September 2015

September 6, 2015January 17, 2022

Malden’s Green Wave

After more than 1,000 miles of reconnaissance driving in Missouri’s Bootheel, I started shooting actual photos Friday. My first stop was at Dunklin county’s Malden airport for a reunion of people who had served there when it was an active training airbase during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. I’ll run that story later.

Since I was already down there, I decided to go to the Malden – Portageville football game that evening.

Serious mosquitoes

I opened my car door at dusk in Steele, in Pemiscot county, last week. It took two days to get all the mosquitoes out. Since there was a Walmart next to the football stadium, I stopped by the sports department to ask about Dunklin county skeeters. “I’d recommend the 40% Deet over the 25% can,” the salesman said.

The way he said that made me wonder if that was the game the fellow next to me buying a shotgun had in mind. I didn’t ask.

Even the cheerleaders were spraying down. The repellent did a good job against bloodsuckers, but it didn’t help chase away the cloud of gnats circling my head or the odd beetle who would bounce off my bald pate.

A salt and pepper crowd

I used to subscribe to the theory of an author who wrote that Cape Girardeau was the last bastion of civilization before descending into the Old South of the Bootheel. It was a pleasant surprise to see the friendly salt and pepper mix in the stands. I’m sure I’ll run into Jim Crow down there eventually, but he was missing Friday night, so far as I could tell.

I took the precaution of calling the school in the afternoon to ask if I needed any special credentials to get on the field. I gathered from some conversations in town that there was an issue with a pedophile some time past, and they might be a little gun shy. I told assistant superintendent Bob Wilson that I’d be happy to send him samples of football games I had covered recently to establish my bona fides:

I was welcome

Five minutes later, Bob called back to say I was welcome at the game. Just introduce yourself to any of the staff wearing khaki pants and green shirts, he said.

Indeed, that’s what I did. The first person I ran into said an email about me had gone out to everyone, and to enjoy myself. During the course of the game, I talked to at least half a dozen staff, including the personable school superintendent, who is very proud of his teachers and students.

A very nice man with a badge

Good thing I had made that afternoon call. On my way out of the game, a burly guy in civilian clothes came up to me and said, “I need to talk with you.”

Just as I was saying, “Sure,” he flashed a badge and asked who I was and what I was doing since he had seen me taking pictures of kids. (Actually that’s about all I did except for a few token action shots.)

I handed him a business card and started to explain the Bootheel project to him, but as soon as I said, “I cleared it with Bob Wilson,” he said, “That makes it OK, then.”

To be fair, the guy was polite and non-threatening. I can’t blame him for being protective of his students. I’ve certainly had lot worse encounters with guys with badges.

I love watching the mating rituals

Watching the flirting and interplay that goes on in the stands is more fun that watching the action ON the field. It’s a real treat for me to go to football games and have the luxury of not having to bring back the big play of the night.

Malden photo gallery

I’m posting these mostly as a way for me to keep in mind what I’ve been shooting in the Bootheel, so feel free to skip over them quickly. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

September 5, 2015

739 Themis Street

Looks like some substantial improvements are being made to an apartment building at 739 Themis street. I used to visit Nowell’s Camera Store’s star salesman, Marty, at that address. It was there I was introduced to music by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

Here are some Missourian briefs about some of the other residents.

August 24, 1937 – Miss Ona Wright, 739 Themis street, and Miss Mary Childress, 314 North Fountain street, went to St. Louis Sunday to spend a few days and attend the Municipal Opera.

March 24, 1945 – Seaman First Class Vern E. Owens, 22, a son of Mrs. Esther Owens, 739 Themis street, was among the survivors of the escort carrier Bismarck Sea, which, it was announced today, was sunk by enemy action Feb. 21 off Iwo Jima. His mother, of the news staff of The Missourian, received a letter dated March 17, from him Friday and had previously received a letter dated March 6. Both letters said he was well, but, presumably for security reasons, he made no mention of the sinking of the carrier.

June 26, 1947 – G.A. Kassel, 120 North Ellis, today observed his 80th birthday anniversary, and a family supper at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Leo Wagner, 739 Themis street, this evening will formally celebrate the anniversary. Mr. Kassel, still enjoying good health, remains active in his photographic studio at the Ellis street address. [Note: the Wagner’s appear in Missourian briefs frequently from the mid-1930s on.]

The Women’s Center and Safe House occupied the building starting in 1978.

September 4, 2015

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that a week or so ago, I cruised down Sprigg to Good Hope and notice that the top left side of the old Cape Cut Rate building had collapsed onto the street and sidewalk. The east wall looked like it was bulging out where its neighbor was gone like a piece of coconut cream pie with a slice missing.

I told my passenger I had better get back there before there was nothing but a pile of rubble left. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

The good news

The good news is that when I went down there Thursday afternoon, the damage had been repaired. Maybe someone has plans to save the old landmark building.

The sign that used to hang over the sidewalk is gone. The only trace I could find of it was a piece of cable that used to hold it up.

Here’s a post that has lots of links to earlier stories about the Haarig District.

September 3, 2015September 3, 2015

Random Football Pictures

I guess this just goes to show that it’s not a good idea to store prints in an attic where the summer temperatures approach Fahrenheit 451 (the ignition point of paper) and the winter falls to just north of Absolute Zero at which point all molecular activity stops (or something like that).

Marks on the back make it look like some of the prints were for The Sagamore. Others might have been for The Missourian. Still others might have been “seconds” or “rejects,” pictures I didn’t know were too bad to use until I actually saw the print.

Ektamatic Process

Another reason the photos have deteriorated so much is that I experimented with using an Kodak Ektamatic processor to keep from having to slosh photo paper in developer, stop bath, fixer, and then wash and dry it. In theory, you would feed your print into a machine containing a series of rollers that would run it through an activator solution, then a stabilizing chemical. As they exited the final roller set, the print was “almost” dry.

In fact, the processor never produced the quality of a chemical print, and the paper never fully dried. Even Kodak admitted the process would produce prints “where quality images are necessary, but long-term keeping is not.” I have a couple of boxes of Ektamatic prints and contact sheets that have turned into a paper brick.

After finding that I couldn’t use the processor as intended, I used the rollers to squeeze out most of the water from the prints so they’d dry faster on a conventional dryer.

Photo gallery

I have no idea if these are all SEMO games or if some high school action is mixed in. Click on any image to make it larger, then use the arrow keys to move through the gallery.