October 2011

October 23, 2011February 19, 2017

Class of ’61 50th Reunion

This weekend was the Central High School Class of 1961’s 50th Reunion. I crashed Saturday night’s shindig. When I left the house, I told Mother, “If you hear a disturbance call at the Country Club come across the scanner, it’s probably me getting tossed out for showing up uninvited and in jeans. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)

I’m doing WHAT?!?

Much to my surprise (and dismay), I found myself drafted into taking the class group shots, even though I protested that I don’t really do that kind of thing and didn’t bring along the right equipment. I guess I shouldn’t underestimate what you can do with a Nikon D40 and Nikon SB-600 strobe.

The photos aren’t up to Paul Lueders standards, but they’re better than I expected. I had to break the class into two groups because my lens wasn’t wide enough to get everyone in the same shot.

I’m not set up to make prints for sale, but if there’s enough interest, I’ll find someplace to put them where you can order reprints at a reasonable price.

Past reunion stories

Here are some other class reunion stories that have run on this blog:

Reunion photo gallery

I won’t even try to identify the folks in the photos. I’ll leave you on your own for that. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left and right side of the picture to move through the gallery. Please leave comments. (One technical note: if you return to the site, press Ctrl-F5 to make sure you see any new comments that have been left since your last visit.

Thanks to the Class of ’61 for making me feel welcome at your 50th.

October 22, 2011April 5, 2016

Can Jefferson Be Saved?

I ran photos and background on Jefferson School, Cape’s oldest standing school, in the spring of 2010. After I read a Scott Moyers Missourian story on Sept. 8, 2011, saying that the school was slated to be razed the next week, I figured it was all over for the building. On Sept. 21, though, Scott has a story saying the demolition had been postponed until an environmental assessment could be done.

One last look

I decided to take another look at the historic building, which was the last segregated black schoolhouse in town.

It wasn’t encouraging. When I walked back to the car, I told Mother, “It’s going to be a race between tearing it down and having it fall down. I can see through some of the upstairs windows that the roof has collapsed. The east wall has cracks and looks like it’s bulging out.”

Maybe it’s not that bad

I happened to be talking with a man whose family has built and restored masonry buildings in Cape for decades. He said that he took a look at the building about six months ago and didn’t share my impression that it couldn’t be salvaged. The cracks around and above the windows aren’t anything that can’t be fixed, he claimed.

“I can look at a wall and tell if it’s straight or not. If the bottom’s broken and sheared, there’s nothing you can do but work from the bottom to the top, but if it’s just cracks around the windows at the tops, you can tuckpoint them.” He said that the foundation stones and walls are in good shape.

Landmark or rubble?

Will someone with the will and cash to restore the building step in at the last minute? If the fellow I talked with is correct, it MIGHT be a building worth saving. I’d like to see a living building there the next time I come to town and not another lost landmark.

Jefferson School photo gallery

Here is a gallery of what I have to admit are some pretty disheartening photographs. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

October 20, 2011

Mississippi from Cape Rock

What a difference a few months makes. On April 30, 2011, the Mississippi River gauge at Cape Girardeau read 45.2 and rising. The flood stage in Cape is 32 feet.

When Mother and I drove out to see the new Main Street bridge, we decided to jog over to see Cape Rock. As soon as we went around the curve past the water plant’s goldfish pond, we could see a huge sandbar shining back at us. Barges are going to have to really hug the west channel to make it around the bend at Devil’s Island. (Click on the image to make it larger.)