For one veteran, his greatest battle comes in the form of a stroke

Life’s fortunes can turn on a dime. But the battle 72-year-old Jim Indelicato has been dealing with for more than 13 years far exceeds what anyone should face in an entire lifetime.

The Mercy High graduate spent 40 years in the military with 3 1/2 years active duty for the Air Force with the balance in the Missouri Air National Guard in St. Louis. His main job was aircraft maintenance. But in those last several years, Jim’s commander also put him in charge of physical fitness. The choice makes sense as Jim is a 32-time marathoner, doing two a year, every year for 16 years. One was run in St. Louis and the other for the Air National Guard in Lincoln, Nebraska. Each guard unit competed against the other to promote physical fitness. Jim always kept himself in shape.

Jim Indelicato works on recovering from a stroke at Logan University's Montgomery Health Center. (Photo courtesy of Diane Indelicato) 

Then, just 11 months and 2 weeks into retirement disaster struck on Sept. 16, 2010. He suddenly felt very ill while driving to Lowe’s to get supplies to do a house rehab with his son, Jimmy.

“Jim got really dizzy, pulled over on the side of the road and started throwing up,” said Diane, his wife of 52 years. “He started to turn around and come back home but got even worse. So, he stopped and threw the car in park. Our daughter, Jody, who is a nurse came to where he was, called an ambulance and they went to the closest hospital.

“She called me and said, ‘Dad is sick.  You need to come to the hospital.’ I didn’t think there was any reason to hurry because the man is rarely sick and so healthy. Jody thought it was a stroke or heart attack.  He looked at Jody and said, ‘Why can’t I remember how to swallow?’”  

Diane said they couldn’t determine if it was a stroke because Jim’s blood pressure has always been good and he has had no heart or cholesterol issues. 

A second surgery revealed the culprit: a small clot in his brain stem that was interfering with his brain’s ability to tell his heart to beat and his lungs to breathe. Diane said Jim was at one hospital for six weeks where he was intubated and extubated four times before undergoing a tracheotomy. He was then sent to another hospital for two weeks.

There, he was told that he would “be lucky to even eat pureed food.” 

“So, I went home with a feeding tube and a ventilator,” Jim said. “They told me to never take a nap with the ventilator because your brain doesn’t remember to breathe.”

Jim Indelicato works on recovering from a stroke at Logan University's Montgomery Health Center. ( Diane Indelicato photo) 

Next, Diane and Jim to The Rehab Institute of St. Louis (TRISL), an affiliation of BJC HealthCare and Encompass Health, where he received intense therapy for seven hours three times a week.

“The therapist there was a godsend. She kept working with him on swallowing. I kept hoping but didn’t think he would be able to,” Diane confided. “But she helped him do so around February 2011.”

That’s when the Indelicatos told a pulmonologist they wanted Jim’s tracheotomy tube removed. 

“He looked at us like we were crazy, but they tested Jim and took it out,” Diane said. “A few months later, he went to a bi-pap machine to help open his lungs.  He’s still on that for sleeping.”

The TRISL visits lasted two years. When nothing more could be done there, the couple headed to Paraquad in the city of St. Louis three times a week. 

“It’s an amazing facility where he made many friends and received great physical therapy,” Diane said. “They started helping him walk with a walker.  But I always had to hold his gait belt (to keep him steady). Then, Logan started a program there – the Stephen A. Orthwein Paraquad Center. For Jim, the center wasn’t about getting chiropractic care, but rather giving him back balance and just making him stronger because the most important thing to Jim was being able to walk again and then someday run.”

Jim exceeded expectations and began going to Logan’s Montgomery Health Center facility in Chesterfield three days a week to continue his road to full recovery.

“We love the Logan people from the front desk to the students and clinicians,” Diane said. “We’ve been going so long that they treat him like a rock star. He does everything they want him to do and more! His old clinicians used to say, ‘Jim, on a scale from 1-10, where are you at regarding tiredness or whatever?’ He would say, ‘An 8.’ I would look at him and say, ‘You know very well that’s a 12!’ He just works so hard toward his dream to walk with his cane. The students who are working with him right now are angels.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a two-year hiatus in Jim’s journey but when he was able to return to Logan, he started on a walker with wheels and without Diane holding his gait belt.  

“Now, they’re helping him walk with a cane. Sometimes, it’s scary to watch as I’m afraid he’ll fall,” Diane said, “but his balance has really improved. It used to be that he always wanted to run. Now, his dream is he just wants to walk!”

Diane said the atmosphere at Logan is very much about sharing everyone’s best ideas. The clinicians give students ideas and the students give clinicians ideas, she said. 

