the United States Supreme Court and was decided in 1857. The court ruled that the Scotts and all African Americans were not citizens of the United States. Opposition to the decision was one of the causes of the Civil War… Sculpture by Harry Weber dedicated June 8, 2012.