Ted Ihde

St. Louis

“Buy on the fringe and wait. Buy land near a growing city! Buy real estate when other people want to sell. Hold what you buy!” – John Jacob Astor

When investing in real estate, ideally, one hopes to attain benefits such as: a) low acquisition cost, b) limited tenant problems, and, c) steady appreciation. A-B-C. One way to arrive at A-B-C is often overlooked.

A-B-C created America’s first multi-millionaire, John Jacob Astor. However, pursuing a real estate strategy comparable to the one America’s first multimillionaire utilized to become America’s first multimillionaire is not common.

For savvy investors, prioritizing the acquisition of nonperforming properties can be a good route to take. While this is not a process utilized by a majority of owner-occupying home buyers, owning the home you live in correlates to building net worth. For investors. For families.

Equity built up in homes (over time) makes up in excess of 75% of the total net worth for American families.

“Real Estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Identifying nonperforming properties available at great prices…

With regard paid to neighborhood stabilization and community development, land banks play an important role. They acquire – then convey – non-performing properties to those who can transition nonperforming properties into performing properties. Land bank properties can be acquired at prices which are less than market rate prices.

According to a report put forth by the Brookings Institute a few years ago, just about 15% of land in American cities is vacant. Vacant land can be categorized as nonperforming. In that vacant land does not generate property tax revenue. All the while, property taxes function as a vital source of revenue for cities.

Property taxes. A lack thereof?

Reduced property tax receipts impede the sustainability of any city. Reduced property tax receipts are one byproduct of nonperforming properties.

Nonperforming properties…let’s look at St. Louis.

Over the years, St. Louis took possession of in excess of 10,000 nonperforming properties. Residential homes. Vacant lots. Vacant buildings.

By conveying properties the city took possession of to developers, St. Louis alleviated having to operate as a de-facto property manager. Snow removal. Mowing lawns. Boarding up buildings. Tasks transferred in St. Louis to developers.

How so?

Not the conventional way. Neither St. Louis nor land banks use Realtors to sell properties. So let’s look at how St. Louis conveys properties.

Land Reutilization Authority…

The origin for St. Louis’s Land Reutilization Authority – LRA – is found in Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. In the beginning, funding for the Land Reutilization Authority came through HUD.

The process in St. Louis…

To acquire a Land Reutilization Authority property, buyers complete an Offer To Purchase Form. Buyers submits Offer To Purchase Forms to the LRA, along with two most recent pay stubs, the prior year’s W2 and tax return and the buyer’s most recent bank statement. Buyers also discloses their funding source. A bank. mortgage company. Cash on hand. A Planning Sheet is attached to each buyer’s Offer To Purchase Form.

The Planning Sheet is an overview. The Planning Sheet provides details pertaining to the buyer’s vision for how they plan to improve the property.

The conveyance of city-owned properties and land banks properties happens at the local level. Procedures vary. City by city. Town by town.

At the federal level, an important “tool” used to facilitate the conveyance of properties through land banks became available in 2008.

Resulting from the Financial Crisis, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act appropriated $4 billion to address abandoned and foreclosed properties.

The Housing And Economic Recovery Act of 2008 later became the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Commonly known as NSP.

One year after the NSP went into effect, Congress appropriated an additional $2 billion to address vacant and abandoned properties. Through the NSP.

The NSP provided the framework – and the funding mechanism – cities relied upon to create programs designed to combat problems arising from increasing numbers of nonperforming properties. A problem amplified by the Financial Crisis.

One approach used in St. Louis to lessen neighborhood blight was the Dollar House Program. To provide the Dollar House Program with inventory, the LRA placed properties in the Program which were owned by the LRA for at least five years.

The Dollar House Program provided owner-occupant applicants with an opportunity to inspect LRA homes. Upon completing inspections, buyers then established rehab budgets. After which, buyers were able to submit their applications to the LRA.

Buyer applications underwent board review. Should a buyer have been deemed to have met Program qualifications, with board approval, within 120 days buyers were expected to, a) stabilize the home, b) improve the facade, and c) follow building codes.

Renovation of Dollar House Program homes needed to be completed within 18 months. Furthermore, the buyer of the LRA home was required to live in their home for at least three years. Once they completed the rehab.

The LRA held a quitclaim deed to properties. Enabling the LRA to regain possession of properties should requirements established by the LRA not be met by buyers. The LRA was able to extend timelines for rehabs which took longer than 18 months to complete.

Buying a distressed home in St. Louis? Buying vacant land in St. Louis? Buying a rundown apartment building in St. Louis?

Some perspective…

Long, long ago, John Jacob Astor saw something he liked in an overlooked, sneered-upon, not-too-desirable piece of land. That then nonperforming piece of land that John Jacob Astor liked – then purchased – proved to be a decision which anchored his trajectory towards becoming America’s first multi-millionaire. This was a piece of land all know quite well.

Where was this land located?

Beginning in 1799, John Jacob Astor began to acquire vast amounts of land in New York City. Astor went on to become New York’s biggest landlord. Astor owned land in what today we know to be Times Square. And the East Village.

John Jacob Astor’s real estate was the backbone to his wealth.

When John Jacob Astor began buying Manhattan real estate, the population of New York City was 60,000. Fifty years later, New York City’s population exceeded 500,000.