A perfect example, Diane said, is Allie Foddrill, who is currently working with Jim. She noticed that he primarily loses his balance when turning in the hall with his cane. So, she took the time to read up on strokes, then called a physical therapist to ask how to teach someone to turn after a stroke.

“It takes a long time to recover from a stroke,” Diane said.  “Doctors or professionals used to think if you weren’t better in six months or at most two years, that would be it. But Jim’s a living example that if you put in the work, you can change that. 

From the very outset, Jim was told he’d probably never eat again, but he proved them wrong. His speech therapist who helped get his swallow back, finally said, ‘Jim, you eat anything you want,’ according to Diane. 

Even a pandemic could not stop his progress. Throughout it, he exercised at home. Even with left-side ataxia, Jim lifts weights and sometimes pushes himself to do not only two-minute planks but 10-minute ones. 

His next goal is to totally regain balance and walk with a cane without any assistance.

“He’s the second oldest of eight kids, was military for so long and was so driven that this personality has saved his life,” Dinae said. “He wouldn’t have made it in the hospital that long if he hadn’t been that strong.

“Jim’s amazing and can do anything. If he doesn’t understand something, he reads, then he does. He can fix cars and build garages and beautiful wrap-around decks.”

Diane said his siblings still call on him when they don’t know how to do things. The only problem now is that he can’t do those things himself.  

“It’s all in his brain,” she said. “He can tell them what to do, but his left-sided ataxia prevents him from building.”

In addition to Jody and Jimmy, the Indelicatos have another daughter, Joy. They also have seven grandchildren. Diane added that their children and grandchildren have all been their saving grace.

Logan offers three clinics, including Montgomery Health Center in Chesterfield and Logan Chiropractic Health in St. Peters. Each offers a variety of chiropractic services plus Dexa scans that measure bone density and body composition, sports rehab and skeletal services. Anyone can make Logan appointments for a variety of services at loganhealthcenters.com.

Local tennis legend honored in Creve Coeur following Hall of Fame induction

(This is from the most recent edition of West Newsmagazine.)

Creve Coeur Mayor Robert Hoffman recognized resident Justina Bricka for her life-long achievements in tennis at the city council meeting Sept. 26. (Source: City of Creve Coeur)

A special proclamation was the sweetest way to kick off the Sept. 26 Creve Coeur Council Meeting. That’s especially true because it honored long-time Creve Coeur citizen Justina Bricka, born on Valentine’s Day in 1943.

Mayor Robert Hoffman stepped to the podium with Bricka to deliver a seven-paragraph declaration of her incredible tennis feats as a player, referee and instructor. Most prominent of the items mentioned were Bricka’s No. 5 U.S. women’s ranking in 1961, her major role in helping secure a national Wightman Cup Team title and a myriad of top doubles tennis finishes.

He noted that Bricka was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday,  Sept. 14, an honor she acknowledged in her acceptance speech at the Creve Coeur board meeting. The Fall 2023 Hall of Fame class also featured Frank Viverito, Jimmy Collins, Curtis Francois, Rick Gorzynski, John Ulett, Jason Motte, Chris Pronger, Carolyn Kindle, Rex Sinquefield and David Lee.

“I want to thank the Creve Coeur City Council for this recognition. I’ve enjoyed living here in Creve Coeur for some 27 years. So, this means a great deal to me,” Bricka said. “Not only is it special to be honored and recognized for my career in tennis, but it’s very special to be inducted alongside many great athletes across all of our great sports. St. Louis is truly the greatest sports town in America, and to be inducted alongside these many athletes is truly humbling.”

Again, I want to thank you all for this special recognition this evening. Thanks!”

Bricka told West Newsmagazine that when she received a letter from Creve Coeur City Clerk Kellie Henke asking if she and any of her family would be interested in attending, she responded immediately. 

“I called back right away and said I am thrilled, appreciate the honor and will definitely be there.” 

She was accompanied by her son, Lou Horwitz, a criminal defense attorney in St. Peters.

As for her Hall of Fame induction, she said, “That was fabulous! It was unbelievable! I turned 80 this year. So, you don’t expect it to still happen when you’re that old. But also, St. Louis is a great place to live, to grow up and to grow old, and it’s also the best sports city in the United States.”

Bricka made it clear she was referring to all sports, not just the nation’s most well-known team sports.  Referencing local author Ed Wheatley’s book “St. Louis Sports Memories: Forgotten Teams and Moments from America’s Best Sports Town,” Brick noted that 13 pages are devoted to tennis and much is said about the local prominence of bowling. In fact, Bricka is featured prominently in Wheatley’s book along with Carol Hanks Aucamp and Mary-Ann Eisel Beattie, who were collectively known as the “Golden Girls of Tennis,” when they played in the 1960s.  

