Ken Steinhoff, Author at Cape Girardeau History and Photos

January 5, 2014

Reading Race Prize

Buried in a box of old newspaper clips that are crumbling bad enough that I’ve been sneezing all afternoon was my first grade Reading Race Prize.

Mrs. Kelpe, the first grade teacher every kid should have, wrote on the back, “To Kenneth, who was once again the winner of the Reading Race. I am proud of you, Kenneth.” It was dated March 25, 1954, the day after my birthday.

My “sailer” hat

My first grade scrapbook has this photo of me wearing the prize for winning an earlier Reading race.

The account of my big day

Dad’s typewriter didn’t have a spellchecker on it, so some typos crept in from time to time. The fact that he and Mother went to all the trouble to document my young life is much appreciated. As Kid Rel II, Brother David’s scrapbook was a lot shorter. Brother Rel III Mark’s book simply said, “Refer to earlier editions.”

“…Mrs. Kelpe timed up on readying (sic) today and had a prize for the fastest ones. I won as my time was only 1-1/2 minutes. It took one boy 6 minutes. The prize was a white sailer hat. A little bit [big] but I like it. Boy! I was good to win that hat. [OK, so I needed to work on humility.] I told Mrs. Kelpe she was the best teacher I ever had and I’ve had a plenty.“

January 5, 2014

Kage House

I never knew the brick two-story building at 120 Broadway even had a name. I took a photo of it in 2010, but it was an afterthought, rather than a target. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Last summer, I wandered down Broadway to shoot the empty lot where the former First National Bank sat and discovered the American Queen riverboat was docked on the riverfront.

While I was trying to compose a photo that incorporated both the boat and the parking lot, I heard a voice from On High. I was pretty sure it wasn’t coming from the former General Baptist Church up the hill, so I looked over my shoulder.

Kage House is short-term rental property

The voice came from some nice folks from Texas who had rented the top floor of the Kage House for a brief stay in Cape. They invited me to shoot from the deck attached to the back of the building. I didn’t go inside, but they said it was very comfortable.

That’s when I learned the property has been converted to a short term rental property with rates cheaper than a lot of Interstate hotels with a lot less ambiance.

House on Downtown Home and Garden Tour

From a May 7, 2012, Missourian story quoting Keith Diebold:

When was your home built?

Sometime between 1860 and 1870

How long have you lived there?

In 2008 several of my friends were visiting Dave Hutson and noticed a “for sale” sign on the building at 120 Broadway. As a kid driving with my parents on Broadway to shop on Main Street, I was always intrigued by two buildings, the second being what I later found out was named the Kage House. A short time later my family and I took procession of the latter of the two. We do not live in the house but use the apartment on the second level as a place to stay when we visit. We also do short-term rentals to out-of-town guests.

What attracted you to the house?

I considered it to be a diamond in the rough, and after a few years now it is slowly starting to sparkle. It has not only been a fun hobby for the last three years renovating the building (my wife keeps telling me to find a less expensive hobby) but also has given me a chance to connect with some old friends and have made some great new friends in the process.

What is an interesting feature of the house?

The land was once owned by Louis Lorimier, who in turn passed it down to his daughter. At a later date it was sold for 300 gallons of whiskey. This is for sure one of the most intriguing features of the house as well as the methods in which the building was constructed. Living in Europe for 10 years and spending a great deal of time in New Orleans had given us a chance to see many buildings that were hundreds of years old that are still standing tall and will still be there in hundreds more. The Kage House, I am sure, will be one of those still standing long after I am gone, as it possesses some of those same quality traits of construction, built with only brick, stone, timber and steel.

January 3, 2014

Those Are SOME Cheerleaders

I’ve shot scads of cheerleaders at high school, college and pro games. Every organization must have used different qualifications. Some girls were picked for looks; some for popularity; other for spirit; others for athletic or dancing ability; others must have been daughters of community movers and shakers. This group must have been selected for having the hairiest legs. (Click on the photo to make it larger, if you dare.)

It was taken at Central High School, but I don’t know what the event was. I see people from the classes of 1964 and 65, for sure.

Better looking cheerleaders

If you need to wash your eyes out after looking at that photo, here’s a selection of other cheerleader photos and stories.’

January 3, 2014October 10, 2023

There ARE Dumb Questions

How many times have you been told “There are no dumb questions?” Take it from me, there ARE dumb questions. I asked one. More about that later.

The Missourian’s January 16, 1967, front page lead story was “Cake Fires Girls’ Dorm,” with three of my photos. Clothing and bedding were destroyed and smoke and fire damage were extensive when fire enveloped a room in Dearmont Quadrangle, women’s residence hall at State College, Saturday night (January 14).

Wally Sinwell looks at birthday cake

Wally Sinwell of St. Louis, right, who used hall extinguishers to contain the blaze, looks at birthday cake whose candles ignited paper, while firemen view the room.

B & C wings were evacuated

Girls living in B and C wings, in pajamas and pincurlers, were evacuated, but later returned to their rooms.

Contents damaged

A fire which apparently started from a birthday cake Saturday night damaged a room on the fourth floor of Dearmont Quadrangle. Damage was extensive to the room and its contents. Firemen said mattresses on the bunk bed were destroyed, clothes in the two closets were badly burned and smoked, drapes on the windows were ruined and the ceiling will have to be redone.

Carroll Walker, dean of students, said the room was occupied by two freshmen, Miss Mary Lou Halliday, Shipman, Ill., and Miss Patricia J. Ham, St. Charles.

Preparing surprise birthday party

Walker said the girls told him they were preparing to celebrate the birthday of Miss Halliday. Some of the girls had taken her down the hall in order to surprise her.

Miss Martha Susan Owen and Miss Iris Anne Hargrove, both of Paducah, Ky., and Miss Patricia Ann Singrun, St. Louis, were in the room decorating for the party. Mr. Walker said they told him they were putting toilet paper on the ceiling and some was on the floor when a piece of the paper fell from the ceiling across the lighted candles on the birthday cake. The paper burst into flames and the girls said they tried to put the blaze out, but couldn’t.

Here’s the dumb question

That was the official version.

Somewhere in a box in my shed is a tape recording I did of my interview with the girls where they confirmed that they had, indeed, dangled toilet paper all over the room. With luck, it’ll never be found and played.

“When we walked into the room with the birthday cake, a streamer dropped onto one of the candles and the whole room burst into flames,” one of them told me.

My question, which I tried as hard as I could to haul back into my mouth, was, “Was it supposed to?”

I think a withering glance was the only answer I got.

Student fought fire

Walter J. Sinnwell of St. Louis, a student who was in the parlor of the quadrangle when the fire broke out, collected building’s fire extinguishers and attempted to put out the blaze.

Miss Halliday said that at one point the fire was thought to have been put out by the extinguishers, but when they went out looking for more extinguishers, some one heard and explosion – “probably a can of hair spray or spray deodorant” – and the room was engulfed in more flames than before.

Cake remained intact

Capt. Paul Kesterson said a pumper, a ladder truck and nine men went to the scene. The Seagraves pumper and 140 feet of one-inch hose were in use for two minutes.

He said one of the girls was concerned because a radio her mother had given her Christmas was damaged. Through it all, he said, the birthday cake remained intact. It had some dirt and water on it, but was still in one piece on the hallway floor.

Photo gallery of women’s dorm

I have to admit that charging into a women’s dorm was a lot less exciting than I thought it would be. I never knew there were so many different forms of pincurlers. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides of the photos or use your arrow keys to step though the images.