Wimpy’s Intersection in 1966
My friend, Fred Lynch, Southeast Missourian photographer, had a picture of the original Wimpy’s building taken in the 1940s in his blog.
I spent some time at the second iteration of Wimpy’s, when it moved across the street to the corner of Cape Rock Drive and Kingshighway. I went into the store a lot of times as a kid, but it wasn’t a normal teenage hangout of mine. I think I was more of a Pfister’s kind of guy.
I took the time exposure above sometime during the summer of 1966. I don’t know if I shot it for a story or if it was just a finger exercise to practice shooting night photos. The headlights and taillights of cars left the light streaks.
Busy intersection for wrecks
I have pictures where Wimpy’s was the backdrop for one of the many crashes that occurred at the busy intersection before traffic signals were installed. My Dad’s construction company had the project to widen that section of Kingshighway. The state created room for the turn lanes by turning the shoulder into travel lanes, something he thought was a mistake. He thought they should have widened the road, but you build to the specs, not to what you think is right.
This picture from 1967 appears to be some kind of minor motorcycle accident.
Wimpy’s was gone in 2009
I took this time exposure Oct. 13, 2009. Wimpy’s has been replaced by a bank, which is closed and for sale. Traffic lights make the intersection safer, but there are a lot fewer cars to control at night after the demise of Wimpy’s.
Ah, my after-school home my sophomore, junior, and senior years.
I wonder how much rubber was left on the highway from all the burnouts from people leaving the parking lot over the years. Quite a bit I imagine. The good old days.
Are you the same Jesse James that was a friend of Ray Mullins? I’m his daughter.
Yes I am. How is Ray doing? I think I saw where he was living around Biloxi some time ago. Tell Him said hello when you talk to him. Do you know if he is planning to be at the reunion this year at the end of June? Sorry I did not get back to you sooner, I saw the story on Wimpy and happened to notice your email. Thanks for writing.
Memories of getting off the school bus at Wimpy’s after school with Steve Mosley, Bill “Chuck” Hudson, and Bob Shell for some cherry pie à la mode – with that frozen custard that was a funky yellowish color – before walking home from there to change clothes to play football in Arena Park until dark. Wonder how much we paid for that pie and custard back then?
Cory, check out the “mystery snowman” on the f/8 blog and see if that is “Pep” in front of the old Jr. High.
I would like to see Fred’s picture of the original Wimpy’s going into arena park…..Ray Boren
Wasn’t this intersection also the location of a shootout that some Cape LEOs lost their lives?
Ray,
If you clink on the link in the first sentence, it’ll take you right to Fred’s blog.
If you like my stuff, you should sign up for Fred’s automatic email notifications. He and I are plowing the same ground.
Tim,
I had to do some digging on this and I came up partially dry. There was a shootout in March 1961 where an auxiliary policeman, Herbert L. Goss, was killed. Patrolman Donald Crittendon was also shot.
The best I could narrow down from reports in the Cape papers was that the shooting was on North Kingshighway near the city limits.
In those days, the city limits sign was right about where the speed limit changed from 35mph to 45mph, which was just north of Wimpy’s.
The alleged triggerman Douglas Wayne Thompson was found guilty, appealed three times and was sentenced to death. I don’t know if he was ever executed, died of old age or is still in prison.
I’m sure someone else can fill in the gaps.
UPDATE: I just found this in a story from 1988:
A man who won a legal battle to escape execution in Missouri for killing a police officer was being held today in Minneapolis, where authorities believe he was about to rob a bank.
The man, Douglas Wayne Thompson, 55, was charged with illegal possession of firearms by a convicted felon and also was being held for a parole violation in Missouri.
Looks like he wasn’t executed.
Ken, I will ask my dad, but I think that shooting took place near the town plaza. My dad was a charter member of the Auxillary poice and knew Mr. Goss. My Dad was also working a ball game the night the shooting took place. Word got back to our family of the shooting before dad got home and we were all a little frightened. Will check on details the next time I talk to Dad.
P. S. Favorite snack at Wimpy’s Cherry Banana 7 up and Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.
The incident started at Town Plaza, but the traffic stop and shooting happened near the north city limits of Cape.
A store manager reported someone acting suspiciously, and it all went downhill from there.
Thanks Ken for clearing that all up. I just remembered something about the plaza. You certainly are able to brinkg up a lot ot our past lives and how nice to remember, even if some are not so pleasant.
I’d like to claim that I have a fantastic memory. (Well, I guess I do.So many of memories turn out to be fantasies).
The real helper is that Google has The Missourian’s microfilmed back copies on line now. The indexing is pretty sloppy, so you have to try all kinds of search options.
Go to http://news.google.com/archivesearch
Pick Advanced Search, then make your source Southeast Missourian.
Happy hunting.
If it’s something you REALLY want, contact Sharon Sanders, Missourian librarian. She’ll charge a nominal fee, but she’s good.
Ken: In that shootout there were 3 guys involved, Douglas Thompson (as yoou noted) Sammy A Tucker and one other guy whose name escapes me at this time but it happened in 60 or 61 and I knew Mr Goss too.one of the “robbers” was executed and I think sammy Tucker died in Jail but Douglas thompson did get a trial in Scott County and was convicted I think but i can’t actually remember. The Missourian had a big write up about it when it happened
As for Wimpy’s I may have a close up of Wimpy’s in a yearbook I have.
The other perp. was Sammy Ayre Tucker. He was executed fro this crime. They both had criminal records in California.
Ah, the memories of Wimpy’s. My parents and I went there every Friday night for supper when I was in grade school. As a teen, I spent hours and hours there.
Terry, Dick and Bill Shambo were sitting out north of Cape on a country road drinking beer. Someone pecked on the driver’s side window and when Terry looked he had a gun in his face. It was Douglas W Thompson and he stole the car and made the boys get out. Needless to say they were terrified.
Several years later Terry was subpoenaed from Gitmo to identify Thompson and because of that they let him out of the Marines a month early. Plus they also called him back 4-5 yrs later on an appeal.
I was a curbhop at Wimpy’s in the late 60s and enjoyed seeing these pictures.
In addition to the Wimpy cheeseburgers, I would recommend the stew, chocolate shakes and hot dogs with cheese. In reference to the shootings, I remember that that occurred about 200 feet north of the current former bank building, on the same side of the street.
I remember sitting in the parking lot of Wimpys one night and a guy named Ron hit a gas pump at a filling station that was across the street and a fireball shot up. I don’t think anyone got hurt but it was a spectacular show. We were always sitting in the parking lot waiting for something to happen and that night we left with something to talk about.
Genie Vandiver Buchanan and I practically lived at Winpys while growing up. We lived on
Cape Rock Drive, only several houses up from Winpys. We have many wonderful memories
of Cape, Teen Town, cruzing Broadway & Main, Phisters, Colonial Tavern, The Alverado, the
flood on Main Street, all our friends at Central, Training School and Catholic High. What a true
blessing it was to grow up in Cape.
Does anyone remember Ray Mullins? I know my dad worked there when he was in high school! I was born in ’67 so I don’t remember it.
Tucker and Thompson were going to rob the Kroger store. My sister, Cecile Busch, was working there that night. They didn’t catch them for a while. I was just a kid, but I remember being told that every farmer in the Cape area went out and bought a floodlight.
Wimpy’s evokes many great memories; it was a landmark institution!