What we did before becoming innkeepers

Kenneth (Ken) and Karen were both teachers in elementary schools although in different times and places. Ken moved on to work with children who were emotionally disturbed and then admininstratively with children and adults who were developmentally disabled. He became Chief Surveyor for the national accrediting body that wrote the Medicaid Standards, The Accreditation Council for Developmentally Disabled Persons (ACDD).

Karen taught 5th and 6th grade for several years before quitting to raise a child. Years later, while living in Florida and working for United Cerebral Palsy, they met at a convention and moved to Chicago where they were married. In 1983 Karen bought her first computer (Morrow MD3) and started a national newsletter for managers of group homes for developmentally disabled people.

One thing led to another. The newsletter didn't grow as well as the editing and designing jobs for other clients did, and, with the increased power and capabilities of computerized design and typesetting, Kulberg Design was born. The couple continued their rehab of old buildings on weekends. Finally, tired of travelling across country, Ken started private consulting in Illinois, and the Kulbergs worked together on a project in Alton, Illinois.

Where the innkeepers came from and how did they got to Ste. Genevieve

Ken & Karen came to Ste. Genevieve from Chicago in 1991. They had lived in an old city neighborhood where they rehabbed several buildings. They were looking for a change from city life, but still had the love of rehab. Opening a B&B in an historic location with lots of room to garden became their dream. After spending lots of weekends exploring in ever-widening circles out from Chicago, they remembered how much they liked the Alton, Illinois area and eventually found their way to Ste. Genevieve: a location that met all their criteria: a big old building, a great space to garden, an historic town located less than an hour from a major city, and an established tourist trade.

The rehab of the old Meyer Hotel, practically abandoned although occupied by a reclusive elderly lady, began in late August 1991. Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast opened for business with six rooms in April 1993. The plan was to start operating and finish the seventh room, off the second floor porch, during that summer, but, as most people know, that summer proved to be unusual.

The Great Flood of 1993

By July 1993 the Great Flood was in full swing and all of the businesses in Ste. Genevieve serving food to the public were closed because of flood-contaminated water. Instead of finishing the new room, the Kulbergs helped build the levee that eventually saved the historic town.

They moved the furniture to the second floor during that summer and helped other neighbors do the same. They worked on the building of the levee filling sandbags, directing trucks, spotting trouble spots, delivering snacks and beverages to other workers, and cooking in the volunteer kitchens. There was never a lack of things to do. And, of course, like everyone else, they waited for the crest which finally came in mid-August. By that time, though, they had been forced to evacuate the property.

Fortunately, for the Kulbergs and the majority of people in town, there was no major flooding in the historic district, although there were houses lost, some outside the north levee, some from flash flooding, and some due to a break in the farmers' levee south of town. By mid-October, everything was back in place, the kitchen reorganized, and the Inn once again started receiving guests. Two years later, the flood waters threatened again, but they came and went quickly. Again the town was spared.

The Army Corps of Engineers has recently completed a new federal levee that is designed to withstand a 500 year flood and only remnants of the 1993 & 1995 destruction remain.

 

Flood-related and other local photos may be obtained from professional photographer:

Bill Naeger

123 Merchant Street

Ste. Genevieve, MO 63670

573.883.3221

Many of Bill's photos and video footage were used by National Geographic in the production of the flood documentary Can't Drown This Town

Press Release — not dated