“Buy on the fringe and wait. Buy land near a growing city! Buy real estate when other people want to sell. Hold what you buy!” – John Jacob Astor

The Navesink and Red Bank

Fine arts and galleries. World class gourmet. Performing arts. The International Beer, Wine and Food Festival. The Guinness Oyster Festival. Red Bank.

And on the north side of this charming Monmouth County town, we find the Navesink River. Eight miles in length, the Navesink is the result of a confluence. This confluence being, the Swimming River and several smaller streams. One of the tributaries of the Navesink River is Shrewsbury River.

The Navesink River and Red Bank. We’ll revisit their longstanding relationship after a trek through Red Bank history. This relationship between a river and a settlement is tantamount to how Red Bank came to be.

The borough of Red Bank derives its name from red soil discovered on banks of the Navesink. Red banks. Red Bank.

A riverside town of just about 13,000 residents, Red Bank’s history was written through receipts received for benefits attributed to the river which touched that settlement’s red banks.

Our Red Bank story goes back to the 17th Century. To long before Red Bank became a town. To long before Red Bank became a borough.

Red Bank as a borough…

Red Bank became a borough in 1908. Created through an act of the New Jersey legislature.

Red Bank as a town…

Red Bank’s history as a town predates its formation as a borough. By thirty-eight years. In 1860 the town of Red Bank was formed. Formed from parts of Shrewsbury Township.

A land sale, a deed, a river and red banks. A land sale consisting of three acres which extended to the “red bank” of the Navesink River established boundaries for a settlement.

A settlement which became a town. A town which became a borough. Red Bank.

Then too, this three acre land purchase in 1736 constituted the naming of Red Bank. “Three acres extending to the red bank of the Navesink River.”

A land purchase. A deed description. And red banks along the Navesink.

Our Red Bank beginning as a trading post…

Red Bank became a trading post ten years after the town of Red Bank had been formed in 1860. In 1870 Red Bank became a trading post.

Red Bank during the 17th Century…

Two hundred years prior to Red Bank’s incorporation as a town, in the 17th Century, European settlers were drawn to this location nearby two rivers – the Navesink and the Shrewsbury.

English and Dutch settlers established trade relationships with Native Americans along these red banks. Native Americans who themselves found favor setting up camp along the Navesink.

The Lenapehoking were Native American tribes who lived in Lenape territory on the Navesink. Lenape territory included this area along the Navesink. As well as land located in what today is New York City, eastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. Land along the Navesink which was hunted and fished by Lenape was Navarumsunk.

As English and Dutch arrived in this settlement, Lenape found their new European neighbors to be capable trading partners.

Aside from their ability to set up trade networks with Native Americans, English settlers brought with them familiarity with an industry which had been a “national champion” in Great Britain. Shipbuilding.

In the earliest days of Red Bank, shipbuilding was formative to the local economy. A shipbuilding industry pioneered by English settlers took hold. Developing as the result of a natural circumstance: this was a settlement alongside a navigable waterway.

Through their ability to navigate the Navesink, English shipbuilders benefitted from a fast-growing economy in Manhattan.

As Manhattan’s economy developed around textiles, the Navesink became a convenient channel through which ships coming from Red Bank could reach Manhattan. A trade route, facilitating the transportation of Manhattan textiles.

Come the early part of the 19th Century, as the economy in this region matured, Red Bank shipbuilders found a new beneficiary: those who traveled from Red Bank to Manhattan.

Early on, textiles, tanning and furs produced in Manhattan served as “passengers” onboard ships built in Red Bank. The movement of textiles. Along the Navesink.

During the 19th century, as the populations of New Jersey and New York City grew, as the economies of New Jersey and New York City grew, Red Bank shipbuilders adapted to the changing economy. Transitioning from building ships exclusively to serve the textile industry to building ships to serve the textile industry and commuters. Commuters being, passengers traveling from Red Bank to Manhattan.

One hundred years after that deed recording which noted “three acres extending to the red banks of the Navesink River,” steamboats enter our Red Bank story.

In 1809, regularly scheduled steamboat service going from Red Bank to Manhattan was available.

By the mid-1800’s, traveling to New York City from Red Bank by steamboat became a mainstay. Steamboats could be seen chugging along the Navesink.

Steamboat travel on the Navesink enjoyed a one hundred year run. The very last steamboat set sail from Red Bank in 1931.

Today, the Navesink sits as a beautiful piece within the “Red Bank collection.”

Yesterday, the Navesink sat as the mechanism on which Red Bank’s development was based.

Red Bank and the Navesink. Partners today. Partners yesteryear. Partners for over 400 years.

Kansas City

Each year, on the day after Thanksgiving, a crowd of 200,000 or so Kansas Citians partake in a Paris of the Plains Christmas tradition – The Plaza Lighting Ceremony.

Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. Named for Kansas City’s Country Club District. The Plaza. A 14-block historic shopping and entertainment district located on the southern end of Kansas City, Missouri. On the northern end of Ward Parkway.

The Plaza…with looks accentuated by fountains. By carriage rides. By statues. By sculptures. By its Spanish architecture. And at Christmastime, The Plaza takes on additional charm.

From an architectural standpoint, The Plaza’s design could be categorized as, Spanish Colonial Revival. Or, as Moorish Revival.

Stamped upon The Plaza is a signature which speaks to Spanish architecture. The Christmas season begins in Kansas City each year in The Plaza with the illumination of this Spanish architecture. The lighting of Kansas City’s “Sevilla.” A Christmas tradition in KC, dating back to 1925.

