Photos around Cape Archives

March 2, 2013February 28, 2022

A House in Haarig

I love prowling alleys. You can find the most interesting things. Mother and I stumbled onto this old house between Good Hope and Morgan Oak Streets. It was 615 of some street that wasn’t identified in Google Maps, so I’m going to assume that it was an unnamed alley.

I must have missed it before because of all the foliage that grows up around it when the weather is warm.

UPDATE: This was Shinbone alley

You can read a little of the history of Shinbone Alley in this 2007 Missourian story (and see a Fred Lynch photo of the same house).

Not in the National Register area

It’s technically not in the official Haarig Commercial District National Register of Historic Places – comprised of a limited number of buildings in the 600 block of Good Hope Street and the 300 block of South Sprigg street – but it is still in the area that most of us would consider Haarig.

If you are not familiar with the term “Haarig,” I’ll point you to the National Register of Historic Places application. It will tell you all about this small German settlement inside Cape Girardeau.

2018 Update: The house is gone

When I cruised down Shinbone Alley on May 15, 2018, all that was left of the old yellow house was a vacant lot.

Earlier posts about Good Hope and Haarig

Old house photo gallery

Here are some other shots of the old house. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery. If you have any information about the house, please chime in.

February 28, 2013

St. Francis Growing

A Feb 24, 2013, Missourian story said that St. Francis Hospital broke ground in November on a $127 million expansion and renovation project. I spotted the work on my way to Best Buy the other day.

Big hole and lots of rock

It’s incredible how big the facility has grown and how much bigger this is going to make it.

Earlier St. Francis Stories

February 25, 2013February 15, 2015

Pike Lodge for Sale

The Missourian had a story Feb. 17, 2013, that the Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Lodge on South Sprigg Street down by the cement plan was going up for sale after 40-some years of testosterone and beer-fueled revelry. Chapter adviser Trae Bertrand was quoted as saying that the building is in “very poor” condition after repeated acts of vandalism.

Here’s a hint: if you are trying to sell something, it might be better if you didn’t use terms like “very poor” to describe it. I applaud his honesty, but question whether he is a business major.

Building had been Marquette School

Despite the fact that the Pike website said the building had been the Lafayette School, in reality it was the Marquette School until 1968. It was also supposed to be haunted by “Jessica.”

If you’re a Pike fan, here’s a piece I did about the Pike fire engine.

Pike Memorial Lodge photo gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery. The little peek I got through a window leads me to concur with Trae: it DOES look like it’s in “very poor” condition, although the exterior walls and roof don’t look too bad. If you’re looking for a place that may or may not be haunted, give Trae a call.

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013

“Little German Church”

The sign in front of the plain, white church on Hwy N, two miles northeast of Delta (before the N.U.T. intersection), reads “Trinity Methodist Church” – “Little German Church.”

It looks like the foundation is made of field stones stacked atop each other with a little mortar to keep them in place.

What history he saw

I was amazed at the birth and death dates on Fritz Bock’s tombstone: the man was born before the Civil War and died in the middle of World War II. THAT’S a set of bookends you don’t see often.

I don’t know any of the church’s history, but the FindAGrave website has a pretty complete listing of the burials behind the building.

Little German Church photo gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.