Memories of Times Beach persist more than 30 years later

times-beach-photo-from-1959

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently published a story about Marilyn Leistner, who was the last mayor of Times Beach, Missouri, before the Route 66 town was deserted for good in 1983 because of dioxin contamination.

Road contractor Russell Bliss used dioxin-laced oil to spread on dirt roads throughout the town. When the Meramec River flooded, the cancer-causing dioxin was spread throughout the town, eventually prompting the permanent desertion of Times Beach.

The newspaper produced this short video about Leistner and the town:

Times Beach was founded in 1925 — shortly before U.S. 66 existed — by a now-defunct St. Louis newspaper giving away lots in the area in return for subscriptions.

The book “Route 66 St. Louis: From the Bridges to the Diamonds” contains one of the best accountings of the Times Beach saga I’ve read, along with a lot of other St. Louis-area lore.

There’s at least one Times Beach Memories page on Facebook.

Although the town is long-gone, its poisoning continues to affect people in the present day:

Driving through Route 66 Park, Leistner recalls her second husband, friends and relatives who succumbed to illnesses probably connected to toxic poisoning.

Leistner herself has been diagnosed with uterine cancer, diabetes and hyper-thyroid disease.

The site now is occupied by Route 66 State Park, the office which is located in the former Steiny’s Inn restaurant along Route 66 in Times Beach. The park’s main office contains a nice examination of the town’s history and some artifacts.

Route 66 State Park faces its own little crisis with the fate of its historic Route 66 Bridge over the Meramec River. About $575,000 needs to be raised before the end of the year to save the bridge and eventually convert it into a pedestrian and cycling span. A GoFundMe.com account has raised less than $10,000 so far.

(Image of a police officer in Times Beach, Missouri, from 1959 courtesy of 66Postcards.com)

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