Some days I may not know the name of the play, but I can guess the name of the school. Here, I don’t recognize the play, the actors, the stage, the set or the school. They look a little old for high school students. Could it be a SEMO play? You’re on your own with this one.

Mystery play photo gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

Tom Mueller, younger brother of my old debate partner, John Mueller, sent me an email the other day that he and his mother had gone up to Altenburg to the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum where the bought a copy of my photo book, Tower Rock:  “A Demon That Devours Travelers.” (Shameless plug will appear at the end of this.)

The Mueller family was prominent in Wittenberg, just down the hill, so he thought I’d be interested in talking with his mother. We made arrangements for Tom, his mother and his friend Becky Kleckner to come over Sunday evening to look at old pictures.

This gave me an opportunity to drag out a bunch of photos that I think he might have rather have stayed lost to history, but this shot of Trinity Lutheran School’s Boy Scout Troop 8 was deemed acceptable for public display. (Buying my book gives you a lot of leeway over my picture selections.) You can click on the picture to make it larger.

Tom is in back row

Right after we shook hands, he agreed that he wouldn’t call me Kenny if I wouldn’t call him Tommy. Deal.

TOM is in the back row, fifth from the left. I’m guessing this was probably taken around 1966, so almost all of these boys were younger brothers of my classmates. Little brothers weren’t something that older guys paid much attention to, so I’m just going to throw out some last names since I notice family resemblances.

Ronnie Dost is frozen as Ronnie in my mind

In the back couple of rows, I see what has to be a Huckstep, a Pensel, Brad Verhines and Ralph Fuhrmann. The two guys standing at the far right are Ronnie Dost and Joe Snell. Ronnie died right after we graduated, so he’s frozen as Ronnie forever in my mind. He and Joe were both Central High Class of ’65, so they deserve two names.

The two men kneeling in the center are Assistant Scoutmaster Harry Ruesler and Scoutmaster Ralph Haman. Ralph’s son is in front of him. I’m pretty sure that’s an O’Connell second from the left, kneeling.

The middle row has, I think, a Fiehler, a Boardman and a Ruesler in it.

This was an orderly grouping. You can tell from all the scuff marks on the floor that the troop was usually about one atomic particle from attaining critical mass and exploding in every direction. (Jim Stone will probably tell me my analogy is all wrong, but that’s why he was a physicist and I was a photographer.)

Here’s the shameless plug for Tower Rock

My kid tells me I should be pitching my book harder. So, if you’d like to have a book of pretty pictures of Tower Rock, contact these folks. It costs $14 if you pick it up yourself, which I encourage you to do. The museum just finished setting up their Christmas exhibit and they tell me it’s better than 2010. Admission is free, so that’s a double good deal, because shipping and handling on the book is five bucks and you won’t get to see the exhibit.

Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum
P.O. Box 53
75 Church Street
Altenburg, Missouri 63732

Telephone
573-824-6070

Email:
info@altenburgmuseum.org

I don’t know if I shot this photo of Anne Buchanan or not. I have the negative, which would make me think I did. On the other hand, the exposure and lighting are better than what I was generally capable at that stage in my career. Still, even a blind hog can find an acorn from time to time. Maybe I got lucky.

I’m not exactly sure why the photo was taken. If I had to bet, I’d bet that it had to do with that big trophy she’s holding. What’s odd is that it has a car on it. I didn’t know Anne well enough to know if she was a car racer, collector of special cars or what the trophy was for.

That’s the Anne I remember. Every hair in place, a friendly smile and a look that says “I know I’m going to photograph well, even if the photographer IS a klutz with a plastic pocket protector.”

Anne as a cheerleader

She and the other cheerleaders are collecting for the March of Dimes in 1963. Anne is on the right.

The 1965 Girardot Senior Directory listed her activities: Secretary of the Tigerettes; Silver Spear ’62 1-Act Play; French Club; Girardot Business Staff; President of Homeroom; Cheerleader; Psychology Forum; National Honor Society; Football Queen Candidate; Senior Queen Candidate; Library Assistant; Red Dagger, Talent Show.

The Class of 1965 grows smaller

When I had lunch with Terry Hopkins and Pat Sommers the other day, we played the usual game of “I wonder what ever happened to…” They shocked me by reeling off a number of our classmates who won’t be showing up for the next reunion. Sadly, Anne’s name was on the list. I hope they were mistaken. It’s hard to think of someone as vibrant as Anne Buchanan not being around forever just like she was captured in the lead photo.

Ronald Dost and I went to school from kindergarten through Central High School Shortly after we graduated, his was the first obituary I wrote of a contemporary. Gary Schemel was the first of our classmates to die in Vietnam. When I went to the Class of 1961′s 50th Reunion, they had a moving video of the 40+ members gone from their class.

The sand, it appears, is running out.

