Amannda G. Maphies, Missouri Magazine
Liz Forrestal is the Senior Director of Programs for Jefferson National Parks Association (JNPA). JNPA is a non-profit institute that partners with the National Parks and Public Plans Organization. There are thirteen partner agencies within this umbrella. The thirteen partner sites range in location from northern Minnesota to the Mississippi River, South Dakoka, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
The Jefferson National Parks Association was initiated in 1961 as a cooperating partner with the National Park Service. JNPA oversees many administrative jobs within the national parks’ organization, including handling grant money, general office operations, running the education department, and delivering education materials to schoolboards and scout groups. Every part of the national park association has a specific role. JNPA assists each agency in securing the resources they need. All proceeds from the sales of products at national park retail stores are funneled back into the educational fund for that park.
The JNPA membership board brainstorms ways to bring education about the national park system to the local community of St. Louis. JNPA is proud to offer a second season of this popular and unique public speaking series. The series included twelve speakers in 2025, one speaker per month. The second season, which kicks off Sunday, September 27, 2026 features speaker Ed Wheatley. Wheatley will be discussing the history of St. Louis baseball.
“This once-a-month Sunday speaking series spans a large gamete of diverse topics,” says Forrestal, JNPA Senior Program Director. The program was introduced in early 2025. A group of national park colleagues sat down with key management members at the Gateway Arch Park Board to brainstorm ways to celebrate the renovations and fresh opening of the historic St. Louis Courthouse located near the arch in popular downtown St. Louis. The monthly speaking events are hosted on Sundays to avoid St. Louis Cardinal baseball traffic. They are offered free to the public and located in the breathtaking rotunda room of the newly renovated St. Louis Courthouse.
Jefferson National Parks Association team members typically seek out speakers for the lecture series. “The speaker selection is fairly casual. We have organized meetings involving the park service and JNPA. Topics are discussed and the speakers typically surface soon after,” says Forrestal. While the rotunda room in the courthouse offers seating for 100, the largest audience the speaker series has procured is 80. “We are hoping the series continues to produce interest and we can host more folks for future speaking engagements,” says Forrestal.
While the speaking topics are relevant to St. Lous and surrounding areas, not all presenters are from, or live, in the area. Liz Forrestal discussed Jeffrey Edison’s presentation on The Story of York: The Enslaved Body Servant of William Clark, who accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their great westward expedition. “The expedition began in this area, and while it covered far more than St. Louis, it is a topic of utmost importance to those in our community.”
Forrestal explains the purpose of this speaking series is to feature the breadth, depth, and impact of St. Louis history. “We are in the early days of this speaker series but hope to grow this program with each new series,” says Forrestal.
Ed Wheatley kicks off the speaker series this weekend with his historic talk on baseball in St. Louis. Wheatley is quite a homerun speaker for this series. He has written eight books and three Emmy-nominated sports films for PBS publication. Is it any wonder that the JNPA were thrilled he agreed to kick-off this speaker series?
“St. Louis is the best baseball town in America,” says Wheatley. Wheatley reminisced about the opening scene in the popular 1988 baseball movie, Bull Durham. Set in the late 1980s, with the church bells signaling Sunday morning, Susan Sarandon’s character, Annie Savoy says: “The only church that truly feeds the soul day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball. Wheatley seconds this opinion, saying: “Baseball is the religion of St. Louis. Opening day is a national holiday.”
The special treat of a lecture from Ed Wheatley comes at a monumental time as baseball celebrates 150 years in the major leagues. The St. Louis radio station, KMOX, was once transmitted all over the U.S., which is one reason St. Louis baseball grabbed hold so tightly and has clung loyally since its inception.
During the Great Depression, people had few ways to engage in entertainment. Many enjoyed listening to the radio from the comfort of their home or vehicle. Baseball became common ground across the country, a positive passion among the financial ruin so many Americans felt. Radio during the Great Depression was the Netflix during our society’s recent pandemic.
In 1902, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in America. The St. Louis Browns eventually changed their name to the St. Louis Cardinals. Due to St. Louis radio transmission across the country, The Cardinals became America’s favorite baseball team. They were the antithesis to the New York Yankees.
The Cardinals boasted some of the greatest players and teams on the field. The announcers were entertaining and explained the game as they excitedly recounted each play. The announcers single-handedly taught the nation a love for baseball, right along with the very specific rules of America’s game. Their love and enthusiasm for the game of baseball was infectious. Newspapers of the day turned out story after story boasting the incredible plays of the hometown St. Louis Cardinals. They were heroes both at home and to the furthest fringes of the nation.
The city of St. Louis has initiated many firsts with its westward expansion. Being the fourth largest city in the nation at one time, St. Louis produced an exodus of business. The ‘Gateway to the West’ started as a river town, then became a beer town, and finally an auto town, second only to Detroit, Michigan. In addition, St. Louis is known for fighter jets, from Vietnam to Iraq and now Iran. It is a city that leads the state and country as a leader in the space program. “Underlying all if these prominent accolades is the steady line of baseball,” says Wheatley. “No city compares to us as a sports town and few towns employ the love of baseball you will find in St. Louis.”
The St. Louis Browns made their grand debut in 1902. They played for 52 seasons, before relocating to Baltimore, MD. Many baseball teams, the Giants, Dodgers, Grays and the Philadelphia Phillies relocated during the 1950s. Wheatley is the current President of the St. Louis Browns Historical Society. Nearly eight decades after the team left St. Louis, there are still 700 participating members of the historic society that often show up to honor the legacy of the Browns. Every luncheon and get-together produces at least 300 people and many times more. “The glory days of baseball lives on,” says Wheatley.
Again, Wheatley reiterated that baseball is the religion of St. Louis. “When standing in a grocery store, one usually keeps to themselves. When at a Cardinals game, fans talk to strangers in front of and behind them like they are long lost family members. Baseball brings communities together, it morphs strangers into friends, it is a commonality and the great equalizer of our nation,” says Wheatley,
Followed by Wheatley’s presentation on the history of baseball in St. Louis, on October 18, 2026, Stephen Walker will discuss the dark history and present hauntings at the world-famous Lemp Mansion, in his talk, The Lemp Legacy.
Check out the dates and times for the remaining speakers and intriguing topics for the 2026-2027 series: https://www.jnpa.com/751/speakers.htm. This lineup will go through March 2027 and JNPA hopes to have a fresh lineup of speakers for the remainder of 2027 before sailing into its third season of this popular community speaking series in St. Louis, Missouri.
Photo Credit: Jefferson National Parks Association