- [Jim] When she was tried for murder in 1855, she didn't have a chance.

But today's defenders of Celia have helped write a new ending to her story.

- Friends, family, our prayers have been answered.

(crowd cheering) - This can be a stressful business, high pressure, long hours.

- [Maxwell] You're looking for a way afterwards to relax, and one of the easiest ways that people reach for is drugs and alcohol.

- [Jim] How one local chef, who faced it himself, is now working to help others.

And in South St. Louis, a couple is building a tiny home using just about anything and everything that can be recycled and reused.

- There's just so much out there and it's really cool that we can reuse it and give it new life and purpose.

- [Jim] It's all next, on "Living St.

Louis."

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) - I am Ruth Ezell.

Before Governor Mike Parson left office, he issued a list of pardons and commutations, and on that list was a pardon for a woman convicted of murder, and executed in Callaway County 169 years ago.

Our story, by Jim Kirchherr, comes with an advisory.

It contains a description and discussion of sexual abuse that is at the very center of the story of a young woman named Celia.

- Thank you, everyone.

It is a privilege to be with all of you on the 169th anniversary of the unjust execution of our beloved Celia.

My name... - [Jim] This was not the first candlelight vigil held in Fulton, Missouri at the Callaway County Court House on December 21st, the anniversary of Celia's death.

But this one marked a turning point in the modern efforts to achieve some justice for the enslaved woman who killed her owner, Robert Newsom, in 1855.

- Friends, family, our prayers have been answered.

Last night, Missouri Governor Michael Parson pardoned our beloved Celia.

(crowd cheering) - [Jim] That's Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, a Celia descendant, who has been leading the Justice for Celia Coalition.

- We are grateful beyond words for the numerous pardon support letter writers.

- Celia was a young, enslaved woman purchased when she was about 14 by Robert Newsom, a Callaway County widowed farmer with grown children.

He raped her the day he bought her and continually for years to come.

It was likely that was the reason he bought her.

She had already had at least one child by him and was pregnant when, on a night in 1855, she'd had enough.

She killed him when he came into her cabin and burned his body in her fireplace.

She eventually confessed to the murder.

That's her X on the confession.

But it seems there was some sympathy for Celia, even among Newsom's own family.

And her white attorney, a slave owner himself, argued at the trial that she was justified in defending herself, even though the verdict seemed inevitable.

The reports in the newspapers mentioned nothing of Celia's side of the story.

She was convicted.

She was sentenced to death and hanged.

The details of Celia's story could always be found in the Callaway County Court House and the legal documents, but also in the stories passed down through the generations by Celia descendants.

There was an article about this case in a small academic journal in 1956, but it didn't really reach a national audience until 1991 with a book by Melton McLaurin, which takes its title from the name of the case, the State of Missouri vs. Celia, a Slave.

- And I keep telling people that Celia is a heroine of mine.

- [Jim] When the book came out, the late St. Louis civil rights attorney, Margaret Bush Wilson, was already well aware of the story ever since she had read the journal article years before.

- And I mean, nothing that can happen to me can compare with what this young woman encountered.

And somehow that lifts my spirits and I go right on with whatever the problem is.

And I hope to some extent she will become a heroine of many of you.

- [Jim] She commissioned artist Solomon Thurman to create a portrait representing Celia.

(crowd applauding) She invited descendants of Celia and Newsom's children to attend the ceremony.

- It's just always been something that my grandmother used to tell us about.

No, she didn't dwell on it, it wasn't a constant thing.

- [Jim] Keep in mind, this was the 1990s, was before the internet, before access to DNA testing.

And those have been important factors in making Celia's story what it has become today.

Fast forward 30 years to another- - But we also hope to share- - Celia focused event.

- One of the things that was mind-boggling to me once I learned my heritage and I went out on the internet, Celia's everywhere.

- [Jim] Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, a member of the Missouri State Board of Education, started the Justice for Celia Coalition after her own DNA testing confirmed that she too is a descendant of one of the children of Celia and Robert Newsom.

- Celia's story of sexual exploitation during enslavement is, unfortunately, the shared but often unspoken narrative of our enslaved African ancestors in this.

And it is also probably, in my opinion, the biggest atrocity committed against, mass atrocity committed against women of African descent that we've never talked about and I'm sure that no one's ever atoned for.

And Nancy, I want you to stay standing for just a second.

- [Jim] Nancy Fogle-Compos is now the coalition's lead genealogist.

But she admits she was tempted to stop her own family research when she discovered she was a descendant of Newsom and his white wife.

- My heart, it almost come right outta my chest because I had never imagined that at that time that I come from a line that owned slaves.

Yeah, I mean, I don't wanna say that it's a positive match.

- [Jim] The coalition has been able to bring the Black and some white descendants of Robert Newsom together to research the story of Celia, now referred to as Celia Newsom.