I think I’ve run into more classmates this visit than any other, just by the luck of the draw. It started out with the Class of 1961 and its 50th Reunion. Then, I got a call from frequent contributor Keith Robinson, who said he was in town from Kansas City. (I let him slip away without getting a photo of him, drat.)

Shari Stiver came down from St. Louis over the weekend and she, her mother and I roamed around Cape and Perry Counties in search of interesting things. The low water level on the Mississippi River let us go out on an old quarry south of Tower Rock that is usually covered by eight or 10 feet of water.

Terry Hopkins

Monday, former earth science teacher, ham radio operator, pilot and first teacher I ever called by a first name, Ernie Chiles, and Terry Hopkins from the Class of ’66 shared lunch at Mario’s Pasta House. I didn’t bother to shoot a photo of Ernie because, except for being a bit grayer, he looks just like he did when he was standing in front of a class at Central. You can click on Terry’s photo to make it larger. Terry wrote a touching piece about how important the Capaha Park Pool was to him when he was growing up.

Ernie’s plane is sick

The weather has been great for flying, so I was hoping to refresh my stash of aerials, but Ernie says his plane is down having a carburetor rebuilt. I recall that he was having to play with the mixture a bit on our last flight because the engine kept sputtering.

“I’ve never left anybody up there,” he said, reassuringly.

Reminds me of the time I was flying in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s helicopter and we suddenly dropped like a rock to a not-so-soft landing on the beach. “What was THAT all about, Andy?” I asked the pilot.

“See that red warning light. That detects flakes of metal in the transmission. Sometimes that means nothing. Sometimes that means the thing that keeps that big fan over our head turning is chewing itself to bits. You’re better off if you figure out if it’s something or nothing while sitting on the ground.” We got a ride back in a squad car and the chopper got a ride back on a flatbed truck.

Pat Sommers

Pat Sommers and I were debate partners. I’ve written about Pat before, much to his chagrin. What you do in high school can come back to haunt you if your friend is a pack rat photographer.

While we were trading war stories about debates won and lost, Pat reminisced about the feeling of power he had when he was waving the gavel around after being elected Speaker of the House when we went to the State Student Congress. (I was elected Outstanding Senator or Representative.)

Central had a showing much stronger than what our numbers would have led you to believe possible. It came about because we put together a coalition of all the smaller schools to challenge the numerical superiority of the metro areas of St. Louis and Kansas City. That, or we just got lucky.

All this socializing is playing the dickens with my work schedule, but it’s been fun catching up with old friends.

The caption for this July 1, 1967, Missourian Youth Page photo reads, “There was fun for swingers and non-swingers alike at the Civic Center’s Sock Hop last weekend. Caught frozen in poses during the “stop the record” dance are, in the foreground, David Vann and his sister, Miss Peggy Vann, both of 437 rear North Middle; behind them are Ronald Conners, 620 LaCruz, and Miss Gwen Sides, 807 Ranney. Miss Sides is chairman of the center’s Youth Council.

(Click on any photo to make it larger.)

Non-swinger Deborah Allen

The photo was paired with this one:  “In a quieter corner (but not too far from where the action is), Deborah Allen, wearing a cast on her ankle, catches up on the current gossip with Miss Sylvia Duncan, left, and Miss Evelyn Hardimon.”

Civic Center registration desk

“At the registration desk, James Hughes, left, 1706 South Sprigg, and Lloyd Francis Williams, Vine Street, exchange greetings; Miss Lucille Mosley, 1013 North Middle, signs up Miss Margaret Williams, Vine Street, as a Civic Center member.”

Gwen Sides covered the sock hop

Gwen Sides, chairman of the Civic Center Youth Council, wrote this account of the evening for The Youth Page. [I was editor of The Youth Page and I see some stuff I should have caught. Overall, though, Miss Sides did a much better job covering this story than a lot of our student reporters.]

“You should have been there,” said Miss Joy Jackson, 906 South Ranney.”

“It was a blast,” agreed Miss Brenda Colon, 513 South Frederick.

Their comments came after a membership dance held last Saturday at the Cape Girardeau Civic Center, 1232 South Ranney, by the center’s newly formed Youth Council.

 Sock hop without stocking feet

Though it was planned as a sock hop, nobody came in stocking feet – even though Miss Deborah Allen, 920 North Middle, came minus one shoe, with a cast on one leg, hurt in a gym accident at school. She seemed to have a good time, even though she couldn’t join in the dancing.

The dance was designed to get members for the Civic Center, and it succeeded; we now have 72 members.

 Street dance and carnival planned

The Youth Council now is making tentative plans for a street dance and carnival to be held later this summmer on the playground area just north of the center. The lot was purchased for the center by Alpha Phi Omega, service fraternity at State College, and has been graded and readied for playground equipment.

At Saturday’s dance, the chaperons were Mr. and Mrs. Ed Mosley, 1013 North Middle. Mrs. Herbert Gaden, 1624 South Sprigg, acting director of the Civic Center, also was in attendance.

