'The Great Unwashed'

"Much of the Midwest was settled by Germanic peoples -- Bavarian Catholics . . and Prussian and Norwegian Lutherans to whom cleanliness was not only a virtue, but a moral obligation. You will not find a people more obsessed with purity -- in all its forms -- than the Germans . . While the Midwest's old Germanic character has been diluted significantly over the years, I still occasionally hear tourists remark how surprisingly clean St. Louis is."

THE NATION'S PULSE: "Washed Up" by Christopher Orlet, 11.4.10.