Although, in 1925, the “Plaza lighting” would not have been recognized as an occurrence on which a 100-year tradition would (or even could) be based.

The Plaza Lighting Ceremony. 200,000 jewel-toned lights which adorn streets on The Plaza at Christmas.

One of those Plaza buildings with Christmas lights is The Mill Creek Building. On Mill Creek Parkway.

And it is this Mill Creek Building which provides us with our story for the tradition of The Plaza lighting.

Kansas City’s Mill Creek building was the very first building ever constructed on The Plaza.

Built in 1923, at the time of its construction, The Mill Creek Building was not known as The Mill Creek Building. No, when The Mill Creek Building was built, The Mill Creek Building was the Suydam Building.

The look for the Suydam Building was introduced to Kansas City by an architect from New York. Edward Buehler Delk.

Edward Buehler Delk arrived in Kansas City five years before the first “Plaza lighting” took place. Delk arrived in Kansas City in 1920. Coming to Kansas City to work for a real estate developer – J.C. Nichols.

Implementation of the style used by Edward Buehler Delk to plan out The Plaza for J. C. Nichols was attributed to trips Delk took to Spain, to Mexico and to South America. Delk absorbed architectural styles he liked in each locale, then conveyed those styles to Nichols. To be used for Nichols’ Plaza.

The look of The Plaza – and of the Suydam Building – is a look more likely to be found in southern California than in the Midwest.

Edward Buehler Delk – he whose architectural vision fostered the Suydam Building, as well as The Plaza – favored styles he took in on his trips to Spain, Mexico and South America. Styles which can be categorized as Spanish Colonial Revival. Or, Moorish Revival.

In later years, Edward Buehler Delk went on to design Kansas City buildings for Frank Lloyd Wright.

Going back to The Mill Creek Building…

Kansas City’s Mill Creek Building – The Plaza’s first building – holds a special place in Plaza lighting history. As The Mill Creek Building – the Suydam Building in 1925 – is where our tradition of “the lighting” began.

The very first “Plaza lighting” was unintentional happenstance. No grandiose planning. This which spawned a one hundred year tradition in Kansas City arose from quite a humble beginning.

In 1925 it was a maintenance worker, a maintenance worker employed by J.C. Nichols’ company – this maintenance worker, Charles Pitrat – who hung one, single strand of Christmas lights on the Suydam Building.

Hundreds of thousands partake in Kansas City’s Christmastime tradition on The Plaza. A tradition started by a maintenance worker. A maintenance worker who hung one single strand of Christmas lights on one building. The first building built in The Plaza. Designed by an architect on whose influence The Plaza is based.

The Suydam Building. Now, the Mill Creek Building. 4634 – 4644 Mill Creek Parkway. Kansas City, Missouri. The Plaza’s first building. The first Plaza lighting.

Delk designed the building. Nichols built The Plaza. Lest we not forget when visiting The Plaza this time of year that it was a maintenance worker who hung that first stand of lights.

The prominent architect. The iconic Kansas City developer. And the maintenance worker. Our forefather for the lighting of The Plaza would be our maintenance worker, Charles Pitrat.

Crown Center in Paris of the Plains…

Crown Center in Paris of the Plains…

Kansas City

As a city, Kansas City trails only Paris with regard to each’s fountains count. The City of Fountains, as Kansas City is lovingly known to be, has over 200 fountains.

Some of those beautiful fountains in KC can be found near Kansas City’s majestic Union Station. From Union Station, take The Link over Grand Boulevard, and you arrive in the very heart of Crown Center.

At Christmastime, the beauty we find in Crown Center’s collection of fountains is accentuated by a special, special scene. Christmastime skaters.

For over fifty years Crown Center has been home to Kansas City’s original ice skating rink, Crown Center Ice Terrace. A staple for all who enjoy a Paris of the Plains Christmas.

Crown Center…

One of Kansas City’s true crown jewels would indeed be Crown Center. Another of Kansas City’s crown jewels would be the iconic corporation to which the fortunes of Crown Center Ice Terrace – as well as Crown Center itself – are owed. Hallmark.

Each of our two Kansas City treasures – Crown Center and Hallmark – find their histories’ foundations in J.C. Hall.

J.C. Hall…

As Kansas City continues to redevelop its downtown into one of the very finest downtowns in all of America, the wave of downtown redevelopment we see in Kansas City today also adopts into the club of downtown redevelopment leaders our forefather to Crown Center and to Hallmark, J.C. Hall.

While the focus of this article is not “redevelopment,” today’s Crown Center is very much emblematic of what can happen for a city when a corporate leader – in this case, J.C. Hall – opts to remain within a city’s downtown. Rather than follow (at that time) a trend of abandoning one’s center city roots by relocating to the suburbs.

The very beginning for Kansas City’s Crown Center goes back to a late 1960’s redevelopment plan. A redevelopment plan anchored through J.C Hall’s Crown Center businesses. A redevelopment plan which also received contributions from another iconic Kansas Citian, Walt Disney.

J.C. Hall. The one time door-to-door Avon salesman from Norfolk, Nebraska. Our Crown Center forefather.

J.C. Hall’s career evolved. From selling makeup, door-to-door. To selling postcards. And it was those postcards that J.C. Hall sold early on in his career that would bring J.C. Hall from his Cornhusker youth to Kansas City. And to forefather of Crown Center.

