Ken Steinhoff, Author at Cape Girardeau History and Photos

April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

Too Dirty for The Missourian

My original headline was “Dirty Pictures of Little Girls,” but Wife Lila, playing editor, put the kibosh on that.

The Missourian was very conservative. I’ve mentioned before that we had an editor who would censor Ann Landers if he thought the column was too racy. Some of these photos were too dirty for the Youth Page, so they have been suppressed for close to half a century.

The shot above and the one below ran August 12, 1967, with the caption “Brownie Scouts Shirley Laurentius (below) and Nancy Noffel (above) demonstrate how to do The Wade at Brownie Girl Scout Camp. It’s more difficult than it seems: novices end up doing The Splash.”

Shirley Laurentius

More than 160 Brownies attended the activities this week at the Seabaugh Farm on Cape LaCroix Creek Road. Shirley is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Laurentius, 1601 Bloomfield, and Nancy is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. S. Edwin Noffel, 2532 Timber Lane. Now, let’s see, first you stick your right foot out and teeter all about…”

What in the world did you do?

Something tells me some parents got a real surprise when their Brownie showed up for a ride home. Here is a cleaner story about camping on the Seabaugh Farm.

Photo gallery of muddy Brownie Scouts

Here are some other outtakes from Brownies Gone Wild on the Seabaugh Farm. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery. Parental discretion advised.

April 12, 2013

Something to Curl Your Hair

I don’t know who these young ladies are nor where the single frame was taken. Looks like they might have had plans for something special that evening.

Me? The rest of the roll was of rescue workers dragging for a drowning victim. I never knew what I was going to be doing from one minute to another.

You can click on the photo to make it larger if that’ll help you identify who the girls are.

April 11, 2013October 22, 2016

Dr. Bankhead Installed as Pastor

I always tried to come back with a candid shot instead of a set-up from assignments. I liked this shot of a preacher’s kid who had had enough of the formal reception line.

The caption in the August 7, 1967, Missourian read, “The work of the photographer was a lot more important to William Morton Bankhead than the receiving line at a reception. Young Bankhead stands between his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Bankhead as they receive guest following Dr. Bankhead’s installation Sunday night as pastor of First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Bankhead greets Mrs. Jan Chick, while Mrs. Bankhead chats with Mrs. Charles Black, Mrs. Chick’s mother.

He was the 24th minister of the 132-year-old denomination at the corner of Broadway and Lorimier. Here’s the whole story with lots of names you’ll recognize.

Covered re-belling of new church

I captured photos of the church being torn down in 1965, then the re-belling of the new church in December of that year.

April 11, 2013April 11, 2013

1967 Sagamore Ball

This has to rank as one of the three worst queen crownings I ever shot. When two out of three of the main players have their eyes closed and you can’t even SEE the eyes of the third person, then you should hang it up.

The April 10, 1967, Missourian caption under this photo said Mrs. Steven (Janet Brasier) Curtis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Braiser of Robertsville, is pictured as she was crowned Sagamore Queen in festivities Saturday evening at the annual Sagamore Ball held at the Arena Building. Officiating at the coronation was, at left, Miss Sandra DeClue, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas DeClue of Hazelwood. Miss DeClue has been editor this year and last of the Sagamore, college yearbook, in which Mrs. Curtis will be featured. At right is the queen’s escort, her husband.

Convoluted Missourian style

Married women usually didn’t didn’t have first names in The Missourian: they were always Mrs. Steven Curtis, never Janet Curtis. I’m sure it threw the society editor for a loop when she had to figure out what to call a married college woman. Even as a married woman, she was still identified as the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so. Notice that her husband didn’t have his lineage traced.

The shot of them approaching the steps is a nicer picture, but I guess you had to have the actual moment of coronation.

Photographer usually tipped off

Someone generally came up to the photographer in advance to let him know who the winner was going to be so we could be in the right place. We had to do it without being obvious. In this case, I wonder if I didn’t get the advance warning. That would be odd, because I shot for both The Sagamore and The Capaha Arrow while I was working at The Missourian.

Author: Ken Steinhoff