March 2015

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015

Charter or AT&T for Internet?

You’re going to get this shot of Jim Stone (Central T-shirt all excited about something on the paper he’s holding) at what looks like a pep rally because I was too busy today to come up with something better. Jim never had a lot of pep and I don’t recognize many people in the background, so I have no clue what the event was.

The main reason I’m behind is that I spent the afternoon talking to Internet service providers.

Internet dilemma

Mother has had AT&T DSL for some time now. When I started spending more time in Cape, I told her I’d pay the difference between a promotional price for AT&T’s “Elite” level and the basic service she had before. “Elite” allegedly gives you 6 MBS down and about 512K up. After the promotion expired, the price went to $46 a month and is slated to go to $52. They offered me another promo plan, but it will expire in six months, so I don’t want to consider it.

I’m used to Comcast Business in West Palm Beach where I get 100 down and 20 up, so AT&T “Elite” feels like dial-up.

How about Charter?

Charter is offering a 12-month promotional price comparable for what we’re paying for AT&T, but they claim to deliver 60 MBS down. The extra speed sure would be nice. I’m still going to be dealing with an expiring promotion in a year, but a lot can happen in that time.

A lot of you folks like in the Cape area. Talk me out of Charter. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Bundling, by the way, is not an option. I want to keep her AT&T landline for redundancy and reliability. We dropped cable for an antenna in the attic and streaming video. All I’m looking for is a straight Internet package.

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015

72 Minutes in Cape Girardeau

It’s amazing how many random things you can encounter in 72 minutes in Cape Girardeau.

And, I didn’t even have to get out of the car to shoot them. (Which explains why they aren’t all that sharp.)

About a block from Wife Lila’s sister Marty’s house on Themis, I spotted three pairs of shoes swinging from utility wires. Now, you can see shoes tacked to a utility POLE in Perkins or onto a tree at Murray State, but running into a three-fer of pairs hanging in the air is pretty unusual.

63 minutes later

I’m not sure where we went after the shoe shot – maybe Annie Laurie’s Antique Shop – but, just as I was pulling into a parking spot to walk down to the river, I spied this photo shoot going on. It looked like Mom and three girls being photographed for Easter.

I thought it might be a commercial shoot, and I don’t like to interfere with those, so I popped off two frames and walked down to the river. I love the woman trying to coax a reaction from the girls. Click on it to make it larger.

What is this guy’s message?

Nine minutes after leaving Water Street, I found myself tucked in behind this guy. When we were stopped by the red light at Broadway and Sprigg, I got close enough to read the signs (even though one says, “Private Signs Do Not Read).

I wasn’t sure if he meant that or not, so I waited until the light turned green before raising the camera to take this picture. Even though I can read the words, I’m not sure I can deduce the meanings.

March 29, 2015March 29, 2015

Gadsden County, Florida

Friend Shari, like most of my Road Warriorettes, likes to take the backroads. Part of it is that you can see more than on the Super Slab; part of it is that they may not want to be seen with me.

After going through the central part of Florida, we decided to take 90 across the Panhandle outside of Tallahassee rather than I-10. I was somewhat familiar with this part of the state from earlier stories – I documented U.S. 27 from Little Havana in Miami to Havana, Florida, on the Georgia line in 1990 – but I had not been to Quincy.

The homes and landscaping were striking.

“Our Fallen Heroes”

The city square was dominated by the county courthouse with a large statue to “Our Fallen Heroes” in front of it.

Click on the photos to make them larger.

Those are Confederate soldiers being honored

In case you missed the crossed swords and C.S.A. on the front of the monument, the back spells it out directly: “Sacred to the memory of the Confederate Soldiers from Gadsen Co. Florida who died in the defense of their country. Erected by the ladies of the Memorial Association of Gadsden Co. Florida, April 26, 1884.”

I asked myself, “How would that monument make a black man feel when he was being hauled into that courthouse in 1910?” Or somebody with New York license plates pulled over in 1965?

World Wars I and II

On the east side of the courthouse is a monument erected in 1950 by the American Legion “In Memoriam – Gadsden County men of World Wars I and II who gave their all that the world might have peace.”

All other wars

By May 25, 1998, the county commissioners decided that wars were coming so fast and furious that they’d lump them all together with a marker on the south side of the courthouse: “In memory of Gadsden County veterans who gave their lives during the Korean Conflict, Vietnam Era, Grenada, Lebanon, Panama, Persian Gulf.”

They were optimistic not to leave any space for future wars.

Domestic violence memorial

There was a surprise waiting on the west side of the courthouse: Two stones dedicated “In memory of victims of domestic violence in Gadsden County – 1990 to present.”

There are 19 names listed. One of them is Allen Dixie, born 1917; died 1996. Victoria Yon was born in 1936 and died in 1999. The year 2004 must have been a particularly bad year for Gadsden residents: four died that year.

Either people are behaving better now or interest has waned in keeping the list updated. The last entry was from 2005.