Yet, before we arrive at the company for which J.C. Hall’s “American signature” is forever most commonly linked, a prior step in his Kansas City business sequence…

From postcards. To store. From store, to a grand department store. A grand department store in Crown Center.

Halls Department Store…

J.C. Hall began his career in Kansas City by selling his postcards. Later, adding greeting cards to his product offering. In time, J.C. Hall would go on to open that first store in Kansas City. The store from which he could sell his postcards. And his greeting cards too. This store that J.C. Hall opened in Kansas City would go on to become Halls Department Store.

Halls Department Store started out as a specialty store. With J.C. Halls offering much more of a retail collection than simply postcards and greeting cards. Yet those postcards and those greeting cards would certainly prove to be stalwarts to a J.C. Hall Crown Center icon. An icon that would go on to become a global brand. Hallmark.

At its origin, Halls Department Store stocked expensive, high-quality items. Favorites for upper echelon Kansas City patrons. In time, Halls Department Store had themselves a prime Country Club Plaza storefront.

Halls Department Store arrived in The Plaza in 1965. Later migrating from The Plaza to the hub of J.C.Hall’s enterprises. To where we find Halls Department Store today. Crown Center.

Shoppers who visit Halls Department Store – Halls Department Store is owned by Hallmark – are heading over to Grand Boulevard. Halls Department Store. Grand Boulevard. Level 3. In Crown Center.

Crown Center, which also houses the headquarters for the centerpiece to J.C. Hall’s collection. That centerpiece, the “Crown Center nucleus” which benefitted from the experience J.C. Hall attained early on by selling his postcards? And his greeting cards? That centerpiece, is Hallmark.

J.C. Halls founded Hallmark Cards in 1910.

Hallmark Cards has the same origin as does that of its founder, J.C. Hall. Greeting cards. Postcards.

Hallmark did not start out as Hallmark. Hallmark did not start out in Kansas City.

Hallmark Cards began in 1907 in Norfolk, Nebraska. Originally, as Norfolk Postcard Company.

The iconic Hallmark label was introduced as a stand-alone Norfolk Postcard Company brand eighteen years after J.C. Halls founded his Norfolk Postcard Company in Nebraska. Use of the Hallmark name began in 1928.

In 1954, the original Norfolk Postcard Company – the company whose origin was the sale of those postcards in Nebraska by J.C.Hall – changed its company name. From its name at that time – Hall Brothers – to Hallmark.

With Hallmark’s headquarters in Crown Center, with Halls Department Store in Crown Center, with J.C. Hall opting to keep his company in center city Kansas City rather than relocate to the suburbs, the underpinnings for Crown Center’s late-‘60’s redevelopment had been established. Redevelopment for Crown Center officially began in 1968.

The beginning phase for the redevelopment of Crown Center involved construction of underground parking. As well as the central square. The central square in Crown Center, which is where we find our skaters.

Through redevelopment, Crown Center went on to become a truly unique mixed-use district. Offices. Retail. Theatres. Hotels… Crown Center opened to the public in 1971. Three years after redevelopment commenced.

Today, Crown Center encompasses 85 acres in Kansas City. Union Station. Our National World War I Museum and Memorial. Halls Department Store. Hallmark. Each, located in Crown Center.

Yet, at Christmastime, for so many, the Crown Center experience is best brought home by the ice skating. Ice skating made possible, that is, because one American corporate chief in Kansas City chose benefits bestowed upon his companies through redevelopment. Over a move out of Kansas City, to the suburbs.

So those happy skaters in Kansas City can thank a former door-to-door Avon salesman from Nebraska for their ice time fun.

They can thank J.C. Hall. Forefather of Crown Center.

Developer Financing

When it comes to financing an apartment building, banks, investors or partnerships constitute options developers may consider. So too can be the government.

The government…

Section 207 HUD loans through the 223(f) program are well-suited to finance the purchase of or the refinance of multifamily rental properties. Multifamily apartment buildings which are deemed to be in good condition. Properties that require substantial rehabilitation are not eligible for mortgage insurance (“MI”) in this program. Critical repairs must be made prior to the issuance of an endorsement.

Purpose…

The 223(f) program utilizes 35-year Government National Mortgage Association mortgages. GinnieMae mortgages…so competitive interest rates are available.

Eligible properties…

Properties must contain at least five residential units with kitchens and bathrooms which are in good condition. Furthermore, the property must have been rehabilitated at least three years prior to applying for MI. Non-critical repairs may be completed up to twelve months after closing.

Projects requiring substantial rehabilitation are not eligible for this program. An example of “substantial rehabilitation” would be the replacement of more than one major system.

The economic life for a project must be long enough for a ten-year mortgage to make sense. Amortization cannot exceed, 1) 35 years, or 2) 75% of the estimated life of improvements. The lesser of.

Here are some of the details…

87% LTV for projects with 90% (or greater) rental assistance.

85% LTV for projects that meet the definition of “affordable housing.”

83.3% LTV for market rate projects.

Participant eligibility includes for-profit and non-profit applicants.

Section 223(f) provides for Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP). Meaning, the sponsor works with a MAP-approved lender to obtain a firm commitment.

Files are underwritten to determine whether the project constitutes an acceptable risk. Considerations for approval include market need, as well as capabilities of the borrower.

Underwriters determine whether there will be enough project income to repay the loan, taking into account project expenses. Should the project satisfy program requirements, a commitment for MI is issued.

Applications submitted by non-MAP lenders are processed by a HUD field office through Traditional Application Processing (TAP).

