Lost Tables: Handee House

Handee House

The Ritenour School District began in a one-room log cabin built in 1846 near the intersection of Woodson and Lackland roads. When a fire destroyed the school in 1882, a new four-room brick building was built on that same site.

In 1893, twenty-five students and their teacher posed for a picture of the Ritenour School. The shortened spelling of Ritenour displayed on a sign over the school door was preferred by the painter of the sign.

Ritenour School, 1893

In 1921, a bond issue was passed to build a new high school. The new Ritenour High School opened at 2500 Marshall Avenue in 1924.

In 1920, four years before Ritenour High School opened on Marshall Avenue, a six room brick house was built at 8804 Forest Avenue on a corner lot at Forest and Marshall. A detached garage sat on the Marshall side of the property.

On July 3, 1938, the following ad appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Bungalow, brick, 6 rooms, unfinished attic, with corner lot; excellent location for confectionery, barber or beauty parlor; 1/2 block from grade and high school; owner must sell; bargain. 8804 Forest av.

The "bungalow" at 8804 Forest was purchased by Sterling and Anna Robinson. The Robinsons converted the detached garage on the property into a convenience store, targeting the students across Marshall Avenue at Ritenour High School.

The Robinsons called their new store the Handee House. It reportedly received its name when a customer remarked that the store would be "handy" for him because it was in the area. However, when a local dairy company offered to paint the name on the front window, the painter misspelled the word "handy."

Handee House, 2525 Marshall Avenue, 1938

A short time after the Handee House opened, Ritenour Principal O. W. Costilow asked the Robinsons to serve lunch to students as the school cafeteria was too small to accommodate the booming student population. The Robinsons agreed to help – Sterling Robinson had been a cook for the Fred Harvey company. On the first day of classes, lunch was so popular at the Handee House that the school cafeteria was nearly empty.

The Handee House served thousands of hamburgers, hot dogs, hot fish sandwiches and French fries with mustard for the next 30 years. Since there was an extra charge for ketchup, the kids ate their fries with mustard instead.

Handee House Food Counter

Handee House Food Line

The Handee House was open on weekdays before school, at lunchtime and after school until 6 p.m. An estimated 15,000 students spent time there during its existence. Wes Astroth, a 1964 Ritenour graduate, remembered his days there.

In the morning, we'd stop by for school supplies. Everybody had to have a Pee Chee, a special folder to keep your papers. We'd get soda before, during and after school – Whistle Orange, Coke and 3-V Cola. And there was always the jukebox. I remember listening to Bobby Day singing "Rockin' Robin" and "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price. You name it, it was on that jukebox.

Handee House Jukebox

We had one guy in charge of getting a booth at lunch. When school was out, he would bang out the door and into the booth and save it for us. Handee House had tables, but a booth was the place to be. Everybody else would get in line for food – hamburgers, hot dogs and Twinkies.

Handee House Booth

Handee House Booth

Over the years, there were at least two additions to the Handee House, but bathrooms weren't one of them. That didn't bother the kids. They used the school restrooms across the street.

In 1947, the Robinsons sold the Handee House to their nephew and his wife, Bill and Jackie Hurt. Things stayed the same, with students learning to dance to the music from the jukebox and finding their first boyfriend or girlfriend.


Dancing at the Handee House

In 1951, a new Ritenour High School opened on St. Charles Rock Road and the Marshall Avenue building became Ritenour Junior High. Overnight, Handee House went from a senior high hangout to a junior high hangout.

Handee House, circa 1951

The Handee House closed when Bill and Jackie Hurt retired in 1968. The Ritenour Alumni Association attempted to buy the building and reopen it in 1995, but they were unable to raise the necessary funds.

For thirty years the Robinson and Hurt families served not only as owners, but as friends and surrogate parents for Ritenour students. Parents knew their children were safe and supervised while they were at the Handee House.