“These three women … [did some] outstanding stuff. They played at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, the Australian Open,” Wheatley told St. Louis Public Radio’s Emily Woodbury in a December 2022 interview.  

In her own recollection of St. Louis sports, Bricka said she has great memories of watching Wrestling at the Chase and noted the fact that corkball was invented here with its popularity going back to the 1890s.

Bricka was in the very first class of inductees into the U.S. Tennis Association’s St. Louis Hall of Fame back in 1990. But she said she had no idea she would develop such prowess in tennis as a mere 9- or 10-year-old left-hander.

“When I went to grade school at Flynn Park in U.City, I also went to camp. My mom dropped me off there and it was just swimming and tennis. After the first day of swimming, I hated it for things like just putting my face underwater. So I started getting dropped off just for tennis. There were handball courts in Heman Park, and when I got a little better, I could hit against the wall.”

She said the clinic, run by Earl Buchholz Sr., was really fun.

It didn’t take long for pure enjoyment to translate into exceptional performances. At the tender age of 16, Bricka won the deciding match for the U.S. by besting Britain’s Angela Mortimer. What was most thrilling and shocking about that match was that Mortimer had recently become the Wimbledon champion.

Her most prominent singles victory occurred the very same year when, at the 1959 U.S. Nationals, Bricka fought off three first-round match points to defeat the long-time, world-famous Bille Jean Moffitt King. That controversial result is worth reading about on several tennis sites.

Other highlights include winning the national clay court doubles title with Hanks Aucamp, who is also in the local sports hall of fame, and winning the Irish doubles with Eisel Beattie. She also combined with Margaret Smith Court to win the Swiss Open and finish runner-up in the French Open.

Twice Bricka and mixed doubles teammate Frank Froehling reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. She won the mixed doubles with Gene Scott at the Merion Cricket Club.

Her tennis career would have lasted much longer, but the rewards back then paled in comparison to those of today.

“When you went to a tournament like the Southern Circuit, you had to find someone with a car and you went from one place to another. When you were at the tournament, people affiliated with the tennis club or with tennis in that area would house the players. You’d stay at their homes and get breakfast and dinner there, and you were on your own for lunch. Also, there was no money back then. If you won, all you got was a trophy. They weren’t allowed to give money as an amateur sport.”

Shortly after retirement, Bricka married Dick Horwitz and later became a referee for the Women’s Pro Tour.

“The WTA, Women’s Tennis Association, asked me to be the tournament referee for the Avon Tour, which was mostly called the Virginia Slims Tour. It was the only women’s tour in the winter. It was held in about 10 different cities, then the finals were in Madison Square Garden. That was very exciting because I had never been a ref,” Bricka said. “I was getting to do all the things in the sport that I really loved.”

She subsequently accepted a job at Triple A in Forest Park as the first female head tennis professional in St. Louis.

“I had played at Triple A most of my life, so I guess it was natural that I fell into getting the job there. I was also teaching clinics in area schools,” she said. “But at Triple A, there was no money in it. How would you tell that to your parents? That’s why I started teaching. 

“If you were teaching, you had an income. I knew I would always have a job teaching. I also taught some at John Burroughs. That was years ago!”

After her sons, Lou and Joe, were born two years apart, Justina was offered work at the brand-new Frontenac Racquet Club. That’s where she was for 30 years, including stints as manager and owner.

Unfortunately, the last time she played tennis was some 15 years ago, having suffered through “a hip replacement, torn rotator cuff, issues with her left hand, spinal stenosis and really bad arthritis.”

Still, detailed memories of tennis highlights from the past 70 years resonate through her mind and heart.

Ballwin alderman encourages: 'All of us can make the world a better place'

 (From late August 2023 issue of West Newsmagazine)

A saying long attributed to John F. Kennedy is featured on a poster hanging on the office wall of Ballwin alderman Mark Stallmann (District 2). It states: “One man can make a difference. Every man must try.”

The message has perfectly described Stallmann’s fervor for aiding those with autism.

Mark and his wife, Karen, met as students at UMSL and were married in 1985. Their son, Matthew, was born in 1989 and later diagnosed with non-verbal autism.

Ballwin alderman Mark Stallmann with his son, Matt, and wife, Karen. (Family photo) 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 1 in 36 American children are on the autism spectrum. The CDC defines autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention.

“It’s something that wasn’t understood for a really long time,” Stallmann said. “At first, they thought Matt was just delayed, then mentally retarded. Finally, when he was about 10, he was diagnosed with autism.”

The couple subsequently headed various programs on the topic. It was also around that time that they became Ballwin residents and Matthew entered into the Rockwood School District.

“Matthew started out at Kehr’s Mill Elementary ... before continuing onto Crestview Middle School and Marquette. It wasn’t going very well,” Stallmann said.