They have gone to Callaway County to visit the site of the Newsom farm.

They saw the old family graveyard, although it's not clear if Robert Newsom's remains were buried here and there is no record of Celia's resting place.

They're being helped in all of this by the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society researchers, - We may be able to find some more family members... - And the coalition set out several goals, Celia exhibits in Fulton and St. Louis museums; teaching her story in Missouri schools; a monument to Celia in Fulton; creating a foundation, and they took on the difficult challenge of one way or another, overturning her conviction.

The Callaway County prosecutor was on board and looked at this case and said, "By today's standards, it could be challenged.

But," he said, "by 1855 standards, the case against Celia holds up."

So the next step was a direct appeal to the governor.

And it took a lot of work to put this together.

Application for executive clemency for Celia Newsom, enslaved 1836 to 1855.

Lays out the history of the case, the legal arguments, and it is filled with letters of support.

And not just civil rights and African American history groups, but historical societies, the mayors of Fulton and St. Louis, Silver Dollar City founder Peter Herschend, the League of Women Voters, the Fulton Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs and others, including two state senators, a Black Democrat from St. Louis County, Brian Williams, a white Republican representing Callaway County, Travis Fitzwater.

- We live in different political, on political spectrums, but this is something that both of us agree is an important effort and we were glad to be a part of it.

There's more to come, a bill that we filed last year that we hope to get through the legislature.

We'll hopefully name a portion of Highway 54 after Celia.

- [Jim] This broad support is not what State Historical Society Executive Director Gary Kremer saw when Celia was becoming a public cause.

- 19 years ago, a group of us met here on the 150th anniversary of Celia's execution.

And as we marched down Court Street, there were protestors with signs protesting our celebration of a Black felon.

We've come a long way since then with the governor now having pardoned Celia.

In a real sense, the state of Missouri has now acknowledged the mistake, the error that was made more than almost 170 years ago in the execution of Celia.

- [Jim] Celia descendant Jerome Turner came here from Atlanta to speak at the vigil.

- Thank you, Cousin Pam.

- [Jim] Genealogist Nancy Fogle-Compos drove in from Kansas City.

Neither knew until they arrived that Celia had been pardoned.

- I can say that hearing that news is the most gratifying news that I have heard in my life.

- I guess from the very first day we had our... Well, the first conference call I joined, that's where I learned that we had some participants from the Newsom family that were willing to be a part of the Five-Point, you know, Celia Vindication plan, and really contribute towards seeing Celia pardoned So to me, that's amazing.

♪ Amazing grace - I'm glad that so many people are willing to listen to the truth, even though it's not pleasant to hear.

- [Jim] The work is not over.

They have the foundation, educational goals, the Fulton Monument, but now they move forward with this, a pardon, justice for Celia.

♪ Was blind, but now I see - [James] Amen, everybody.

- Amen.

- Yeah.

- Over the years we've shared stories of the many restaurants and chefs who've helped establish St. Louis as a great food town.

The industry is known for it's creativity, high energy and passion.

But behind the scenes, many workers struggle with alcohol and drug use.

Brooke Butler shares the story of how one local chef is working to change that, one great meal at a time.

(quaint music) - [Brooke] Behind the scenes of the peaceful ambiance for every beautifully plated, meticulously prepared meal is the hustle and bustle of the kitchen.

(twangy music) (twangy music continues) In a fast-paced industry where late nights and high stress often fuel unhealthy habits, St. Louis offers something unique.

- Temperance Kitchen is a collective of local chefs and food industry professionals who have all come together in a volunteer format, and we stage multi-course dinners.

And the goal is to raise money for Ben's Friends which is a national organization providing resources for those in the food and beverage industry dealing with substance abuse or addiction.

- [Brooke] Maxwell Bredenkoetter is the St. Louis-based chef who founded Temperance Kitchen in the spring of 2024.

Having worked in the hospitality industry with many people facing issues with addiction and sobriety, he realized there weren't many options for support.

- [Maxwell] I'm nearly four years sober now.

I will be on March 13th of this coming year.

- [Brooke] Congratulations.

- Thank you very much.

So personally, you know, I've dealt with it myself.

I see it all around me, and I wasn't really seeing anything in St. Louis catered towards those in the restaurant industry.

We have different hours and unique challenges, given a lot of what we do involve serving alcohol as well as kind of providing a good time, which a lot of times does involve drugs and alcohol.

(quaint music) - [Brooke] According to a 2024 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, employees of restaurants and hotels have the highest rate of substance abuse out of the entire American workforce, with nearly one in five employees claiming to have used illicit drugs within the past month.

- The first major reason it's so higher that I personally see is the accessibility.

You're serving alcohol, it's constantly around you.

On top of that, there's the longer hours, the high stress, a lot of things that you're looking for a way afterwards to relax, and one of the easiest ways that people reach for is drugs and the alcohol.

