This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 17, 2010 - Quail eggs were central to a conversation I stumbled upon at last week's aptly named Beacon and Eggs gathering in Maplewood.
Linda Henke, Maplewood's school superintendent, was asking Tom Flood of Schlafly Bottleworks whether he would be interested in buying any. Some of Henke's students are thinking about raising quail, but only if there were a market for the eggs.
Beacon and Eggs, our monthly visits to coffee shops around the region, allows us to hear what's on people's minds. Quail eggs were not what I expected to hear folks talking about in Maplewood. But the conversation turned out to be a window into much more -- the rejuvenation of Maplewood's schools, the revitalization of Maplewood's business district and the long-term commitment of Maplewood residents that led to these remarkable turnarounds.
As Henke and others explained, Maplewood schools reached a low point about a decade ago. Facing the prospect of failure, the district has reinvented itself with a commitment to excellence and a focus on a few key themes. Sustainability is one of them. That led to hands-on experiments with flora and fauna. In case you were wondering which came first, chickens came before the idea for quail eggs.
Flood was dubious about finding a place for quail eggs on the Bottleworks menu but thought he might be able to help Henke find another buyer. That Flood was there at all is testament to another Maplewood resurgence. The once sleepy business district was sapped for decades by competition from shopping malls. But now it's reaping the benefit of consumer trends toward locally owned, freestanding stores and restaurants.
Beacon and Eggs is intended to give us a chance to chat in person with people around the region, but also to give people a chance to chat with each other. It's an in-person version of what we do virtually on a larger scale -- find out what affects people in our region, then provide reporting and nurture discussion around this news that matters. This work helps all of us understand and make good decisions about what's going on.
Henke and Flood would have connected sooner or later without the Beacon. But it was fun to see that connection happen quickly and easily through Beacon and Eggs.