As an alternative to full-time public education, the family was directed to an independent school, called Giant Steps of St. Louis, for children and young adults with autism.

“They were great, and I’ve been on that Board of Directors for about the last 10 years,” Stallmann said. 

When Matt started at Giant Steps, it was located in part of the old Westminster Christian Academy campus, after its purchase of the West County Tech building. Giant Steps is now located in Maplewood – ironically, in the former Concordia Lutheran grade school building where Stallmann once attended. 

When Matt aged out of education the Stallmanns sought another type of program. They were directed to the Midwest Autism Program at the Center for Head Injury Services, now called Center for Specialized Services. The center began as a recovery program for individuals with traumatic brain injuries – some from birth and others from accidents.

Matt has been attending the center since age 21. Stallmann now serves on its Board of Directors. 

“They train people for the job market with assisted employment,” Stallmann said, noting that job coaches help center participants obtain and maintain jobs. “Prior to the pandemic, they would arrange for Matt to go to the food bank, he’d volunteer at the YMCA and stock the copying machines at Maryville University.”

In addition to job training and coaching, the center offers a full spectrum of services to help people with brain injuries, autism, neurological disabilities, strokes, visual impairment and blindness, developmental and learning disabilities, mental illness, limited mobility and physical limitations. Those programs include day (SELF) services, community support services, therapy and counseling services, adaptive equipment services, employment and vocational services and social enterprises, which includes the Destination Desserts food truck and Wags in a Bag, a dog treat bakery. 

Destination Desserts travels the metro area to businesses, parks and events offering a selection of gourmet cookies, cupcakes and other desserts. Wags in a Bag is a regular vendor at fairs and other events where furry friends are welcome and sells its treats directly and through specialty pet shops.

“Matthew understands pretty much anything you say to him. He just can’t respond verbally. He’ll make noises, laugh or cry and make other sounds, but he can’t speak,” Stallmann said. “He uses an app called ‘Prologue to Go’ on his iPad; then he can ask, ‘Can we go to the mall or Dairy Queen?’ There are also buttons to push like ‘Can I have something to eat or drink?’

“Technology has come a long way. When we started, we had a talking board, which was basically a screen with pictures, and he’d point to something he wanted. Then, we went to basically a touch screen computer where you’d push one button and it would say what he wanted. From there, we went to a more advanced computer like what his iPad does where it can be programmed for more specific choices. He can type some words and sentences and if you hold his elbow, he can spell out stuff he wants.”

Matthew can’t drive and will never live independently. Stallmann said Matt will have to be in some kind of facility or group home and, although Matt’s been on Medicaid since age 18, he said they faced bureaucratic issues enabling him to continue that process. Stallmann’s political relationships helped but for most people he said acquiring the care they need is a major struggle.

Stallmann is quick to give credit where credit is due. 

“My wife does a fabulous job with Matt,” he said. “Because I’m gone a lot, she always takes care of him and advocates for him.”

An advocate himself, Stallmann  was appointed by Gov. Mel Carnahan to the public review committee for the Special School District (SSD).

“It was that group that came up with the current structure of the SSD,” Stallmann explained. “It’s now run by the school districts as the governing council instead of unions like the NEA (National Education Association). School districts elect people and the governing council selects the school board. They’re not an elected body any longer. It has worked out well. I was actually treasurer of the campaign to get that passed on the ballot, and was also active for SSD’s tax campaign.”

Stallmann’s desire to champion for those whose lives are challenged by disabilities was likely inspired by his dad, Reinhold Stallmann, who relied on a wheelchair as the result of polio.

Reinhold became ill while engaged to Stallmann’s mother. His parents were married the day Reinhold left the hospital. A Lutheran minister, Reinhold went on to graduate from Concordia Seminary. He spent his career at the Concordia Publishing House as a writer, proofreader and editor.

“My father was involved in community, and I learned from him that you have to make a difference. I firmly believe all of us can make the world a better place; especially for kids and adults with autism,” Stallmann said. 

To join in helping children and adults with autism, consider joining the Center for Specialized Services at  Old Hickory Golf Club in St. Peters for its 20th Annual Gray Matters Charity Golf Tournament on Sept. 28. Registration is due by Sept. 14 and can be made online at cssstl.org. 

Ballwin woman honored for life-saving actions

 (This story with 2 of my 6 photos appeared very recently in  print and online for West Newsmagazine)

The Ballwin Board of Aldermen kicked off its Aug. 14 meeting with a trifecta of honors for resident Debra Belobraydich.

