Our Time in St. Louis (continued)

by Liz

Yesterday we went to the Courthouse in St. Louis where the Dred Scott Trail was held. We went into a room that looked like the room where it was held, and we did a mock trial. Monea was the judge, Tyquia, Kelsea, Candace and Alexus were lawyers, Sertira was Dred Scott. I was the clerk, so I swore in the jury and the witness (Devin). It was really fun. My favorite like is, “Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God?” It was actually almost my only line. In the end, our jury came to the decision that Dred Scott should be free. That was the decision in 1850 too, but Ms. Emerson’s lawyers appealed it and eventually, the court case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1857 Supreme Court ruling Dred Scott was not given his freedom.

Liz is an 8th grader at Stuart who ate dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and found out that it’s not that bad because you can just order ravioli. However, their spumoni ice cream stuff was so gross.


St. Louis, the Gateway to the West and a Courtroom Turned Bathroom
by Katie

After about two nights in Springfield we finally hit the roads again. We traveled about two hours until we saw our first glimpse of the Gateway to the West, more commonly known as the St. Louis Arch. It towers 630 feet into the air, but more on that subject later. Our first destination was the Old Courtroom House where the Dred Scott trial took place. Ironically enough the actual room where the Dred Scott trial was held was later redone into a women’s bathroom space. After this we hit the original Panera, which is actually located in St. Louis! Next we treked over to the St. Louis Arch while the sun beat us down like a baseball bat! Inside the Arch we went in a ferris-wheel type ride up to the top of the Arch where we could see for 30 miles in every direction! It was absolutely amazing! And the last, and of course the best part of the whole day was that it was my 14th birthday and everyone was so nice!



by Alexandria

We had had a busy day that started with a mock trial of the Dred Scott case. Then we went to the original Panera bread aka Saint Louis Bread Company. When we got to that Arch I forgot all about that other stuff though. The Arch was massive! I’d seen plenty of pictures before but this was my first time seeing it up close. The first thing we did was walk into the museum which is one of the largest owned by the Park Service. After that we got onto the capsules that take you to the top. The windows may not be very large but the view was fantabulous! It was like being in an airplane… except we could see everything clearly. The way going up to the top of the arch may have been a bit scary because of how slow and dramatic it was. The ride down was quick, nice, and easy though. It was very exciting.



by Kelsea

After being woken up at the early hour of 6:00 a.m. we trickled into the hotel lobby for breakfast. After boarding the bus, our bus driver Mr. Chuck drove us to the local courthouse, where the famous Dred Scott case was held. Our park ranger gave us a tour and allowed us to have a mock trial or reenact the case. We each were assigned parts, and I was David Hall, the plaintiff’s lawyer. After that we had lunch at the St. Louis Bread Company, the original Panera Bread. Next, was the part of the day EVERYONE was most excited about, the Arch! Before going to the museum, Park Ranger Diane gave us a background on the design and construction of the monument. It’s 630 feet tall and wide. The transportation that carries visitors to the top of the Arch is called the TRAM. Rangers there consider it to be a cross between a ferris wheel, train, and elevator. It was awesome to be at the top of the Arch and being able to see the city from a bird’s eye view. This visit was the best part of the day. The mock trial was a close runner up. After a short drive, we arrived at the home of former president Ulysses S. Grant. We toured the house, stable and washrooms. Yesterday was fun, and it came to a great close when we celebrated Katie’s birthday at the Spaghetti Factory. ☺ ☺ ☺

Kelsea is enjoying the trip very much but can’t wait to get back to her own bed.