Then also with those long hours, you have a different sect where they're looking for something that may boost their energy or feel like it may boost their performance and just make it easier to do what is typically an incredibly hard job.

So there was nothing specifically catered towards us.

So I ended up doing some research online and came across Ben's Friends, which was founded in 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina, to cater specifically to those in the food and beverage industry.

- [Brooke] Max reached out to Ben's Friends who helped him organize support meetings in St. Louis.

There are weekly meetings that take place at Olive & Oak and Ben's Friends also offers many options for online meetings to accommodate the odd hours that hospitality workers tend to have.

But Max found out there were many people who wanted to help even further.

When he announced Temperance Kitchen as a way to raise funds for Ben's Friends, even at $135 per ticket, the first pop-up dinner sold out within just 24 hours.

- You know, this is our third guest chef dinner, and today we raised about $13,000 for Ben's Friends.

All of that, I'll introduce you to our guest chef for the evening, Matt Duffin.

(guests clapping) - I am somebody who has previously struggled with addiction in my life, and cooking is one of those things that has always been able to help pull me out of that mindset and that mind frame and that lifestyle.

And when I was a young cook, we didn't talk about our vices as much in the industry back then.

And had there been something like this, you know, maybe my path had been a little bit different.

So, you know, my involvement in tonight's dinner is a way to kind of help pay it forward for the next struggling young cook who's, you know, is now has a voice and a place that they can speak about what they're struggling with.

(light music) - [Brooke] Max points out that the industry is making significant strides in improving working conditions.

Efforts to reduce long hours and offer better employee benefits, such as health insurance and mental health support, are creating a healthier, more supportive workplace.

And more restaurants are offering non-alcoholic drinks or mocktails like the ones featured during the Temperance Kitchen dinners.

These changes are helping to build a more sustainable and rewarding career path in the hospitality sector.

- For one, one of the best ways I can stay sober is helping other people with their sobriety.

It just, it keeps my mind in the right places.

I think that's been one of the most rewarding parts of this kind of helping to get somebody's individual story of sobriety or their personal battle with addiction out there and kind of helping them to share that story, expand the scope and recognition of how big of a problem this is.

And also just cooking great food along the way.

(light music) - There's the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

And Veronica Mohesky's story is about a St. Louis couple taking that idea to the extreme and making themselves at home.

- [Veronica] At just 420 square feet, this is actually a tiny home.

It's smaller than it looks, but even in this small space, the home has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and a loft.

- So St. Louis University was throwing his desk out, so we went and took 'em all out, took 'em all apart, ripped 'em, you know, eased the edges and put 'em down for a flooring.

- [Veronica] That's Tiggs.

Yes, just Tiggs.

- Yeah, I'm gonna do that share thing.

- [Veronica] He and his partner, Rikki Watts, are working on building this tiny house in Benton Park West, made out of over 90% recycled or reclaimed materials.

- A lot of people, they just try and get rid of stuff.

You know, like, we've gone out to fields in the middle of nowhere and picked up, like, the clawfoot tub and hey, lemme get the side of the truck, I'll make a shelf out of that, you know, so yeah, like a really, I mean, we had people, like, in the beginning were calling us like, "Hey, I got a broken plate, can you use it?"

"How big's the plate?"

- [Veronica] And Rikki describes herself as a project manager, but has a background in sustainable agriculture.

- I've worked on organic farms before and I'm really excited to have my own garden project and permaculture and I guess, a dream to have a magical little tiny house in the city.

- [Veronica] The materials used for the house come from all over.

- Costco ships their carpets in these.

They're disposable shipping containers made out of one-inch steel.

So we've been really re-utilizing the metal in these guys.

So these create these little seating areas that eventually... - There's so much waste.

There's just so many materials being thrown away that are so usable and good.

Like the bricks are incredible to me, as they were holding a building up.

It was built 200 years ago, the building fell down and it's still a viable material.

That's amazing.

And like the kitchen and the trim work in the house, it's all from those bookcases that Tiggs was talking about.

- Well, they also have like a little story too.

- Yeah.

- Like each thing has like a little story.

Like the stove here was made over in Belleville, Illinois by the Premier Stove Company during World War II.

And the lady we bought it from, it was her mother's stove.

And so it's kind of cool, like there's still like a connection to the past in a lot of these materials, which I think reinforces the project being contextual to the neighborhood.

- [Victoria] Rikki has spearheaded sustainable ways to use the rest of the 7,000 square foot lot.

- I think it makes sense to integrate more plant life and help with our environment in the urban context.

So we're working on our permaculture and building up our soil, getting a lot of natives going and perennial plants, and then some medicinal herbs and yeah, nice annuals.

We have grapes, apple tree.

- [Veronica] According to Tiggs, the goal is for the house to have a net zero carbon footprint.