While walking her dog, Belobraydich was approached by a woman along Kehrs Mill Trail, who asked if she could help at a nearby subdivision pool.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it was an emergency at first because she just asked if I could help at the pool,” Belobraydich recalled. “Then, when she said someone was drowning, the first thing I did was just run straight to the pool. It kind of all unfolded from there. I kind of went into an adrenaline mode of whatever I needed to do to help with the situation.”

The person drowning was an 11-year-old girl who had sunk to the pool’s bottom. Belobraydich acted quickly to save her life.

At the meeting, she noted that the incident occurred at a swim-on-your-own subdivision pool with ‘No Lifeguard on Duty’ signs.

According to Metro West FPD Capt. Matt Coppin, Belobraydich made several perfect spur-of-the-moment decisions in the life-saving scenario.

“There were other people in the pool, but nobody was feeling comfortable to go get the girl at the bottom of the pool,” Coppin said. “Debra saw what needed to be done and didn’t hesitate. She jumped in and got the girl out of the pool. Not only that, (but) what impresses me the most was her ability to think through the logistics of what needed to happen next. She checked to make sure 911 was on the way. She made sure the ambulance went to the pool. She organized kids to be ready with the words, ‘Don’t let the ambulance pass you! Stand in the street to let them know we are here.’

“She also rolled the girl on her side to make sure the water came out from her mouth. She knew what to do to organize the people that were there. For somebody who is untrained, that’s incredible! Without a doubt, Debra is the reason that girl is alive today. There’s no question about that.”

Ballwin Police Capt. Jon Bergfeld was in total agreement with Coppin’s assessment.

“You hear all the time how citizens stand by and expect somebody else to take action, and a tragedy occurred because no one would do that,” Bergfeld said. “As Matt Coppin said, sometimes you just need a leader in those situations, and it’s the unknown heroes who will step forward and say, ‘Go wait for the ambulance or fire truck to show up.’” 

While presenting Belobraydich with her second plaque of the evening, Bergfeld added, “You are a role model to our citizens here. Because of your willingness to act, a positive outcome occurred here. On behalf of the Ballwin Police Department, we’d like to award you the Citizens Service Citation.”

It was Mayor Tim Pogue’s honor to follow up with a proclamation from the city, after which laughter filled the room when it was questioned as to whether or not the Belobraydich family had enough wall space to sport all those honors.

Coppin noted that, within a few days, the young girl walked out of the hospital in good health. He stressed that, contrary to popular opinion, it’s rarely apparent or obvious to bystanders when someone is drowning.

He said drownings are silent events despite movies showing a person splashing around and yelling for help. When somebody is drowning, he said, they’re doing everything they can just to keep their head above water. So, they don’t have extra energy to splash around and yell for help.

“As a fire department, we teach CPR, ‘Stop the Bleed’ and other safety courses,” Coppin said. “Also, everyone who graduates high school now has to have a CPR class. Metro West, Red Cross and American Heart offer them, too. There are lots of options to get that education. But those courses don’t work unless somebody takes the initiative to act. A lot of times, people think, ‘I’m not trained, I don’t know what I can do.’ But if it’s a bad situation, you’re not going to make it worse. Maybe you’ll act and make it better.”

Belobraydich said the experience was overwhelming.

“You never expect to go through a situation like that and it’s nothing you plan for. I feel like God was truly with me that day, and I’m so blessed that she’s OK. It’s nice to have a community that supports you like this but nobody really has to go and honor or recognize me.”

 

Tony Gwynn: A Gem On and Off the Diamond

(Here's an article I produced on one of my favorite athletes of all time for the May 1988 edition of The Sports Journal of Calgary, Alberta. The story is just four seasons into the lengthy, 20-season Hall of Fame career of the man who barely made it to age 54.)

                                                                      (Breitbart photo)

Those who claim that all high-salaried players are self-serving primadonnas don't know Tony Gwynn.  But that unfamiliarity of personality should not be surprising considering how few people are even aware of Gwynn's on-the-field talents.

Gwynn's accomplishments are staggering! In his four years with the San Diego Padres, the 27-year-old rightfielder has compiled a .335 career batting average, including a pair of batting titles. His .370 batting mark last year was the National League's best since Stan Musial's .378 in 1948.

"He's amazing at the plate," Padres infielder Mike Flannery said. "He does everything right.  He'll get a hit on an incredible pitch; maybe one theat's busted him inside, and all of us on the bench will look at it and shake our heads.  It happens all the time."

But there's far more to Gwynn's abilities than making contact at the plate. He also earned his second straight Gold Glove and swiped 56 bases last year, second only to the Cardinals' Vince Coleman. Gwynn's seen All Star Game action all four seasons as well.

"If I had nine Tony Gwynn's suiting up every day, I wouldn't have to manage them a minute," said Padres skipper Larry Bowa. "His work ethic and every day contribution is just incredible!"

