Meet Sara Schmidt ... for Real!

Meet Sara Schmidt... For Real!

Sara pretends to be an Apple Scruff on the steps of 3 Savile Row. 

Sara Schmidt is a 2nd generation Beatles fan living right outside St. Louis, Missouri (U.S.A.).    She started the "Meet the Beatles...For Real" site on March 9, 2009.   She thought it would be fun to share Beatles photos taken by fans with a few of her Beatles friends.  The site was started to share those types of photos and the stories that went with them.   She patterned her site directly from the fanzines The Write Thing and With a Little Help From My Friends.     She never thought her little site would get the worldwide notoriety it has received in a million years. 

Sara has collected Beatles photos since 1997.   She collects physical and digital copies of Beatles (and solo) photos.  She finds photos all over the internet and auction catalogs, books, magazines,  and other often forgotten places.   If you see a photograph that you own the copyright to on this site, please do not get angry and contact a lawyer until you talk to Sara (Starshyne9@yahoo.com). Sara wants to honor and respect your personal Beatles memories.   Please know that the photo was posted here to preserve the Beatles' history and out of true love for the band's four members.    Please email Sara at the address above and the post link if you want your image removed.    Sara will remove it as soon as she can without any questions asked.


 
On September 7, 2018, Sara (and her mom) finally got to "Meet a Beatle...For Real"!!!!!

Before meeting Ringo, Sara was able to meet other Beatle people, including Klaus Voormann!

Sara is the author of the book Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis.    She is also a contributing writer to A is for Apple Volume 2.   Sara is currently working on her second book,  Dear Beatle People:  The Beatles Fan Clubs in North America, 1963-1972.   She has spoken at the Fest for Beatle Fans in Chicago and New Jersey, The Beatles at the Ridge in Arkansas, and local libraries and museums.  

Sara is an elementary school Title 1 reading teacher.  She loves to sing, act, and travel to Beatles destinations around the globe.  She lives in a Southern Illinois town just a few miles from St. Louis, MO.


 Over the years, readers have asked Sara how to make donations to keep the site going.    It does cost to keep the blog running and ad-free.    If you would like to donate to the site, you can help out by buying books through Amazon.com whenever you see an Amazon link (usually after a review), or you can donate with PayPal below.  






This site is dedicated in memory of Paul Shawn Inman.   Shawn was not a Beatles fan but loved Sara and encouraged her daily to keep updating it.   Thanks, Shawn. 


29 comments:

  1. Sara - very nice site

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  2. Hi Sara, I stumbled upon your site and it's (lol) really gear. Under Beatles People, would you consider adding Freda Kelly? She was The Beatles press secretary and ran the original Beatles Fan Club (see documentary film "Good Old Freda."

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  3. Hi Sara. Thanks for the beautiful photos you always place. I wanted to ask you if you do not mind if sometimes I share some, bye
    Francesco from italy

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    1. Go right ahead, just please rememebr to credit any photographer or copyright holder if it is given. Thanks!

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  4. Hey Sara, you dont know me but I am friends with your boyfriend from youtube . I love you site ! I was wondering how he was doing because I have not seen him on the live chats anymore.

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    1. Thank you SO much for contacting me! I was wanting to get ahold of his youtube chat friends, but I just didn't know how. Shawn passed away on February 8. I dont' want to go into details here, but if you want to email me at Starshyne9@yahoo.com I can tell you more.

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  5. Love this site and the memories it brings back. That photo of the Beatles with myself and Bunny Castilano in 1964 seems like yesterday.
    Best wishes
    Gregg Salomone

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  6. Ever see these?

    http://abbeyrd.net/hawkins.html

    http://beatles.ncf.ca/407539.html

    tjo55@yahoo.com

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  7. Hi,
    I just came across the photos from the Beatles concert at Busch stadium in 1966. I am originally from St. Louis, have since moved away. I am so elated to see that I'm in one of the pics from that night. Surrounded by other girls screaming, I seem to be transfixed. Yup, that's how it felt.
    Thanks for bringing it all back to me.

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    1. So glad that you found a photo of yourself on the site! And it is from the concert I wrote an entire book about -- St. Louis! Wonderful. This makes doing this site worth my time.

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  8. Dear Sara,
    You've done a wonderful job of making and maintaining this blog.
    Thank you and God bless you.
    I was at both Texas concerts ~ Dallas, September 18, 1964 & Houston, August 19, 1965. I was with a small group of girls who got our parents' permission to miss school that entire Friday before the night of the Dallas concert. We girls were at Nieman-Marcus store, downtown Dallas and actually MET Neil Aspinall and Derek Taylor ~ who visited with us for a half-hour or more . We got their aurographys. I was so awe-struck by being 'that close' to people close to the Beatles that I'd nearly forgotten to take a photo with the camera I'd brought with me. I got ONE photo of Derek and Neil walking outside the store with a few laundry carts that MAY have had the Beatles INSIDE the carts OR the many GIFTS that Neil and Derek had told us they'd purchased for the "boys" and family & friends back home in England. P.S. I have MANY photos of Liverpool that I'd like to share with you, too. Please, put me on your e-mail list. Sincerely, Janet Lyn (Miller) Bedford I was a member of Beatles USA fan club for several years in the early 1960's (own 2 of the Christmas flexi-discs) AND a Wings "Fun Club" W tee-shirt which I WON..... and didn't realized until a couple years ago when I was reading through some of my old Fan Club news letters. WOW.

