On February 25, 1966, CBS premiered a TV documentary, "Sixteen in Webster Groves." Many St. Louisans were outraged when the program made many parents and teens look self-obsessed. Here was columnist Clarissa Start's take on the program.
"What did you think of the CBS special, 'Sixteen in Webster Groves'?" Many people have asked me, knowing that I live in that suburb and had written about the filming of the program.
''Not very much," was my honest answer.
Last December, my interview with Arthur Barron, the show's producer, quoted him as extravagant in his praise of what he'd seen in Webster. I have a letter from Barron complimenting me on my accurate reporting. I wish I could return the compliment.
I found his film "hoked-up" from it's opening shot: a scene of unnaturally somber youngsters. Why were they so sad, these "children of privilege?" the announcer intoned. Was something missing? Yes, something was. At that precise moment, it was a dead classmate, much loved, for whom they were holding a memorial service. From then on the show followed a "line," the Madison Avenue theme that conformity rules the suburbs. In Webster, with its widely diversified population, more small town than suburb, this wasn't easy. It could be done only by careful election and omission.
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I'm sorry they omitted the town itself, its tree-lined streets and rambling frame houses so unlike the pillared mansion shown.
I'm especially sorry they didn't set foot inside the churches which are the pulse of Webster Groves. We invited CBS to meet the 16-year-olds in the church class my husband and I teach, a wonderful, bright, idealistic (and good-looking) group. Barron did meet some of their parents at our house, where he heard opinions expressed quite unlike the ones presented on the show.
I'm sorry CBS ignored two institutions which affect the tone of Webster, Eden Seminary and Webster College. Barron taped a talk with Sister Jacqueline, high school graduation speaker, and told me it was "probably the best TV Interview" he had ever heard. Too bad "the best" ended up on the cutting room floor.
Barron told me he "had trouble finding a Negro student to talk about discrimination." He would have had no trouble finding a white student to express grave concern on that issue. Although at a school which has had a Negro campus king and this year had a Negro candidate for the yearbook queen, some of these students apparently do achieve recognition.
The community hoped the exposure wasn't a repeat of embarrassing television special done by CBS in 1966.
A few fragments were familiar. Pressure and preoccupation with grades and the future. The delightful scene at Mrs. Janet Condon's "dancing and deportment" class, which our son attended. I didn't know it was "exclusive," but I agree with Mrs. Condon that it's the last outpost of civilization , and that kids can use civilizing. But then, I like silverware, viewed by CBS as a sign of decadent snobbery.
I'm sorry they didn't follow the "smart set" home to see the useful lives they lead. I'm sorry they ignored veteran teachers, although the newcomer they singled out did have a fresh approach.
I'm sorry we had only a fleeting glimpse of the magnificent choir and of Miss Esther Replogle, a dedicated artist and salty character. I'm sorry the parents shown were limited in number and point of view.
I won't say the dinner table scene wasn't typical of Webster, although few of us are as handsome as Clif and Nancy St. James, professional television performers. But I've been in their home, and what was shown wasn't a typical scene there. Where were the rest of the kids?
Therein, I think, lay the basic distortion. Teenagers in Webster, or in any other community, are not in a world apart. They live in homes with parents, brothers, sisters. They work at jobs and causes. I'm sorry CBS made no mention of the DeMolay, CYC, Scouts or YMCA, a powerful influence with its emphasis on world services.
I'm sorry they left out the girl Barron told me was "so beautiful," the one who said to him, "I want to go into the Peace Corps and help humanity." I'm sorry they left out , that vast number of 16-year-olds of whom we couldn't be I prouder.
I'm always sorry to see slanted journalism because it reflects on all of us, including those who try to do accurate reporting. In this case the whole truth would have been as challenging to complacency. And much more interesting.
By the way, how was the color photography? We saw " the program on our old set, which coincidentally is 16 years old. In that "affluent suburb" of "status symbolism," we don't know anyone with a color television set.
