01.19.26–02.01.26
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Conversation with Danya Gerasimova
Edited by Danya Gerasimova
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Pat Morris Costigan lived in Bellefontaine Neighbors near the Missouri Portland Cement Factory from 1956 to 1974.

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Danya Gerasimova:

Do you remember the Missouri Portland Cement factory?

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Pat Morris Costigan:

I lived on Haddock Dr, probably the closest Bellefontaine Neighbors street to the cement plant, from 1956 to 1974. The ash fell like snow and ruined car paint and filled the gutters of our homes. As a child, I could see the smoke stack from our living room window and it gave me nightmares. 

The ash used to fall like snow, but my mother never let us play outside when it fell during the day. Thank goodness! A reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch came to interview people on the street about the ash situation in the mid to late 1960s. I do remember reading the article with my neighbors’ names listed. I have terrible lung problems now, but never smoked. I wonder why…

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Danya Gerasimova:

Did you know anyone who worked at the cement factory when you lived in the area?

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Pat Morris Costigan:

No, I can’t say that I did. My friend does have a very good friend whose father worked at the plant and died of mesothelioma.

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Danya Gerasimova:

Did you know any of the folks who lived at the Scranton Ave / Leeton Ave / West Ave cul-de-sac right by the factory?

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Pat Morris Costigan:

I did know a boy named Chris Fiore who lived on Scranton Ave. He dated my best friend at the time. He was in college when we were 16, so he is in his early to mid 70s. I haven’t seen him for more than 50 years. 

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Danya Gerasimova:

Do you remember any Black families living in that cul-de-sac area during the time you were in the neighborhood?

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Pat Morris Costigan:

There were Black families on Scranton Ave. The street was very ramshackle while I lived there. The person I mentioned was white.

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