Photos around Cape Archives

February 8, 2013

Thoughts Turn to Summer

Temperatures in Cape Girardeau were unseasonably warm this week. It got up into the sunny 60s one day. I took that opportunity to cut up a big chunk of tree that had fallen during the last storm and Mother fired up her riding mower to mulch leaves and sticks.

At one point, I saw her sitting on the concrete steps in the back yard. I was afraid she might have overdone it, but, no, she was just soaking up the sun and “thinking about the summer.”

That warm day got me thinking about these guys at the old Capaha Park pool. I recognize Bill Jackson, second from left at the top of the ladder, but you folks are going to have to fill in the rest. Clicking on it will make it slightly larger if that helps.

February 7, 2013

Guardian Angel Catholic Church

I mentioned yesterday in the Tour de Oran that photos of the Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran would be coming. Well, here they are. The first photo shows a white house on the left that Readers Madeline DeJournett and Samantha K identified as the priest’s house. Ms. K answered my question about why the house was so large: the sisters of the church lived there when the church still had sisters.

The outside is impressive

The brickwork and detail on the outside of the church, with a cornerstone that displays MCMXVI – 1916 for the Roman Numeral challenged – is beautiful. I don’t see how a small town like Oran could have supported such an impressive building. What’s interesting is that Oran, unlike so many other small towns, has actually picked up a few residents between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,264 people, 507 households, and 353 families in the Oran. By the 2010 census, the numbers had increased to 1,294 people, 518 households, and 360 families. That’s not a lot, but it reverses what I would have thought would be the trend.

Inside is breathtaking

Just by the luck of the draw, I happened on to the Catholic churches in Oran, New Hamburg and Kelso on our wanderings. All were impressive, but this was by far and away the most impressive and most tastefully done.

The other thing that surprised me was that none of the churches were locked. That is refreshing.

Organ pipes

I’ve seen lots of church organ pipes. I’ve never seen any decorated like these. I couldn’t find much of the history of the church on the Internet, so I’m counting on you to share your memories of the place. If I had wanted to, I could have spent all day photographing the details of the place, but I felt a little uncomfortable wandering around without telling anyone what I was doing.

Photo gallery of Oran’s Guardian Angel Catholic Church

This is a far cry from the Old McKendree Chapel between Cape and Jackson. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

February 7, 2013February 22, 2021

Tour de Oran

I was really intending on checking out Chaffee, but I was tempted by a sign pointing to Oran. I don’t think I’ve been there in 40+ years, if ever. The first thing we saw when Mother and I went around a curve into town was the imposing Guardian Angel Catholic Church. It’s even more impressive inside than outside. I’m saving it for another day.

The second largest building to catch my eye was the grain elevator at the edge of town. I thought it might be abandoned, but I heard a faint noise and discovered a vent fan blowing and mildewed corn spilled on the ground. At least part of it much be active.

Iron Mountain Railroad depot

I identified this building as a train depot before I saw the sign and even without railroad tracks running next to it.

Jim Razor: born 1869; Died 1969

If the signs are to be believed, it was once the Iron Mountain Railroad depot and is currently being used by the Chamber of Commerce. It doesn’t look like it gets too much activity: a tombstone for Jim Razor, born May 10 (?), 1869, Died May 10 (?), 1969, must be a leftover from the town’s 1969 Centennial celebration.

Red building

I don’t know if this building has any significance. It was behind and near the Chamber of Commerce depot building. I just liked the way the afternoon sun brought out the red.

Oran City Hall

My first guess was this building was the Oran Library, but that turned out to be next door. This is the Oran City Hall. The use of local stone makes it striking. It has the feel of a WPA project, but I didn’t notice any markers to indicate that (not that I looked too hard. It was turning chilly when the shadows started drawing long).

Oran photo gallery

Here are more shots of the buildings mentioned above. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery. Wait until I get around to running the church photos. I don’t know how a place as small as Oran could support such a magnificent building.

February 4, 2013

The Delta Windmill

I don’t know if this is the Allen Henderson windmill I shot in the spring of 1967 on the Cape side of Delta along 25. There was another windmill missing all its blades about a tenth of a mile down the road that could have been it. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

The 1967 windmill

Here’s the 1967 photo. You can read more about the Allen Henderson Farm in my 2010 post.

Mother and I cruised down to check on storm damage at Dutchtown – we might have lost a piece of tin off one of the buildings – then we decided to see where the tornado touched down in Delta. The F1 tornado lifted the roof off a brick building, held it in the air over a car wash, then dropped it on a house. It missed all the normal tornado magnets – mobile homes. It could have been a lot worse.

On the way back, I saw the windmill spinning lazily and did a u-turn. There was no shoulder, so I had to park and walk about a quarter mile. The temps were in the 40s for a change, so I worked up a bit of a sweat under my coat on the way out with the wind behind me. The walk back, with a brisk wind in my face, was a bit chillier.

Not happy with the photos

I didn’t shoot anything that I liked as well as the 1967 photo. The 18-55mm lens I use on my Nikon D3100 is great because it’s light and adequate for most things, but it wasn’t the piece of glass I needed today. My first shot was with these red berries in the foreground. They aren’t strong enough to carry the picture and the windmill is too small.

Similar shot isn’t much better

I walked down the fenceline because I liked the tangle of weeds in the foreground, but the composition is still not quite right. If I had moved to the right just a little more, the fence post would have shifted to the left and it would have balanced the windmill better. Focus and depth of field is hard to judge with this lens, too. The focusing ring on the lens is tiny; it’s clearly designed for folks who are always going to use it on automatic.

Compositionally, the top shot is the best of the current pictures, but it would have been improved if I could have used a longer telephoto like in the original B&W photo. There are some interesting things happen with that tangle of brush around it that would be worth exploring. Oh, yes, and some cows would have helped.

Maybe I should have just kept on driving instead of doing the u-turn.