In addition to all of Gwynn's baseball accomplishments, which also included a trip to the World Series in his rookie season, Gwynn is the ultimate role model for other young players.

"I've never in my life seen anybody with Tony's work habits and dedication--and his desire to improve," teammate John Kruk said. "It's infectious!  You can't help but want to adopt his habits.  He's inspiring!"

Gwynn's list of good deeds involving the fans and the media probably even surpasses his baseball statistics.

When a couple players turned down an interview at Yuma (Arizona) Junior High School, Gwynn accepted and turned a 10-minute session into a comical half hour.  In fact, Gwynn's the man that Padres assistant public relations director Mike Swanson looks to when other teammates are unavailable to the press. 

Gwynn's love for children has led to personal sacrifices like missing a late night meal in St. Louis to satisfy dozens of autograph seekers in the streets after complaining to San Diego pitcher Greg Booker of being starved. Gwynn also suffered emotional pain while visiting a home for abused children in Las Vegas.

"That's just me," Gwynn said.  "I can't stand when people think baseball players are better than anybody else. I realize how lucky I am.  But I was raised to believe that you treat people as you'd want to be treated. That's all I do.  That's easy."

Who is afraid of the big, bad wolf? Not Regina Mossotti

 (This ran in West Newsmagazine last month...from the TedTalks event held at Chaminade.)

A constant stream of howling emanated from the second row as soon as Regina Mossotti’s name was announced at the TEDxStLouis presentation on May 13. It was fitting, given that her talk was titled “Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”

“Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a movie or read a story with a big, bad wolf in it?” Mossotti, former Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC), asked the audience.  She then shared how movies perpetuate a negative image of wolves, showing them as scary animals, snarling and often covered with blood. She said those images portray the wolf as something to be feared, and if we fear something, we don’t want to save it.

But Mossotti grew up seeing wolves and other wildlife in a far different light. 

Regina Mossotti at work caring for a wolf pup (Photo provided)

“I started to suspect, from a young age, that what I was hearing about wolves wasn’t right.  See, I grew up in a part of Ballwin that, back then, had hundreds of acres of woods and farmland behind it. I played in the streams, climbed trees and went fishing with my dad,” she said. “I was always out exploring nature out in the woods with neighborhood kids every single day in the summer.  After school, I’d come home, throw my backpack in the door and we’d be outside again.  

“Being in the woods and observing gave me empathy for wildlife. I saw the world in a different lens and tended to fall in love with animals that others shied away from or lived in fear of … snakes, frogs, spiders, you name it …. The underdogs of the natural world.”  

Mossotti vividly recalls a sixth grade assignment on future ambitions. While other students chose doctors, teachers, firefighters, ballerinas and astronauts, Mossotti brought her 5-foot-long pet black snake to school and spoke about becoming a herpetologist.

After graduating from Marquette High, Mossotti began her undergraduate studies at Webster University. Halfway through, she switched to Hawaii-Pacific University; then, headed to SIU-Carbondale for a Masters of Science in Zoology. After graduation, she started her Ph.D. at Oregon State University. When a position opened at the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC), Mossotti decided not to finish her Ph.D. 

“I had been lucky enough to work there when I was younger as a keeper, and got to see how special that place is, as well as its impact on conservation for endangered species. It was during the recession, and nonprofits like the EWC were having a really hard time. I wanted to go back and help it grow, focus on its conservation efforts and really bring the community into that effort.” 

In January 2011, Mossotti became the EWC’s director of Animal Care and Conservation. She helped its physical growth by managing construction of habitats for several different endangered species and growing its level of impact on the American red wolf and the Mexican wolf, two of the most endangered wolf species in the world. 

“For me, the American red wolf is so important because it used to be native to Missouri. You often hear about other countries needing to protect their wildlife, but here in our own U.S. backyard, we have animals that are on the brink of extinction.”

A family of red wolves (Source: EWC)

Mossotti shared the story of one such wolf, a pup named Max who came to the EWC with his brothers and sisters at about two weeks old. The goal was to transfer the pups to the care of a mother wolf near the border of Arizona and New Mexico. A GPS collar worn by the mother led them to her exact location.  

“As we approached, she took off,” Mossotti said. “Wolves are shy. They want nothing to do with people. They run away from us. Because of that, we needed to work quickly. Once we got there, we gave each of the pups a small microchip like your dogs or cats would get to keep track of them throughout their lives.” 

Then, they gently placed Max and the rest of the pups into the den so the mom could come home and take care of them. Rubbing dirt and urine on all of the pups helped to ensure they all smelled the same and increased the likelihood that the mother would nurture them all.  

About a year later, Mossotti said she was assisting in the annual wolf population survey. As she worked she checked the wolves for microchips and amazingly, she found Max. 

