Introduction

Here we go again, only five years later, another hunt.

Not that its a bad thing! Some things change, some things don't. This year (2019), the city of St. Charles, Missouri is celebrating their sestercentennial and they are doing it nearly the same way St. Louis did five years ago. Only this time, they are displaying dogs, not cakes. The dogs are being placed all around St. Charles. I'm assuming they are being put in notable places, such as small businesses and longtime ones.

In this blog, I am going to talk about each dog, as well as the place that represents it.

While I'm at it, I'll just talk about what I know about St. Charles. Yes, I do know it has a lot of rich history and it is the first permanent settlement along the Missouri River. I also know it was the first Missouri State Capitol, and the founder of Chicago is from here (and he died here too). St. Charles has a growing population, unlike St. Louis - which continues to lose thousands each year. It seems that since the dawn of the new millennium that many I-70 cities have boomed. Just look at all the new strip malls, freeways, roads and big houses popping up. I'm not going to explain why this is happening, because I know there are some controversial topics that will be mentioned. For whatever reason....perhaps because I was maybe traumatized by it, I do remember when two young boys were killed while riding their bicycles during the summer of 1990. It was a local topic that was very publicized locally, and it almost made me not want to go to St. Charles! But crime happens everywhere. St. Charles continues to remember its roots, with its Old Town. I was not aware of its "New Town", as you feel like you're isolated from the rest of the world.

So have fun, reader! Let's do this.

And now the questions:

Why the Seaman dogs?

"Seaman" was the name of Captain Meriwether Lewis' dog who accompanied them throughout the crew's trip into the Northwest. His breed was Newfoundland. St. Charles has always taken pride with its connection with dogs.

Are they only going to be in St. Charles, or throughout St. Charles County?

Just in the city of St. Charles.

How many will there be?

Unknown, one person says 30. There are 25 out now (April 8, 2019).

How big/tall are they?

They are 3 feet tall.

When did this start and when will it end?

25 Seaman sculptures were put out by April 1st, and I don't know how long they will be there.

Who painted them?

Another interesting question. I know at least two artists that participated in the 2014 Cakeway to the West project that are painting dogs. So far I have not seen any artist credit on any of them.


Some related articles:

From St. Charles City's official website

Riverfront Times - There Is So Much....    (a bit tasteless article, but informative at times)

Instagram tags #stc250