Terry Hopkins Archives

February 18, 2015

Hill and Hill Model

When I dipped into the General Sign Company box loaned by Terry Hopkins, the bright colors of the Hill and Hill Kentucky bourbon caught my eye. Since the sign company roamed all over the region, I don’t know where this particular building lived.

Painter brought along a model

It was only when the picture was enlarged on the computer monitor that I saw that the sign painter had brought along a model.

Check out the bourbon bottle on the ground under the sign. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

I wonder if it made is back home safely?

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015

Old Charter Billboard

These pictures of the Old Charter billboard atop the Paramount Liquor Company building came out of the box of General Sign Company sign photos loaned to me by Terry Hopkins.

Terry said the huge billboards were made up of individually hand-painted panels that were assembled on frames when they got on site. You can see the seams of the panels in the closeup photos.

Old Charter photo gallery

January 28, 2015

Turn Right to Downtown

This General Sign Company invitation to “Stop ‘n Shop – Turn Right Foot of Bridge to Downtown Cape Giardeau takes us back to the day when Main Street was THE shopping area for the region. The photo is part of the collection Terry Hopkins loaned me from his dad’s job at General Sign Company.

The sign must have been located in East Cape since that’s the only place a “Turn Right” would make sense.

See the smokestacks?

When the picture is blown up, you can see two smokestacks off to the right, one of them puffing black smoke.

The cement plant would have been way off to the left, so these stacks must belong to the shoe factory and the power plant north of it. I’m not sure what the white building off to the far right would be. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Here’s what they would have found

If our shopper had turned right, this is what they would have encountered. Follow this link to see other downtown stories. Here is a collection of links to stories about Main Street businesses and buildings.

January 24, 2015

Capaha Pavilion Update

There have been a bunch of posts on Facebook recently talking about the old Capaha Park pool. On top of that, I’ve been documenting the slow progress of the pavilion being built on the hill overlooking where the pool used to be.

Buddy Terry Hopkins is back in Cape for a visit, and he sent me photos of what the site looks like today. Terry’s one of those glass-half-full kind of guys, so he added the comment, “Looks like in the future, kids will still be able to enjoy this spot.”

Not quite the same

Being a half-empty kind of guy, I replied, “Not quite the same.”

What stays the same?

Terry doesn’t take the bait, “No, it’s not the same, but what in this world stays the same? A new generation and new memories from the same old place,” he replied.

At least Dinky survived

I’m sure kids will have some fond memories, but I can’t see many of them spending all day hanging around a pavilion like we did the swimming pool.

When your parents dropped you off in the morning to go swimming, they had a reasonable expectation that you were going to be safe, watched over by trained lifeguards in a controlled environment.

When they picked you up at the end of the swimming day, you’d be pruney, reeking of chlorine, starving and ready for bed.

But, looking on the bright side, Dinky, the train, is still there for more generations to climb on.