Answer Man: Can you tell me the story behind concrete bench in Rountree neighborhood?

Steve Pokin
News-Leader
Answer Man:  Can you find more history on the bench called "Papa Bear" in Rountree?

Answer Man: I grew up on the 1000 block of South Pickwick Avenue in the Rountree neighborhood. In the 1960s there was a concrete bench that came to be known as "Papa Bear." It's still there today. Who built it? Why?  — Brett Picotte, of Willard

Brett has fond memories of the bench.

"It was home base for hide and seek. It was a place to play and it was a place to sit."

The good news is that I think I've got an answer for you, Brett.

But first I have to say this bench apparently was remembered by others, as well.

David Lawrence says it was often the location of the many 8-millimeter movies he made as a child with neighborhood friends.

And then there was the time when he and others dared a girl to do a cartwheel off it. She did and broke her arm.

"We had a wonderful childhood," says Lawrence, now 80 and living in Nashville, Tennessee. "My house has since grown a second floor."

He grew up at 1036 S. Pickwick Ave.

The bench is in front of 1020 S. Pickwick Ave. Sort of.

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The house at 1020 S. Pickwick house has a double lot, and the lot behind the bench does not have a house on it.

It's Lawrence who named the bench Papa Bear, he says. At least that's what his parents told him.

"My parents loved to talk about what I did as a kid," he says.

One of the things they told him is that when he was a child he would talk to the bench — which he had named Papa Bear — when he was in trouble.

"I would project my behavior onto this imaginary creation," he tells me. "If I did something bad I would say that Papa Bear made me do that. So Papa Bear took all the blame for everything."

Why Papa Bear?

"I have no idea," he says.

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The current owner of 1020 S. Pickwick is Justin Morgan. He has lived in the house seven years. I ask about the history of the bench.

"I have no idea," he says.

Perhaps, he says, it has something to do with the storm sewer that runs under South Pickwick at that location. It also runs under the bench.

I knock on neighbors' doors and ask about the bench.

It occurs to me as I do this that I have an unusual job. For some reason, it becomes vitally important to me that I find an answer, as if I'm trying to bring justice.

 After all, I'm being paid to do this.

Gary and Ann Nelms have lived on the block since 1975. They don't know. 

"It seems to be a nice resting place for kids," Gary tells me.

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Maybe it involves the old trolley line

The various theories include this one:

The bench was a resting place for the trolley line that years ago went up and down South Pickwick Avenue. (That's why the street is wider than other streets nearby.)

That seems unlikely because the bench is narrow and seems too high to be comfortable.

Here's the more likely answer:

First, it's not a bench.

It's an old headwall, says Ron Bailey, the city's superintendent of streets.

What's a headwall?

It's a structure that extends underground and supports a pipe that carries water.

Usually, the top part — the visible part — is removed when the work is completed. 

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Bailey does not know why this one was left standing. 

Regardless, he says, at some point, it might be convenient for the city to know exactly where the underground part of the headwall is.

To better understand, let's briefly hop in the Answer Man Time Machine to see what likely happened over the years with this headwall.

The area of South Pickwick Avenue was once farmland. There was a drainage ditch, or natural waterway, that went south from Grand and then went east to west at some point.

When Pickwick Avenue was built, the natural drainage flow of east to west would have been blocked if a water pipe had not been built under the street.

Here is a similar headwall to the one on South Pickwick Avenue. This one is near the intersection of South Kimbrough Avenue and East Bennett Street.

Later, in all likelihood, the developer started selling lots and homes were built, he says.

When this happened, it was time for the drainage waterway to be placed underground, as well. 

I ask Bailey if he knows of other places where a headwall remains from underground work. He does not.

But I know someone who does. Enter Deputy Answer Man John Sellars, executive director of the History Museum on the Square.

He directs me to South Kimbrough Avenue and East Bennett Street. 

A similar headwall is on the west side of Kimbrough. 

According to maps, Fassnight Creek flows beneath it. 

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Keep those questions coming. Send them to The Answer Man at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail to 651 Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65806.