“Here, lying in front of me is a full-grown, healthy and handsome wolf,” Mossotti told the audience. “The last time I had seen Max, he was the size of a large potato. (Now) he was thriving, and there was even a female with the little Casanova.”

She described finding Max as one of the most moving moments in her career. 

“So many people had come together, working together to save an endangered species. They were making a difference, using what nature taught us .... Making sure that their children grew up to be safe, successful and secure, just like we do for our own kids. I want so badly to end the story here …,” she said. “… to leave you with the image of Max running free with his family.”

But sadly, a few months after seeing Max, she received news that he had been shot and killed. Someone saw him as something to be feared. 

But there is hope, she said. Today, there’s close to 100 wolf pups in the wild from over 10 different zoos across the country. And about 20% of the wild wolf pack is now led by a foster or its offspring. 

Mossotti said her favorite thing about wolves is observing their families together. They are very caring and nurturing, and wolves have similar family structures to humans. They teach skills to help their young protect themselves, work together, find food and raise their families. She noted that the strength of the pack is the wolf, but the strength of the wolf is the pack. 

“If we can see them differently, it will empower us and give us that empathy to say, ‘I want to do something for these animals’ because they’re not big and scary like we see on TV,” she said. That idea doesn’t just apply to wolves but also to a lot of different wildlife. 

“Being able to see how wildlife really is will help us to coexist with it,” she said. 

This spring, Mossotti was appointed the first woman vice president of Animal Care at the Saint Louis Zoo. While she really loved the EWC, she said it was the right time to make the move.

One of the projects she is excited to help with is the Zoo’s newly announced 2.8-acre Henry A. Jubel Foundation Destination Discovery. Built on the footprint of the former Children’s Zoo, where dinosaurs now roam (their last day in the Zoo is Nov. 5), Destination Discovery will feature immersive experiences and educational spaces alongside a network of treehouses, a walk-through aviary, a climb-through Tasmanian Devil exhibit, underground cities, river otter flumes and so much more. 

“It’s a big next step and I’m really excited to be able to help with that over the next several years,” Mossotti said. Destination Discovery is slated for opening in 2026. 

“We had a children’s zoo that we will always remember, but this one is going to be so innovative,” she said. “I’m part of the core team helping to design and implement the design in terms of building the staff, the different animal collection that we’re going to have, working with our architect firm on making sure that the habitats are big and beautiful for our animals.”

Recalling those days roaming the woods near her Ballwin home, Mossotti had some advice for young and old alike. 

“Just being out in nature really makes an impact. Going to zoos and seeing those animals, going to parks and hiking … whether it’s Forest Park or Elephant Rocks State Park … just getting out.  We have so many beautiful places in our state. Getting that connection with nature and finding that empathy with wildlife … It makes a big impact,” she said. “Also, it grounds you and is good for your mental health.” 

St. Peters resident LandSpeed Louise Noeth has a need for speed

 (This ran in MidRivers Newsmagazine from a  TedTalks event that I loved covering May 13 at Chaminade College Prep!)

“Buckle up, people!  You’re about to go on a very fast ride with me, LandSpeed Louise. I’m a gal with a Ph.D. from the University of Concrete and 458-mile-per-hour world land speed record!”

That’s how St. Peters resident Louise Ann Noeth began her May 13 Tedx St. Louis speech. She set that record as a member of Team Vesco racing on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in October 2001. The record still stands. 

“No one has been able to knock us off the top!” Noeth exclaimed. “To see how fast this really is, it’s about 300 miles from St. Louis to Chicago. It takes about 4 1/2 hours to get there. If I take you in our car, we’re going to get there in about 39 minutes!”

A lengthy round of thundering applause followed that explanation. 

According to Noeth, courage and curiosity are the hallmarks of every land speed racer. But also is the common sense to know when to take a calculated risk, because you can blow up a car in one run then have a lot  of time to think about it from your hospital bed.

Claiming the world record was a team effort, Noeth said. And, other than some piston-driven cars, the closest anyone has come to it is still about 20 mph off the mark. 

“Now, we want to be the first race car that goes over 500 miles per hour with a world record,” she said. “It would be a great accomplishment and it sets a goal.”

Born and raised in Evergreen Park on Chicago’s South Side, Noeth convinced the local street kings they should let her drive their fast, muscle cars as a teenager. She traded her talent, painting designs on their cars, for a chance to race. 

Eventually, she raced a 250-mile-an-hour, fire-breathing jet dragster all over North America with exhibition runs through the National Hot Rod Association (MHRA) on a quarter-mile track. She added elimination races and sold a lot of tickets at non-MHRA drag racing venues. That led to her awareness of automotive journalism. 

