McClellan: Losses in war carve a deep memory

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

A building on Chippewa Street becomes a memorial for a grandson.

May 28, 2012 | 12:05 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Detective's skill at interviewing may have caught wrong man

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

His belief that solving murders was more art than science may have worked against justice in the murder of Mary Bell.

May 27, 2012 | 12:10 am | (Loading… ) comments.

• Related: Lawyers battle on whether evidence exonerates man in '82 St. Louis murder
• Related: Lawyers add to evidence supporting innocence of convicted killer George Allen Jr.

McClellan: Confusion reigns at dream lake house

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Steve Schlanger realized a dream when he bought a five-acre piece of property on Bull Shoals Lake in 1987. He had been going to the lake for years.

May 25, 2012 | 12:15 am | (Loading… ) comments.

What do we learn from things we save?

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

In December 1912, Norman Ulbricht of Montgomery City, Mo., wrote a letter to Santa Claus.

May 23, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Clemens trial resonates here

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Roger Clemens is on trial in Washington, and it seems to me that St. Louis ought to take more than a passing interest in the case. That's because the case is about steroids and baseball.

May 21, 2012 | 12:05 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: 'Befuddled' billionaire may yet leave us with an empty Dome

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Stan Kroenke is something of a villain these days, but really, it's not his fault.

May 20, 2012 | 12:30 am | (Loading… ) comments.

Recording, password make me reminisce

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

In the beginning, there was my neighborhood drugstore, and it was good. It sold candy and some odds and ends, but its major product was medicine.

May 18, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

A man's life revealed in mysterious fall

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Reed Milton Highfield began his life as Milton Reed Highfield, but when he first applied for a Social Security card, the Social Security Administration juxtaposed his first and middle names. After a few unsuccessful efforts to correct the problem, the family decided to accept the government's dec…

May 16, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: The real obstacle to state's growth

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Missouri legislators sometimes complain that unions are holding up economic progress in the state. We heard that a lot last year when the Republican leadership was talking about putting a right-to-work measure on the ballot this year.

May 14, 2012 | 12:05 am | (Loading… ) comments.

• Related: Wanda Brown on "The Daily Show"
• Related: "The Colbert Report" and Missouri's 'Don't Say Gay' bill

McClellan: Strange happenings since double-shooting

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

Wally Asbridge was 39 and lived with his parents in south St. Louis. He did not drive. He lost his license years ago and learned to get by without one. He drank a lot.

May 13, 2012 | 12:45 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Creek's invasion may not be all bad

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

A sentimental businessman once confided to me that he was thinking of burning down his house.

May 11, 2012 | 12:45 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Good corporal hears little, knows less

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Please do not ask me what I know. I know nothing. Except that it is good. It is always good.

May 09, 2012 | 12:05 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: City's public schools face yet another test

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

I grew up in the era of neighborhood schools. In fact, the schools were the anchors of the neighborhoods.

May 07, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Bad breakup leaves dog in the middle

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Mariana Sanchez and Tom Gray were childhood friends in Maplewood. Then their paths diverged. Tom, who was a couple of years older, dropped out of high school. Mariana went to college.

May 06, 2012 | 12:15 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: A delicate balance is a key to good life

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

My mother foretold her own death. She saw it in a dream. She told my wife, but not me. My mother understood my limitations.

May 02, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: A romantic reflects on a changing world

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Writer reflects on how sad it is that things don't always work out.

Apr 30, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Perspectives clash in fatal shooting

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Bobby Hartzell was 74 and in poor health, but he was still a rough and tumble character. He always carried a Baby Browning .25-caliber automatic. He didn't bother with a permit.

Apr 29, 2012 | 12:30 am | (Loading… ) comments.

Graduates, meet Oligarchy, your new overlord

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Good morning, graduates.

Apr 27, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: At least baby boomers still have their loyalty

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Leon Russell is 70 and gets around with the aid of a cane. He has the girth of a man who eats well. He still has long hair. He wore a cowboy hat and dark glasses at his concert Saturday night at the Argosy Casino in Alton. He looked like a hip version of the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Apr 25, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Chickens can show love after all

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

If you're reincarnated as a chicken and somebody refers to you as a broiler, you've got problems.

Apr 23, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

• Related: McClellan: Future is now in River City

McClellan: Caregiving doesn't have to be one-way

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Early in the last century, Tom and Pearl Goodding had a small dairy farm three miles outside of Cairo, Mo. They had two sons, Clay and Clyde.

Apr 22, 2012 | 12:15 am | (Loading… ) comments.

Visa denial lacks any explanation

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

In May 2005, a young Bosnian woman who spoke no English had a minor auto accident with an American in Sarajevo. She called a friend who spoke English. "Can you come and help me?" she asked.

Apr 20, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Campus funding 'fix' gets an 'F' in my book

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Should universities be financially rewarded for student retention and graduation rates?

Apr 18, 2012 | 12:00 am | (Loading… ) comments.

No earnings still cost woman St. Louis tax filing penalty

Bill McClellan • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com, 314-340-8143

St. Louis charged her for something that is not a violation, then made her pay the processing costs for that non-violation.

Apr 16, 2012 | 3:15 am | (Loading… ) comments.

McClellan: Future is now in River City

BILL McCLELLAN • bmcclellan@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8143

Graciela Arhancet is a scientist who works for Novus International Inc. Not long ago, her mother came from Uruguay to visit. What would her mother think of St. Louis?

Apr 15, 2012 | 12:03 am | (Loading… ) comments.