Frank Aufmuth, one of our founding members, first suggested the name for our society.   Both Frank and Doug Harding (who is our fearless leader in all NPS volunteer events) have spent many hours working as Park Rangers for the National Park Service in the historic Old Courthouse in St. Louis.  Frank had long been inspired by a late nineteenth-century painting of a lady holding a star, by Ettore Miragoli, which adorns one of the upper galleries.  Further research led us to the Currier & Ives chromolithograph (circa 1867) entitled American Progress:  Westward the Course of Empire Makes its Way.  Furthermore, Doug Harding knew of several antebellum St. Louis steamers named Star of the West.  Here's an 1857 advertisement he found in the Daily Missouri Democrat:
 
Steamer Star of the West.
Regular St. Louis Council Bluffs and Omaha City Packet.
 

The splendid passenger steamer STAR OF THE WEST, M. Ohlman, master, will, on the opening of navigation, commence running to the above and all intermediate points, and continue throughout the season. The Star of the West had recently been fitted up and furnished in the latest style, and as to capacity for business, and accommodation for passengers, she has no superior in the trade. Her officers, thankful for the liberal patronage bestowed on them the past season, respectfully ask for a continuance of the same.
 

Capt. M. OHLMAN.
M.R. McDONALD.

For freight, passage, information, &c, apply to JOSEPH McENTIRE, Agent, 59 Levee and S. Commercial street.
(Daily Missouri Democrat; March 25, 1857)

 

 
And then there's a rather saucy image, another mid-nineteenth century Currier and Ives print, of a lovely Odalisque reclining on a pile of soft cushions.  Although this print is also entitled The Star of the West (1846), no doubt the artists meant to depict a rather exotic "oriental" atmosphere.  Still, the charm of the image conveys our sometimes humorous attempts to challenge ourselves and to stretch the boundaries of current received wisdom about our region and its culture and history.

 

 

Finally, during the first days of 1861, just before the outbreak of the Civil War, a merchant steamer named The Star of the West attempted to bring food, supplies, and additional troops to Maj. Robert Anderson stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.   That effort failed on January 9, 1861, when Charleston batteries opened fire on the Star of the West and forced the steamer to return to New York.
 
Taken together, all of these sources bring to life the spirit behind our group:  we are western men, women, and children who are enthusiastic about nineteenth-century history, and who enjoy recreating the life, material culture, and experiences of our own past.
  

We love all aspects of the history of western expansion, the westward journeys and challenges of diverse groups, and of course the Civil War era.  As these images suggest, our past is vital, expansive, and inspiring.