November 2012

November 30, 2012December 1, 2012

ALWAYS Carry the Camera

I’ve shot so many wrecks and fires that most of them are a blur. This one stands out in my mind for one reason: I wasn’t supposed to be there. (That’s my 1959 Buick LaSabre station wagon in the background. I tried to blow the picture up to see who my cohorts in crime were, but I couldn’t make them out. (Click on the photos to make them larger.))

Truck vs. Train

A couple buddies and I decided to cut class one afternoon. Maybe we had study hall or something where we wouldn’t be missed, I don’t remember. It was well known that I never went anywhere without my camera and an ugly orange plastic-covered camera bag, so I elected to leave them in the school darkroom so I’d be less obvious.

No telling why we were on the south end of town near the dogleg at Elm and Fountain and the railroad tracks near Leming Lumber. I might have heard the call on my police monitor and decided to chase it.

I imagine I said something like “DRAT!” when I reached for my camera and came up dry.

Dash to Nowell’s

My station wagon must have been a red streak when I drove across town to Nowell’s Camera Shop. I dashed inside, reached into the display case for a Pentax camera, grabbed a roll of Tri-X off another shelf and hollered over my shoulder on the way out the door, “I’ll settle up with you later.” I don’t think Bill Nowell so much as blinked an eye. Try that in one of the Big Box stores today and see what happens.

God and the preacher

I managed to get back in time to get at least one shot that ran in the paper; the top one, I think. There are big gaps in the Google Archives for 1964, so I couldn’t find the actual story. This was one time I was happy that The Missourian didn’t give me a byline.

I was in the situation of the preacher who called in sick on Sunday morning to play golf. God and St. Peter are perched on clouds watching him approach the first tee. “Watch this,” God says, directing the ball to go straight into the hole. The same thing happened on the next four holes.

“Why did you reward him for neglecting his flock?” St. Peter asked, perplexed. “Wouldn’t a bolt of lightning been more appropriate?

“Who is he going to tell?” God said with a wicked smile.

Vintage cars burned up

These two fire pictures were on the same roll. I remember absolutely nothing about them. They had to have been shot on the same day, because I returned the camera to Nowell’s right away.

Body language haunting

What I notice in this photo is the haunting body language that signals despair. These aren’t merely spectators. They are people who have lost something important to them. They remind me a bit of the Reid Family in Ohio: stunned and numb.

You can tell a big difference between the people standing here and the curious bystanders in the truck vs. train crash.

The vehicle in the foreground looks like a stock car.

We didn’t get caught

My buddies and I managed to escape any consequences from our absence. I DO recall, though, Mr. G. stopping me in the hall a few weeks later and saying, “I know you’re up to something, I just haven’t figured out WHAT yet. I’m keeping my eye on you.” Of course, knowing him, he probably delivered that speech to everybody at one time or another just to keep us on our toes.

The lesson I learned that day was NEVER go anywhere without a camera.

November 30, 2012November 15, 2021

Williams Creek Railroad Bridge

There has been talk of abandoning the St. Louis and Iron Mountain tracks south of Gordonville, so I thought I’d see what kind of shape they were in. When I first started walking across the bridge over Williams Creek, south of CR 228 between Gordonville and Dutchtown, I thought it was in pretty good shape.

That dip doesn’t look good

The further I walked south, though, the more I became sure I wouldn’t want to be on a train crossing the creek. What’s that dip up ahead?

Better get up a head of steam

I can hear Casey telling his fireman, “Better throw on more coal. We’re gonna need a run at it to jump this.”

Photo gallery of Willams Creek bridge

These photos were taken in July and October. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery. I’ll have more photos of the railroad later.

November 28, 2012

Central High School Tennis

The 1966 Central High School Girardot reported that the 1965 tennis squad opened the season with a decisive 6 – 0 victory over the Jackson Indians. With consistent teamwork and impressive individual wins, the Tigers posted a 5 – 2 season record. The netmen downed College High, Bonne Terre, Chaffee, and Jackson twice, while dropping two to Sikeston. Coach Bob Hagedorn had four returning lettermen from the 1964 squad and lettered six for the 1965 season.

The caption identified the players as

Kneeling: Stan Friese, John Sachse, Mike Stuart, Bob White, Kenny Shrum, Bill Kaiser
Standing: Kenny Baker, Danny Jacob, Bob Wolfenkohler, Coach Hagedorn, Steve Black, Bob Malahy.

1968 Championship Tennis Team

Central Junior High School Athletic Directory Terry Kitchen saved this photo of the 1968 championship team from the trash when Central moved to the new school west of town. You can see more championship photos and hear Kitchen talk about the Ghosts of Central High School here.

November 28, 2012October 12, 2022

Altenburg Foods Closes after 150 Years

When I photographed the Altenburg Foods store in July 2011, I knew it was for sale, but it never dawned on me that the community fixture for 150 years would actually close.

A story by Amanda Layton in The Perryville News says that Gary Voelker, owner of the store since 1985, called it quits early in October to retire. It had been on the market for about two years. When I looked through the windows, much of the stock was still on the shelves.

Dates back to 1870s

The News story said the original business was started in the late 1870s when John Kunnell began peddling goods to Perry County farmers. He rented an old tavern to store his goods until 1883, when he built “Cheap Johns” next to the tavern. Kuennell sold the business to his son-in-law, Edward J. Fisher, in 1917.

Fishers ran it until 1985

The present structure was built in 1952 by George Fischer, who operated it as Fisher Finer Foods until 1985, when ill health forced him to sell it to Voelker. When the store opened, it had “modern” conveniences like shopping carts.

Everything done by hand

That was about the only thing modern. Lori Scott, who worked in the store for about seven years, said nothing was computerized: not the inventory, not the accounting system, not the checkout lane. Everything was done by hand.

Signature handwritten specials

One of the things that caught my eye the first time I drove through Altenburg were the big handwritten specials taped to the windows and doors. I hadn’t seen that in years.

Altenburg Foods photo gallery

For information about the history of the grocery, go to the link in The Perryville News. I’m including a lot of purely record shots in the gallery because it’s important to preserve the look, feel and architecture of this landmark business. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the images to move through the gallery.