So the home will be energy efficient as well.

- This one will be a hydronic radiant floor, so it utilizes water to retain a thermal value, as it were, a heat capacity that will slowly release longwave radiation into the space.

We're gonna implement the solar system for our electric demand, and that's pretty straightforward, solar panels, and then a battery bank that will collect that energy.

- [Veronica] And though it's made of mostly recycled materials, the aesthetics of the home have not been sacrificed.

Tiggs says some of the home's design is inspired by St. Louis artist, Bob Cassilly, creator of the city museum.

- He was saving these architectural like elements and preserving 'em through the city museum and other sites.

It was like, "Okay, I don't have to get everything off the shelf.

And two, it just gives it a little more...

So the French say the terroir, an essence of the earth.

- [Veronica] And though the two plan to live in the house when it's finished, it serves a larger purpose.

- We've been trying to do at least one community build day, the spring, summer and fall.

And anyone's welcome to come from the neighborhood or anywhere in the area, and we try to teach a skill and do a project.

It's like the first big community build day we did, was the wall raising for the wall behind us.

And that was so cool.

We had maybe 30 people come out and just all varying skill levels.

One woman had never used a hand drill before and Tiggs showed her how to use the power drill, and she put in every screw in the flooring of the house.

Everything I look at, I see all the love and all the people who have come together and contributed to the project.

- [Veronica] And they aren't just teaching craftsmanship, they're sharing ways to build with recycled and reclaimed materials.

- So it's kind of a fun launch point for people to get inspired in their next project and also hear from other people what they've experienced so that we might be like, "Oh, let's try that and implement that and see if it works."

So, you know, bringing in, like, new ideas is just as important as trying to, like, show people things.

- [Veronica] Tiggs and Rikki expect the tiny home to be mostly done by this spring, but it's just the beginning of a much larger project.

According to Tiggs, the final goal is to build a 20 house neighborhood around a park.

- Just taking these lessons that we've learned, these relationships that have been cultivated and build a community with it.

Can we scale it up and do it in a way that, again, is resilient.

- There's just so much out there and it's really cool that we can reuse it and give it new life and purpose.

(light music) (keyboard clacking) - [Jim] ] This week, in February of 1764, a group of Frenchmen led by Pierre Laclede's 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau, began building a settlement called St. Louis.

We know this because many years later, when Chouteau, by then the richest and most powerful man in St. Louis, sat down to write the history of the founding.

Remarkably those pages survive.

And when we were making our documentary for the city's 250th anniversary in 2014, the Mercantile Library's John Hoover brought them out for us.

- A lot of mystique about this document.

It's controversial.

- [Jim] Every history, every portrayal and reenactment has drawn on Chouteau's memories of the founding of St. Louis.

But historians have looked much deeper into colonial records, maps, letters, and journals to fill in the blanks to clarify, correct and even to challenge this document.

- If Auguste Chouteau can give us one version, why can't we have another?

- [Jim] Perhaps the most debated part of the journal has been this little number, the date when Chouteau said he returned to begin building St. Louis.

Looks like a 14, and many have celebrated the city's founding on February 14th.

But if you look at the page numbers four and five, now it looks like Chouteau said he came on the 15th.

Historians and historical groups have disagreed about the day, but oddly not about the month, even though Chouteau first wrote February and then it was changed to March, but everybody still seems to think he was right the first time.

But frankly, give or take a day or even a month, it doesn't really make much difference.

Historians have more intriguing questions like, who were those other guys?

- And so the question is, who helped them?

And he does not give us any indication of who those people were.

- [Jim] Many believe Auguste Chouteau sat down to write his journal right around the time the Americans were taking over, when Lewis and Clark sat out on their epic journey, the start of a new era for St. Louis.

- This fundamental purpose isn't really to fix the date of the commencement of St. Louis, but rather I think Chouteau was trying to demonstrate or show how men in the founding time of St. Louis operated.

- History tends to favor, of course, the wealthy and the powerful.

Whether we can consider it all at face value or think that some of it is self-aggrandizing for the author or his family, in some respects really doesn't matter.

It's our only account, and it's one of the few accounts worldwide that tells how a city was founded.

- All histories of St. Louis started from these seven leaves.

We care for it, we conserve it, it's in a climate controlled vault.

- [Jim] And so, at least according to Auguste Chouteau, who was there, our city had its very beginning in 1764 this week in St. Louis history.

(gentle music) - And that's "Living St.

Louis."

You can find all these stories and more on our Nine PBS YouTube channel and at ninepbs.org/lsl.

I'm Ruth Ezell, thanks for joining us.

(jazzy music) (jazzy music continues) (jazzy music continues) (jazzy music continues) (jazzy music continues) - [Veronica] "Living St. Louis" is funded in part by the Betsy and Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.