She started test driving cars, trucks and motorcycles and writing stories and taking photos for car report newspapers and magazines.

“When I went to the Bonneville Salt Flats for the very first time in the late 1990s, I met ladies who didn’t just wear helmets, but fireproof underwear! That’s why I’m here talking to you right now,” she told the captivated TEDx audience. “In 2020, I started doing a little research. I wanted to know how many women had actually driven on the Bonneville Salt Flats. As I peered deeper into this female lens, my head exploded when somebody told me that this picture I had taken of 20 female motorcycle racers had set more than 200 records … just this one group. I wanted to know how these women had actually set records on the Bonneville Salt Flats.”

Three months later, Noeth had documented more than 300 women racers, ages 16-80. Most had gone over 200 miles an hour; quite a few over 300 miles an hour; and a couple had knocked on 400’s door.  

“Who knew there were so many? Nobody knew … Until I started asking, none of us knew,” North said. 

Her passion for sharing the stories of women racers can be seen in her book, “Bonneville’s Women of Land Speed Racing.” It’s chock full of historical significance in regard to land speed racing and the women who Noeth says have been severely overlooked by everyone. 

“I’m a high-speed storyteller with a particular soft spot for women in racing because they have not just been overlooked, but forcibly and intentionally denied, sabotaged and wrecked,” Noeth said during a later interview. “What I said in the speech (is true), in stock car racing you see cars bang into each other, knock them into the wall and spin around. 

“I’m absolutely convinced that gender has absolutely nothing to do with skillfully operating any car, truck, motorcycle, plane or boat.”

She invited every woman in the TEDx audience to try her hand at land speed racing but noted that the only U.S. site to do so is Bonneville.

“And this place is so doggone big that if you can drive your car you drove here 100 miles an hour for more than a minute, with your eyes closed, you’ll never hit a darned thing,” she said. “I know. I’ve done it! 

According to the Bureau of Land Management, the Bonneville Salt Flats are “one of Earth’s most unique landforms.” They  are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide,  located 120 miles west of Salt Lake City in Tooele County – and are mostly sodium chloride, or table salt. Since 1949, when the first Speed Week was held in Bonneville, the Salt Flats have been home to racing enthusiasts bent on seeing how fast they can go.

“There are no one-shot wonders here. Today, you will see anything out there that can run,” Noeth said. “If you can dream it up, build it and get it past the safety and technical inspections, you earn the right to go to the starting line.”

Noeth is an authority on Bonneville. In fact she wrote the book – or rather, books. “Bonneville: The Fastest Place on Earth” was published in 2002 by Motorbooks. “Bonneville Salt Flats,” published by Arcadia Press in 2020 traces 100 years of racing history. And then, there’s “Bonneville’s Women of Land Speed Racing,” published by Images of Modern America in 2021. 

“I had approached the publisher, Motorbooks, with a different idea because I was part of a team that helped build a car that was going after the first supersonic record back in the mid-90s,” Noeth said of her first encounter with her would-be publisher. “The publisher said nobody cares about that, and shut me down. About a month later, the editorial director said, ‘Well, I know we didn’t take you up on that idea, but would you like to write the history of the Bonneville Salt Flats?’ I pinged myself on the ceiling and tried to calm myself down because I was absolutely thrilled! 

“That’s how I got to be an author. I moved from magazines and newspapers to being a real life, honest to goodness author!”

More than that, she’s also an award-winning journalist and photographer whose works have been published by the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Late Show with David Letterman and others around the world. Noeth has also served on several auto industry technical committees developing self-regulating guidelines in tires, suspension and emission controls and contributed to regulatory discussions with the Secretary of Energy, which resulted in a shift in national policy. She is a recognized authority not only on racing but also the Bonneville Salt Flats and an avid supporter of their conservation (savethesalt.org).

“I have an enormous archive of files that I’ve been doing an inventory of – documents and articles, books and films, television shows I’ve helped produce, photos and details of radio interviews (connected to) the sport of land speed racing. I have 300 to 400 books and at least 400 or 500 films,” Noeth said. “There are places I’ve been quoted and articles I’ve written.”

She said one of her latest goals is to find a home for this rich history of racing “in a place where the general public can find it, access it and use it, because I’ve been collecting this stuff for over 40 years.”

“It’s one of the biggest private archives of land speed racing on the planet,” she said. 

Throughout her racing career, her husband, Mick Lanigan, has been at her side. 

“There’s no way I could have achieved as much as I have if I had not had the complete support and help of Mick. Early in our marriage (August 1992), I was all over the place and he was my constant supporter,” Noeth said. “Sometimes, all he did was babysit my photography equipment while I ran off and got a shot or did this or the other.  But he’s been my partner in this without a doubt.”