With TAP, there are two processing stages: 1) the conditional commitment stage, and 2) the firm commitment stage.

The sponsor participates in a pre-application conference to determine the appraisal value of the property as well as the loan amount.

At the firm commitment stage, the loan amount is determined.

For proposals which meet program requirements, a MI commitment will be issued.

Rottweil, Germany

The history of today’s Rottweil, Germany goes back to Roman times. Its origin, finding itself in the year 73 AD. To the days of the Roman Empire. To days when Romans governed the region we know today to be Rottweil, Germany. In Roman times, Rottweil had been known as Arae Flaviae.

In German, Rott means, a settlement located on a steep bank. In German, Rott means, a clearing. In knowing the meaning of Rott, Rottweil – nestled between the Alps and the Black Forest…containing our prefix, Rott – is aptly named.

What today we know to be Rottweil possesses a history which goes back to Roman times. Our prefix of Rott, derived from Old High German.

Old High German was the earliest stage of the German language. The common language in the region from 500 AD to 750 AD.

Today, Rottweil is a German town with a population of 25,000. Rottweil is part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The very beginning for Rottweil dates back to 75 AD. In 75 AD, this settlement which later would go on the become Rottweil took hold long, long before Germany became a country. This settlement began long, long before 26 then-independent Prussian states joined together to form Germany. The very beginning for Rottweil goes back to long, long before there even was a Kingdom of Germany.

Rottweil, Germany.

In 1871, the town of Rottweil officially became part of the German Empire. Rottweil is one of Germany’s original towns.

Rottweil became a German town when Wurttemberg joined a newly-forming German nation. This happened in 1871.

Up through 1871, Rottweil had been part of the independent Prussian state, Wurttemberg. Wurttemberg was among the Prussian states that united to create Germany.

Eighty one years after Wurttemberg joined the German Empire – bringing Rottweil along with it – Rottweil became a Baden-Wurtemberg town. A status Rottweil holds to this day.

Rottweil is a German town. Rottweil is also a German district.

While 25,000 Germans live in the town of Rottweil, 150,000 Germans live in the district of Rottweil.

A town and a district. Rottweil too is the source for which one of the world’s favored dog breeds is named. The Rottweiler.

In Germany, the Rottweiler was originally known as Rottweiler Metzgerhund. In German, Rottweiler Metzgerhund means, Rottweil butcher’s dog.

During the 19th Century, Rottweilers were used by butchers in Germany in the transportation of a butchers’ meat. Rottweiler, “the Butcher’s Dog.”

Aside from being a butcher’s helper, the Rottweiler’s job during Roman times – a job the Rottweiler held throughout the 19th Century in Germany – was to herd and protect livestock.

Cattle-herding extraordinaire. Pulling butchers’ carts to market. The Rottweiler.

Accompanying a butcher when the butcher went to market, on their way back home from the market, a butcher would tie a belt – with his money in the belt – around the neck of his Rottweiler. For safe keeping.

Rottweil’s most famous contribution -“the Butcher’s Dog” – has a long and storied history.

And Rottweiler history goes way, way, way back. To long before there ever was a Germany. Rottweiler history goes all the way back to the Roman Empire. To a time when Rottweilers traveled alongside Roman soldiers.

In those early days of Rottweiler history, in days when Romans – not Germans – lived in what one day would go on to become Rottweil, Rottweilers trekked the Alps with Romans.

As Rottweilers later did in Germany, during Roman times, Rottweilers herded and drove cattle. For Roman armies.

Roman armies were mobile. Traveling from region to region within the Roman Empire. As roaming armies, cattle was a primary food source for Roman soldiers. Driving and protecting cattle was the job of the Rottweiler.

Rottweilers led and protected this vital food source for Romans. Protecting Roman cattle from countryside predators. Predators who would, should they be left unintimidated, thin a herd. A thinned-out herd would lead to a reduced food supply for Roman legions.

The Rottweiler. Roman ally. Butcher’s helper. Protector. Herder. Companion.

Rottweilers protected cattle in Roman times. Rottweilers protected cattle during the days of the Kingdom of Germany. Rottweilers protected cattle during the days of the German Empire. Rottweilers protected cattle in Germany, after Germany became a country in 1871.

Rottweiler. “The Butcher’s Dog.” Family companion in so many American homes. Including, in my own home.

Blairstown, New Jersey

Located in rustic Warren County, New Jersey, situated alongside the Paulins Kill River, nestled at the foothill of Mount Tammany, we find our storybook-of-a-township. With a resident count of just under 6,000. This quaint Warren County community, aptly named for its good son, John. Blairstown.

John, the 19th Century industrialist. John, the railroad man. John, the philanthropist. This township, nationally reknowned for its bad son, Jason, was built upon successes attained by its good son, John.

Jason, the other son. The bad son. The very bad son.

Jason, a famous Hollywood creation. The star of a slasher series. Jason Voorhees. Circa the original 1980 film, Friday the 13th. This, the very bad son of Blairstown. The bad son of Blairstown who demonstrated oh-so-horrific tendencies.

This town, where, on any given Friday, when that Friday falls on the 13th of the month, you can get your very own painted-on horror face. You can get your very own painted-on machete wounds. Your horror face and your machete wounds, compliments of Zella Bella’s Gaggle of Giggles. At the museum. A Blairstown gala, inspired by the bad son.

