The concept of a tall club was developed by a taller-than-average Southern California gal named Kae Sumner, who ironically was the artist who drew the Seven Dwarves for Walt Disney Studios. In 1938, Kae approached a Los Angeles Times columnist with an idea for an article about the problems associated with being tall. In the context of the article, Kae invited other tall folks to contact her to discuss the problems that faced their small percentage of society.

On May 1, 1938, the first meeting of the first tall club ever known to exist was held in Kae's home. This group became known as the California Tip Toppers, and their first tall awareness success story was the development of the king sized bed.

Publicity was no stranger to this organization. As the club grew, its existence became known throughout the U.S., and in February 1941, Arthur Miller caught the "Tall Club" fever and founded the St. Louis Tip Toppers. The first meeting was held at the home of Frances Smentowski and was attended by six tall folks interested in forming a tall club. Ads were run in many neighborhood newspapers and by their second meeting, they had a total of nineteen charter members:

Jack Battles, 6' 9-1/2"
Lillian Betz, 6' 0"
Leonard Cole, 6' 4"
Mary Catherine (Kunkel) Deuthmann, 6' 1/2"
Marie (Kobermann) Hahn, 6' 1/2"
Bernard Harte, 6' 6"
Robert Heinson, 6' 5-3/4"
Mildred Jedick, 6' 1/4"
Art Kaune, 6' 6-3/4"
Arthur Miller, 6' 7"
Hildegard Richter, 6' 1/4"
Frances (Smentowski) Blase, 6' 0"
Dalton Trout, 6' 6-3/8"
Al Tyrey, 6' 4-1/4"
Rosemary (Boedeker) Tyrey, 6' 0"
Francis Weiss, 6' 4-3/4"
Lois (Bryan) Weiss, 6' 1/4"
Marguerite Wenck, 6' 1/2"
Doris (Hill) Wilson, 6' 0"

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As the St. Louis Tip Toppers grew older and stronger, several notable events took place. They began producing a Club newsletter entitled "Tips On Toppers," which remains the title of the newsletter today. The Club chose gold and black as the official colors and "Stardust" as the official song. The first marriage between two members was on April 25, 1942, between Fran Weiss and Lois Bryan. Since this date, hundreds of marriages have taken place among St. Louis members. Our club's T-shirt slogan, "Kiss Someone TALL, It's Worth The Climb", was designed by Mark Rethemeyer in 1980, and is the best selling T-shirt in our club's history, as well as being one of the most widely recognized T-shirts in Tall Clubs International (TCI) today.

In July 1947, the St. Louis Tip Toppers attended the first National Convention of Tall Clubs. It was at this convention that the American Affiliation of Tall Clubs (AATC) was formed, with the St. Louis Tip Toppers as one of the organization's 15 charter members. In 1966, the AATC voted to change its name to Tall Clubs International (TCI), which is the name of the organization today.

During the years 1941-2001, the St. Louis Tip Toppers have held eleven national offices, sponsored three national conventions and our individual members have won a total of 45 national awards!

The St. Louis Tip Toppers held the following AATC/TCI offices:

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In addition to holding an annual "weekend" celebration with party themes ranging from "Discover America St. Louis Style" to "Send In The Clowns" and "Saturday Night Live," the St. Louis Tip Toppers have sponsored the following AATC/TCI Conventions:

1951 Convention: "St. Louis For Fun In '51"
Held at the Statler Hotel in St. Louis, MO, the convention took place July 12-15 with approximately 300 people in attendance. Marie (Kobermann) Hahn chaired this convention.

1973 Convention: "St. Louis Spree In '73"
Held at the Marriott Hotel in St. Louis, MO, the convention took place July 9-14 with approximately 200 people in attendance. Don Harris chaired this convention.

1986 Convention: "Missouri Magic"
Held at the Henry VIII Inn and Lodge in St. Louis, MO, the convention took place July 4-13 with 408 full and part-time attendees. Mark Rethemeyer chaired this convention.

At these and other conventions over the years, the St. Louis Tip Toppers have been proud to accept several awards and distinctions. At the national Queen's Pageant, the following St. Louis Tip Toppers queens were named Miss Congeniality:

Also at the national Queen's Pageant, the following St. Louis Tip Toppers Queens advanced to the "top five" of the competition:

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The St. Louis Tip Toppers received the following club convention awards:

Individual members of the St. Louis Tip Toppers received the following Tall Clubs International awards:

1986 TCI Man Of The Year: Mark Rethemeyer
Mark has the double honor of being the first St. Louisan to receive this award as well as, to date, being the youngest TCI recipient.

1988 TCI Woman Of The Year: Debbie (Herzog) Rethemeyer
Debbie has the double honor of being the first St. Louisan to receive this award as well as, to date, being the youngest TCI recipient.

1989 TCI Woman Of The Year: Rita Maddock
Rita has the honor of being the second St. Louisan to receive this award.

1994 TCI Man Of The Year: John Ott
John has the honor of being the second St. Louisan to receive this award.

1987 TCI Certificate of Recognition: Rita Maddock
Rita received this award in recognition of her contribution to publicity as it pertained to advertising the TCI toll-free number.

1993 TCI Special Merit Award: Pat (Hofer) Ott
Pat was presented this honor for her many years of outstanding server as the official Miss Tall International® travel agent.

2000 TCI Woman Of The Year: Nancy Whitener
Nancy has the honor of being the third St. Louisan to receive this award.

TCI Merit Awards:

TCI Scholarship Winners:

These bright young students were not members at the time of their TCI Scholarship awards, but we look forward to welcoming them into the Tip Toppers when they meet the age requirements!

 * Secondary scholarship awarded in 2002 with funds donated by Fred Heater in memory of his spouse, Sharon Heater.

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The St. Louis Tip Toppers have received the following Proclamations over the years:

The St. Louis Tip Toppers created an "Outstanding New Member" award in 1992 to recognize new members who go beyond the call of duty to make a difference:

The St. Louis Tip Toppers amended the Constitution and Bylaws to include an "Outstanding Member" award in 2001 to recognize members in good standing for over 18 months who go beyond the call of duty to make a difference:

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The members of the St. Louis Tip Toppers, past and present, are very proud of those persons who have won national acclaim. They are also proud of those persons who have stepped in and have volunteered their time, energy and creativity to this organization. In particular, we would like to say a special thank you to the following club presidents:

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We would also like to recognize those women who have served as Miss Tall St. Louis:

*(Crowned Miss Tall International®)

Compiled by Debbie (Herzog) Rethemeyer
Latest revision: December 2007, Tip Toppers Webmasters

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