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  9. I Enjoy all the pictures and articles of John Lennon as well as Each one of The Beatles. Thank You So Much!"

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  10. I Enjoy all the pictures and articles of John Lennon and all of the Beatles. John Lennon was not afraid to live his life and made his fans feel like they each knew him personally. When my Birthday comes round Dec 10th it is a bitter sweet time for me. But I'm glad that I got to grow up during one of the Best of 5 decades so far. Thanks for your Contributions to keeping his Memories and Lifetime Present!"

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  11. Hello Sara
    I finished reading your book and enjoyed it very much.
    Looking forward to your new book.
    I think it's a great idea as I have read many, many Beatles books and never saw one that addressed the fan clubs.
    Best wishes.

    Anthony from
    Florida

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  12. A little poem about the Fabulous Four:

    THE BEATLES ♥️ ��������

    This wonderful English Group
    Was better than all of YouTube.
    They created a brand-new sound,
    A modern guitar style was found.
    John, Paul, George and Ringo
    Started their glorious Show.

    Four nice boys from Liverpool,
    Always smart and very cool;
    Became heroes in Great Britain
    With titles, they've brilliant written;
    From "Please, please me" to "Let it be"
    Music in perfect harmony.

    They dominated the global Charts,
    Till today they take to our hearts.
    The songs are heard around the earth
    By old Hippies just as young Nerds.
    Their music will be forever,
    The Fab Four we'll forget never!

    Rainer Kirmse , Altenburg

    Thuringia / Germany ������������

    With kind regards ☺️

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  13. Hello Sara; Just a hello and have a peaceful day...Gillian

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  14. Heyy sara!
    I'm an obssesed beatle fan so when i came across your website it fitted beautifully. Just wanted to thank you for your work over these years, I've been reading through all of it. I am 16 years old so it's hard to find people that like the beatles as much as me. I'll check your blog very often
    Lots of love

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    1. Thank you unknown from June 18. It IS hard to find others that love the Beatles the way we do, no matter what your age. I do remember being a 16 year old fan in the early 1990s and thinking I was the only one. You are not alone! Welcome to our family. You belong.

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    2. Same here! I really digged into their albums just recently and honestly, I cant remember my life before The Beatles anymore. Thank you Sara for the amazing photos and wholesome stories that keep me awake smiling (and occasionally, crying) to my phone screen at night. I really hope to see you one day! You are an awesome lady.

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  15. Hi Sara - What a treasure this site is !! Your passion shows thru . Thank you for this . I will visiting daily for a long time to come . Im 66 years old and a lifelong Beatles fan . Say the word ...

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  16. Hi Sara!I believe my friend Pam is pictured on the front dugout row behid the Beatles in your 1965 Atlanta UPI picture! Can you send or sell me a higher resolution copy? I have scans of our front row tickets to offer in trade. Best regards Rick Hedricks hurlrock@gmailcom

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  17. Hi Sara, I've been on the site for a few years and just came across this post. Am blown away that you got to meet Ringo (me so jealous). I hope he told you that he checks out your blog. Thanks for all you do -- you are the BEST !

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  18. Hi Sarah could place a copyright notice photo of John Lennon by www. Begleiter.com under my photo of John Lennon? If not could you Not use this Image since it is mine and copyrighted. Or you could could pay me to use it .. your choice thanks 🙏 Steven

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    1. Which photo of John Lennon belongs to you? I will gladly take it down if that is what you'd like.

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  19. Hi SARA, my name is HORACIO, I'm from Argentina, and I've been following your beautiful BEATLE site for years, I'd like to know how I can buy your book THE NORTH AMERICAN BEATLES FANS CLUB. Thank you and congratulations for everything you do on your BEATLE site. THE BEST . HORATIO
    Abrir en Google Traductor

    Comentarios

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    1. Hello Horacio. Thank you so much for visiting this site. My book about the North American Beatles Fan Clubs is not quite yet available. It is coming very, very soon. I will announce the book's publication date as soon as I discover when it will be.

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  20. Hi Sara I read your piece about the giant scarf that was given to the Beatles in Australia in 1964. Could you tell me where you got the photo of the 4 girls sewing it together, as the girl 2nd from left is my big sister Linda! I remember her making her part, and going up to 2SM everyday after school to help put it all together.Her surname is spelt wrong it’s not Flax but Flak! I’d love to get a good copy of the picture for her if I could. May thanks Heidi

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  21. hi sarea. i just discovered your site and you have a lot of great stuff here!i can't wait to dig into it some more.

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