In this town, you can even have your own Friday the 13th-themed wedding. A wedding, held on the 13th of a month when that 13th of the month lands on a Friday. A Friday the 13th wedding. A ceremony, inspired by the bad son.

The local brews here? Try Slasher Stout and Camp Crystal Lake Water. Adult beverages, again, inspired by that very bad son. Beverages poured at Buck Hill Brewery and Restaurant. On Route 94. In Blairstown.

On a Friday in Blairstown, when that Friday lands on the 13th of the month, you’ll find costume contests. Costume contests held at the township museum. On Main Street. In Blairstown.

Or, maybe catch a screening of the original Friday the 13th movie at Roy’s Hall on Main Street.

In the original Friday the 13th movie, you will see our Camp Crystal Lake counselor and cook – this character being, Annie – walking down Main Street in Blairstown. Walking right by Roy’s Hall. Annie is the first Friday the 13th victim. Killed by Mrs. Voorhees. That awful mother of the bad son.

And when you are visiting Blairstown, you just have to grab a bite to eat at the diner you see in the opening scenes of the original Friday the 13th – the Blairstown Diner.

When visiting Blairstown Diner, I strongly recommend adding their famous Death By Jason hot sauce on top of your eggs over easy!

Blairstown, New Jersey…

While Blairstown has indeed become every horror movie fan’s must-visit scene…its vibe-of-horror inspired by terrible behavior espoused, first, by a vengeful mother, then later, by her relentlessly evil son, Jadon, this charming town’s most important character isn’t Mrs. Voorhees. Nor is this town’s most important character Mrs. Voorhees’ son, Jason.

Rather, whereas Blairstown’s infamous son – I.e.: the bad son – is indeed Jason, Blairstown’s good son, would be John.

The good son…

The good son of Blairstown was an industrialist. Not a Hollywood killing machine. The good son of Blairstown was a railroad man. Not a slasher.

John Insley Blair. The good son of Blairstown. Our namesake for the township.

Blairstown, once Gravel Hill, once Smith’s Mill was incorporated in 1845. Renamed for its good son six years prior to the township’s incorporation. Named for John Insley Blair. In 1839. A township renaming undertaken to pay homage to the good son of Blairstown, John Insley Blair.

Johm Insley Blair, a very wealthy man. In fact, correlating late-19th century net worth, in relative terms, to 2025 dollars, to this day, John Insley Blair still ranks as the wealthiest New Jerseyan. The wealthiest New Jerseyan, all time.

At the core of Blairstown’s good son’s immense wealth you’ll find railroads. You will also find a tale of the good son’s acquisition of property from the United States government.

This good son, John Insley Blair, acquired nearly two million acres of land from the United States government. Acreage, on which, the good son proceeded to lay tracks for his Blairstown Railway.

And John Insley Blair’s railroad holdings did not begin and end with his regional home-based Blairstown Railway.

John Insley Blair, together with his partners, owned Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. As well as Union Pacific Railroad.

Atop the railroads he owned, John Insley Blair also held executive positions in numerous additional railroads. At one time, serving as president for sixteen railroads. While personally owning the most rail mileage in the world.

Blair, Wisconsin is named after the good son, John Insley Blair. The township naming of Blair, Wisconsin, attributed to John Insley Blair’s holdings of Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad stock.

Blair, Nebraska is also named after John Insley Blair. With Blair, Nebraska, once again, we find a link to the railroad.

John Insley Blair acquired 1,000 acres of land in Nebraska. John Insley Blair’s Nebraska acreage having been located in a section of the Cornhusker State that would go on to become Blair, Nebraska.

John Insley Blair’s Nebraska land acquisition took place once Sioux City and Pacific Railroad announced an extension of their rail line into Nebraska. The location of Sioux City and Pacific Railroad’s expansion over the Missouri River and into Nebraska? That 1,000-acre Nebraska land purchase by John Insley Blair.

Yet a railroad magnate, John Insley Blair had not only been.

Blairstown’s good son’s vision had also been cast upon cultivating new towns which could one day come to be alongside those train tracks Blair had laid. John Insley Blair’s railroad, in time leading to the development of nearly 100 trackside towns.

One of those trackside towns being, John Insley Blair’s hometown of Blairstown. This, the hometown of the good son, John. And this too, the hometown of the not-so-good son, Jason.

The very bad son…

The story of Friday the 13th – I.e.: the entrance of Blairstown’s very bad son into American culture – was written by Victor Miller. The original 1980 Friday the 13th film was produced by Sean Cunningham.

Miller’s original horror story was not titled Friday the 13th. Miller’s original title for his story-of-terror, a story which went on to feature the bad son Jason, had been titled, A Long Night At Camp Blood. It was the movie’s producer Sean Cunningham, who, during production, went with the changed, now-iconic title, Friday the 13th.

Interestingly, the appearance of bad son Jason in the 1980 film was not written into the original story by Miller. This idea for a villain who would go on to become the bad son of the series…this idea, for Jason to make his short cameo in the 1980 film, came about by way of a suggestion made to Cunningham by a makeup artist.

Jason, ascending from his aquatic slumber at the bottom of Crystal Lake, rising to vanquish the movie’s main character, Alice, during Alice’s dream. This sequence was actually an unplanned, late-phase movie add-on. Jason’s cameo in the 1980 film, never having been written into the original story by Miller.

The good son, and the bad son…

We know John Insley Blair to be Blairstown’s good son. And we know Jason Voorhees to be Blairstown’s bad son. Yet, by following Miller’s original storyline, Jason Voorhees would never have ended up becoming Blairstown’s bad son.