 Balloons bustin’ out all over

Balloons were bustin’ out all over, as the boys broke balloons tied around the girls’ ankles while they were dancing. Miss Jackson and Jim Clemons, 320 rear South Fountain, won the balloon dance.

After the first dance, couple were  “rematched” in a puzzling game – with real puzzles. Girls drew part of a picture from one bowl; the boys drew the other halves of each puzzle from another bowl, then they had to find the holder of the missing half of their picture, who would then be their partner for the next dance. Miss Alice Sides, 919 North Frederick and Robert Estes, 1011 North Middle, were the first to match the puzzles.

 Open for 13 through high school

Winners of the “Stop the Record” dance – a variation of the child’s game of “Freeze” – were Miss Vickie Sides, 419 North Street, and Roland Conners, 620 LaCruz, who were able to stop motionless every time the record stopped. This is the first time the group has played games at a dance.

The Civic Center is scheduling a social each Saturday night from 8 to 11. From now on, admittance to the dance will be by membership card only. (The cards are available from Youth Council members or the center director, for 25 cents.) Membership is open to young people from age 13 through the summer after they complete high school. Dress at the dances is casual.

New South Cape blog

I’m not the only one looking at the 1960s in Cape Girardeau. There’s a new blog called South Sprigg Memories, Growing up on the wrong side of town.

Here’s the writer’s description: “Welcome to Sprigg Street Memories! My name is Darla June Franklin. My maiden name was Yow. This blog will be my place to re-live old memories and introduce you to the people who lived near me in the South Sprigg Street neighborhood of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, during the late 1950′s and early 1960′s.”

She writes movingly of the culture divide between the black and white communities from the perspective of a white girl growing up in a mixed neighborhood in South Cape in the early days of integration. She offers some interesting perspectives and her column has found its “voice” more quickly than most I’ve read.

I encourage you to stop by. I’m hooked.

I see debate coach Calvin Chapman counting heads or checking for stowaways or whatever activity advisors did when they had a bus full of students heading out for mischief.

Looks alike most of these students are from the Class of 1966; I don’t recognize anyone as being from the Class of ’65.

Headed back to Cape

If I get van back from the repair shop tomorrow, I’ll hit the road to another visit to Cape. It’s a little early for a return, but I have three or four projects to work on before Fall. I’ll fill you in when things firm up a bit.

So, things may be a little light for the next few days. I won’t have Mother with me on this road trip, so I won’t have an excuse to stop for Elvis or Abe Lincoln or any of the things we saw in April.

I didn’t go to a whole lot of parties. First off, I’m a social wallflower. My enjoyment of an event is inversely proportional to the number of people attending. I don’t do small talk well and Shari Stiver can tell you how well I dance from the first and only time we went to a place where dancing was committed.

Wife Lila, who loves to gyrate, doesn’t realize what an act of kindness it is that I don’t get out on the floor with her. I haven’t tried moving to music in years, but I’m fairly sure it would look like a combination of stomping out a campfire and being attacked by ants.

Here are three frames from what was slugged “McGinty Party.” No date, no indication of WHICH McGinty it was or what was being celebrated.

Couple ranked Number One

This photo would lead you to believe that there must have been some kind of dance contest going on and this judge is rating the couple Number One.

The dance participant in the middle is probably STILL going to the chiropractor to recover from the evening’s event.

Special event: it has balloons

I wasn’t going to guess names to protect the guilty, but the guy on the left looks like John “Doc” Carpenter, a Sikeston debater and future Cape Coroner. I published a photo of him doing a swoop and scoop at a wreck on Main Street. The fellow on the right looks a little like my debate partner, John Mueller.

When I look back at these photos, maybe there’s a good reason why I didn’t get many party invites.

I was elected / selected / appointed Captain of the Trinity Lutheran School School Safety Patrol in the 8th Grade in 1961. Got to wear a special blue-trimmed badge. For some reason or another, I think I might have had one or more lieutenants who had red-trimmed badges to differentiate us from the peons with plain silver badges.

I’m fifth from the left in the back row. Kent Verhines is to my left and David Hahs and John Hilpert are to my right in this 1961 school yearbook photo. Ronald Dost is on the right in the front row. I think everyone else was in lower classes and beneath the notice of us upper classmen.

We learned how to fold and roll up our Sam Browne belts so you could hook them on your belt with the badge still attached. My Captain status gave me the ability to slip out of class to inspect my troops and issue demerits if I caught them slacking off. I was a little disappointed that I never caught anyone sleeping on duty. The troops were allowed to think I was authorized to use my Tuf-Nut knife to conduct a summary execution if that occurred.

Homemade Safety Patrol movie

I must have gotten permission to take the family’s Bell & Howell 8mm movie camera to school one day. Looking back at it, I didn’t do too bad a job of shooting a variety of different angles and situations. A few closeups and some better acting would have made it better.