Big money in shade tobacco

Gadsden County’s website said the county is often associated with shade tobacco, Fuller’s Earth and Coca Cola. That echoes what someone told us down the road: “A lot of those old homes came from tobacco money.”

Only two places in the United States were suitable for the growing of the crop that was used to wrap cigars: the Georgia-Florida Shade Tobacco District, comprised of Gadsden and Madison counties in Florida, and Grady and Decatur counties in Georgia, and the Connecticut River valley in New England. In 1946, the website says, those two districts were producing 95% of American-grown wrapper leaf, and they represented a $100 million industry, of which $25 million was invested in land, equipment, barns, packing houses and operating capital in the Georgia-Florida area.

Fuller’s Earth and Coca Cola

Fuller’s Earth, a form of clay, was discovered by accident in 1893. It was originally used to clean and bleach cloth, but today it is also used in refining petroleum products and in kitty litter.

The website said “The bottling of Coca-Cola was begun in the county at the turn of the 20th century but its real value to the area came through the purchase of Coca-Cola stock. Many legends circulate about the personal fortunes gained from Coca-Cola investments. Miss Julia Munroe Woodward, daughter of banker M. W. “Pat” Munroe says, “Daddy liked the taste and he figured folks would always have a nickel for a coke.” Prices have gone up but “Mr. Pat” encouraged family and friends to invest in the stock before the beverage attained its world wide prestige. The increase in value resulted in a good many “Coca-Cola millionaires” residing in the county. One estimate says that there were 67 of them and another says that at one time, more Coca-Cola stock was held in Gadsden County than throughout the rest of the country. Whether that is legend or fact, Coca-Cola is the drink of choice of many families in Gadsden County.”

March 28, 2015

House at 213 South Middle

The house at 213 South Middle is no stranger to fire. The fire department was called there at least three times between 1920 and March 4, 2015.

A November 28, 2005, Missourian story said the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission selects buildings that illustrate important elements of the city’s culture and history. One of the selections for the fall and winter of 2005 was this house at 213 South Middle, which it called the “Lutz House.” It was built around 1900 and the owner in 2005 was Olivette Kassel.

I wonder if the Commission meant “Lutes House.” A Missourian brief on July 19, 1950, titled “Expendable” said “Mrs. Freeman Lutes, 213 South Middle street, said today she has two kittens of excellent appearance which she will give away. The cats, both solid yellow, are about two months old and Mrs. Lutes has no use for them.”

House is condemned

The Missourian reported on March 5, 2015, that firefighters from three area departments battled a Cape Girardeau house fire early Wednesday morning. The paper said the occupant was out, and reported that no one else was inside. The owner / occupant wasn’t identified.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but the fire department said the fire started on the first floor near the water heater and is considered accidental.

Extensive damage estimated at $95,000

A peek through a broken window exposed a family’s life turned upside down. I always hated to see the aftermath of a flood or fire. Family photos on the dresser, a cedar chest, a sports poster on the wall; those things meant something to someone at some time.

Fire hose too short in 1920

“Fire Laddies’ Hose Too Short; Flames Badly Damage a Home” read the May 1, 1920, headline in The Missourian.

“The home of Paul Lind, 213 South Middle street, was badly damaged at noon today when a fire, started from a defective flue, burned the upper part of the building and water soaked the walls and other parts of the house that the fire failed to reach.

“The fire department had insufficient hose to reach from the water hydrant to the house, [F.P.] Miles [a neighbor] said, and had to go after more. By the time the firemen then got to work, he stated, the flames had gotten considerable headway and much water had to be used.”

The Leader, Inc.

The September 11, 1925, Missourian carried a long story about The Leader, Inc., a department store at the northwest corner of Good Hope and Sprigg handling dry goods, clothing, ladies’ read-to-wear, shoes, hosiery, notions, etc. The business, the paper said, was formerly conducted at the Hirsch Bros. Mercantile and Provision Company, established in 1897.

E.P. Lind was listed as the treasurer of the company. It noted that “Mr. Lind is not married and is living at the home of his father, at 213 South Middle. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.

It’s an interesting history of a company I had not heard of.

Lind and Vogel are engaged

The September paper said that E.P. Lind wasn’t married, but the June 16, 1925 paper announced that “Miss Norma Vogel, attractive daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Vogel, 237 North Ellis street, who is soon to become the bride of Elmer Lind, was the honor guest at a kitchen shower given Monday night at the home of Mrs. Fred Atchison, 221 South Louisiana. Date for the wedding has not been definitely been set, friends of the couple say, but is expected to be in early Autumn.”

I guess Elmer hadn’t gotten around to getting actually married by the time the business story ran.

Burned again in 1928

The October 25, 1928, Missourian reported two fire calls, one to the residence of Phil Lind, 213 South Middle street. Flames on the roof of a barn in the rear of the dwelling were extinguished.

Month: March 2015