Inspired by the shock value thrill moviegoers witnessed in theatres while watching the 1976 film Carrie – as the hand rose up from the grave at the end of Carrie – it was a makeup artist’s ad-hoc, onset idea to create a parallel Carrie-like shocker for Friday the 13th. Culminating in, Jason rising up from the depths of Crystal Lake.

This scene, directly inspired by Carrie’s mother’s hand rising from that grave in Carrie. And with this added scene to Friday the 13th, what Miller had written into his original work – Jason, as a boy who drowned – was forever altered.

Jason, the boy who originally falls victim to a sad tragedy – his drowning in Crystal Lake – becomes the series killer. The series killer for the next 40-plus years.

In Victor Miller’s A Long Night At Camp Blood, Jason Voorhees is a victim. Never a killer.

Victor Miller never wrote Jason into his story – his story, which in turn, spawned the series – as a killer of any sorts. Victor Miller never created his Jason character to be evil.

So, while Blairstown is famous for the township’s good son, John, and for the township’s bad son, Jason, by following the original storyline in that which started it all for Friday the 13th – A Long Night At Camp Blood – there would have never been the existence of this bad son of Blairstown, Jason.

By following Miller’s original storyline, we would have the good son, John, and an unfortunate son, Jason. A tragedy.

Be it not for a creative, off-script, last minute idea introduced to Friday the 13th’s producer by a makeup artist, America would then not have had Blairstown’s hockey goalie-looking slasher. Then, if so, Blairstown would have had its good son, John, and its tragic son, Jason.

No hockey mask. Just the sad drowning of a young boy at a campground during the summer months. This drowning, then spurring on the subsequent killing spree enacted by the boy’s mother.

The original Friday the 13th killer – and, according to the story’s writer, the ONLY A Long Night At Camp Blood – Friday the 13th killer – Mrs. Voorhees.

Kansas City’s American Royal

In 1899 there was a cattle show which took place in Kansas City. At Kansas City Stockyards. Eight years later, a horse show was added to this Kansas City venue.

The cattle show. The horse show. We have our foundation for Kansas City’s American Royal.

Horse shows. And Rodeos. Lest us not forget the barbecue World Series.

Kansas City’s World Series of Barbecue is the largest such barbecue competition in the world. Needless to say, the Barbecue Hall of Fame is located in Kansas City. At American Royal.

The World Series of Barbecue is a weekend-long November event which includes venues such as The Backyard Barbecue and Steak Cook Off and the World Series of Barbecue Sauce Contest.

Barbecue and Kansas City. An American “marriage,” akin to that of peanut butter and jelly. That cattle show – held in 1899 -started it all off.

With regard to American Royal cattle exhibits, these began as the National Hereford Show.

The National Hereford Show provided an opportunity for ranchers to show of their purebred cattle. This exhibit…then followed by the sale of cattle to buyers.

The rodeo, American Royal-style…

For the past 75 years, when the spring rolls around, American Royal plays host to ProRodeo…and there is much to take in at a KC rodeo.

The American Royal bull riding competition…

With bull riding competition, a rider needs to remain on the bull for a minimum of eight seconds. Each bull ride is judged. There is a point system. As well as a final score. The rider’s score…determined by judges.

Bull riding scoring ranges from a low score of 1 point, to a 100-point maximum.

Bull riding scoring is based upon ride difficulty – I.e.: how difficult the bucking bull is to ride – coupled to the level of control a rider demonstrates.

Bull riding…here is where we find rodeo clowns.

Rodeo clowns – known as “bullfighters – are there to distract the bull once the rider is jettisoned. Oh, the rider will likely be jettisoned. Ideally, after an eight second ride.

Bulls tend to be aggressive. Bulls are also highly unpredictable. Rodeo clowns are there to function as a distraction to the bull. A precaution. To protect the rider.

Bareback riding in KC at American Royal…

Bareback riding is horseback riding. Bareback riding is accompanied by quite a formidable challenge: the bucking horse.

A bucking horse…onto which the rider needs to hang on. Hang on, that is, for just as long as a bull rider needs to hang on: eight seconds.

Each bareback ride is judged. Judged, taking into account how difficult the horse was to ride. Coupled to the level of control the rider demonstrates.

Bareback riding at American Royal is a competition. Each bareback ride is judged. As is the case for American Royal’s bull riding competition, bareback riding scoring ranges from 1 to 100 points.

American Royal steer roping…

Steer roping is a timed event. With steer roping, the cowboy, atop his horse, must lasso a Corriente steer. Once the steer is lassoed, the cowboy ties his rope to his saddle.

With his steer lassoed, then tied to the cowboy’s saddle…the dismount.

Steer roping competition is all about timing. Steer roping is about, how long it takes the cowboy to tie three of the steer’s legs together. The fastest time wins.

Revisiting the World Series…

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Chunky BBQ is the reigning World Series champion of barbecue.

Each year, with its array of events, American Royal plays host to just about half-a-million attendees. While KC’s BBQ World Series draws in excess of 60,000 to this fabled cookout-for-champions.

Pemberton, New Jersey

The naming of Burlington County, New Jersey’s Pemberton goes back to late-17th times. In naming of a town, we find a link William Penn. To a prominent local mill. To a a successor to Benjamin Franklin. To an abolitionist. One who decried waging war on Indian tribes.

The beginnings for the Pemberton’s…

In 1682, an Englishman by the name of Phineas Pemberton settled on 300-some acres along the Delaware River. Phineas Pemberton, arriving as a colonial settler in England’s new American colony of Pennsylvania. Arriving in Pennsylvania by way of Lancashire, England. Phineas Pemberton started his colonial journey in Maryland. Later, migrating north. To Pennsylvania.

Once settled in Pennsylvania, Phineas Pemberton proceeded to work closely with Pennsylvania’s founder, William Penn. Phineas Pemberton served as Chief Administrator of Buck’s County, Pennsylvania for William Penn. Across the Delaware River from where today we find Pemberton, New Jersey.

Phineas Pemberton’s arrival in Pennsylvania’s Buck’s County came one year after King Charles II granted an area of land across “the Pond” within the British Empire to William Penn. Or, to be more era-precise, to Sir William Penn. This land, granted to Sir William Penn as a debt payoff by England’s king. This had been money owed by England’s king to William Penn’s father.

Pennsylvania’s very beginning. On land which had once been – prior to falling under Britain’s rule – New Sweden. New Pennsylvania settlements were taking hold. This, a time of colonial settled. And colonial migration. Leading to population growth for the new Buck’s County.

Hence, we have our framework for an entrance by the Pemberton family name into the annals of American history.

In Buck’s County’s, Phineas Pemberton became William Penn’s Chief Administrator. As William Penn’s Chief Administrator, Phineas Pemberton was responsible for record keeping pertaining to the arrival of new settlers in Buck’s County.

Phineas Pemberton became Clerk of all Courts for Buck’s County. Phineas Pemberton became Register of Wills for Buck’s County. Phineas Pemberton became Master of the Rolls for Buck’s County. Phineas Pemberton became Receiver of Proprietary Quit Rents for Buck’s County. Phineas Pemberton became Surveyor General for Buck’s County. Phineas Pemberton’s was, shall we say, quite an important man.

Be it calculations of Buck’s County cattle. Be it births in Buck’s County. Buck’s County deaths. Migration tabulations for new settlers arriving in Buck’s County. These records were being memorialized by William Penn’s Chief Administrator, Phineas Pemberton.

Phineas Pemberton…establishing groundwork in Pennsylvania for a Pemberton family member who would later go on to become Pemberton’s namesake.

It would be some fifty years after Phineas Pemberton’s record keeping exercises for William Penn that we’ll find our origin for what would go on to become the New Jersey community for which the Pemberton family name today remains affixed.

As we will find when we learn about the beginnings for so many American cities and towns, industry was at the forefront of the progression of this community towards a becoming, first, a borough. Then later, a township. And in Pemberton’s case, that American industry happened to a mill. A saw and grist mill.

In 1752, David Budd, together with a group of entrepreneurs, established New Mills Company. Recognizing how Pemberton’s access to a great natural waterway could provide power to his mills, David Budd built his first industrial mill twelve years prior to the founding of his New Mills Conpany.

Upon building his first area mill in 1740, David Budd’s New Mills Company proceeded to build additional mills. These were saw and grist mills.

David Budd’s original New Mills Company mill stood in a community which would later go on to adopt the name, for which, David Budd’s company provided the reasoning. The community became, New Mills.

Yet, New Mills at this time was not a township. Nor was New Mills yet a borough. At that time, part of this New Mills community was situated within New Hanover. While another part of this New Mills community was situated within Northampton. Northampton, today’s Mount Holly.

Nonetheless, what was then New Mills was very much a burgeoning community. Growing around David Budd’s saw and grist mills. Across the Delaware River from where Phineas Pemberton earlier served as William Penn’s record keeper.

As the 18th Century faded, becoming the 19th Century, this mill community of New Mills would go on to adopt its new name: Pemberton.

These old sections of New Hanover and Northampton, together making up New Mills, broke off from their respective townships. They broke off to form a new borough. This township break-off is where we find the origin for the borough of Pemberton.

The borough of Pemberton – this, which once had been known as New Mills – was incorporated as a New Jersey borough in March of 1826. Pemberton was later incorporated as a New Jersey township. That happened twenty years later. In 1846.

We have Phineas Pemberton, William Penn’s numbers cruncher. We have New Mills Company. And David Budd. We have our township name, Pemberton.

While Phineas Pemberton and David Budd were locals of great importance to this region within New Jersey’s Burlington County, neither of these two men ended up becoming the reason for why Pemberton today goes by the name of Pemberton.

Pemberton is really Pemberton due to values espoused by an abolitionist from Pennsylvania. James Pemberton

James Pemberton. The Pennsylvania Quaker who succeeded Benjamin Franklin as President of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.

The New Mills borough renaming which took place in 1826 – from New Mills, to Pemberton – was an undertaking to honor that successor to Benjamin Franklin. He who headed up Franklin’s anti-slavery organization, after Franklin’s departure. An anti-slavery movement in Pennsylvania which was led by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Carried onward by James Pemberton. So as to ensure that the institution of slavery would not become one pillar on which this new country of America would be built.

James Pemberton. A founder of Pennsylvania Hospital. President of Benjamin Franklin’s Abolition Society. Influential area landowner. Member of the Pennsylvania Assembly…resigning from the Pennsylvania Assembly due to the fact that the governor of his State declared war on Indian tribes. Phineas Pemberton’s grandson.

James Pemberton. Our namesake for Pemberton.