Photos around Cape Archives

June 26, 2012June 27, 2012

Yarn Bomb Day

Bob, Claire and I were walking around on Water and Main Streets when they spotted some knitted / crocheted (don’t ask me) objects on the park bench at the southwest corner of Themis and Main. I looked behind me and saw some sewing patterns in the store window, so I dismissed them as having to do with sewing notions.

There’s an other one

We crossed the street and spotted another one on a support post for the walk-through in front of 101 North Main, which doesn’t look like anything has been done to it since the last time I was in town. Our curiosity was piqued.

Claire and I went in to quiz the shopworkers in the store behind the bench. They disavowed all knowledge and weren’t much help in formulating a cool rumor to spread. They DID think they had seen the colorful “bombs” on Spanish and Broadway.

Bob documents the yarn bombs

We spotted more of the craft objects on a bench on the northeast and southeast corners.

We saw some folks standing in front of the Cup and Cork and started to ask them if THEY knew what this was all about. The new owner of the place, a nice guy named Patrick Abbot, said they were in the middle of dedicating the place, and he’d explain in a couple of minutes. We watched as a guy splashed the doorway with a clear liquid, then sprinkled a little on Abbot and a woman. It was a killer hot day, so I hoped I’d get a spritz, too, but it didn’t happen.

Abbot said that he watched a woman – a “unique individual.” was the way he put it – put the squares on the bench across from him. When she moved to the bench in front of his store, he asked her what she was doing.

International Yarn Bomb Day

“It’s for International Yarn Bomb Day,” she explained.

I did a quick Google News search and could come up with but two stories referencing anything about Yarn Bombing.

The Salisbury Journal (in the United Kingdom) had a story, “Visitors to Salisbury Citycentre this week may notice something a little bit different about the statue of Henry Fawcett in the Market Place. The statue was adorned with knitted decorations by a group calling itself the Ninja Knitters, marking Worldwide Yarn Bomb Day.“
nj.com reported, “FRENCHTOWN — More than two dozen yarn bombers descended on this tiny Delaware River town in Hunterdon County last night, June 8, to tie colorful knitted and crocheted handwork on trees, signs, posts and benches throughout the downtown. Yarn bombing, sometimes called guerrilla knitting, is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of yarn or fiber rather than paint.“

A search for “yarn bomb” didn’t turn up any info in The Missourian.

[Note Homeland Security: if your searches turn up repeated mentions of the word “bomb,” be sure to read it in the full context of what has been written. I would hate to have an innocent post blown up out of proportion. (Oops.)]

June 25, 2012

Thebes Courthouse Renovation

The Thebes Courthouse is on the list of places that out-of-town guests get to see. I took Spokesrider and his wife there when he rode his bike from Michigan to New Madrid. Today it was Bob and Claire Rogers from Arizona who got the tour. I worked with Bob at The Athens Messenger in the late 60s. You’ll hear more about him as the week goes on and I drag him to all my favorite haunts.

Museum not open

The museum wasn’t open, but we heard noises inside while we were on the balcony overlooking the Mississippi River. Claire peeked through a crack in the door and saw that the main door was open. Never missing a chance to walk through an open door, we did just that. I was surprised to see how well the place had been fixed up. The last time I was inside the building in the 1960s, the place was empty except for a bust of Lincoln in one of the windows.

Bust of Abe Lincoln

I don’t think this was the Lincoln I saw, but he still looks nice in the window’s light. The Thebes Historical Society has been working hard to preserve the old building, and their efforts are showing. We were lucky to get a sneak peek. The organization’s website says the museum will be closed for awhile to replace some windows and do other repairs. You can check it to see when visitors are officially welcome again.

Hirsch’s Northtown

When I published a piece on Hirsch’s Midtown, formerly known as Hirsch Bros. No. 1, and the establishment of Hirsch Bros. No. 2 as Hirsch’s Northtown, I mentioned that I didn’t think I had ever been in the Mill Street and Main Street store.

Susan Fee Means commented on Facebook, “Ken – if you’d ever been to The Mule Lip, across from the old shoe factory on Main St, then you’d been to the Hirsch #2 store. Or at least the building.”

I led a sheltered life. I was never in The Mule Lip or its reincarnation as Margarita Mama’s. Now that the casino has leveled that area, I guess I missed my chance.

[Note: we made it as far as Lake City, Fla., tonight. I’m staying in a nice Comfort Suites I’ve stayed at before. I pulled in shortly before midnight after driving through moderate to heavy rain most of the day. The desk clerk gave me her “Your eyes sure are bloodshot super discount” that she said was even better than the alphabet soup list of names I usually give her.]

June 19, 2012

Hirsch’s Midtown

Reader Bob Reese was kind enough to loan me a copy of Cape’s 1956 Sesquicentennial book. It took me half a day to scan it, but it’s a treasure trove of information, just for the advertisements alone. A lot of them are plain text “Congratulations for surviving 150 years,” but there are a few with logos and artwork I don’t remember seeing. (You can click on the images to make them larger.)

Hirsch Bros stores sold in 1955

The Southeast Weekly Bulletin had a story on December 22, 1955, that Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hirsch have announced sale of the Hirsch Bros. Company’s two retail outlets in Cape Girardeau, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon V. Fee having purchased the Hirsch Bros. No. 1 store at Good Hope and Sprigg Streets, and George Hirsch now being the owner of the Hirsch Bros. No. 2 store at Main and Mill Streets.

Mr. and Mrs. Fee, who will operate the No. 1 store, plan to call it Hirsch’s Midtown. They have indicated that they will consolidate the grocery and variety departments and operate them as a self-service unit. Gilbert Popp will be assistant manager, with Bob Fee assisting in management of the food section and Richard Riddle in charge of the meat department.

The No. 2 store will be known as Hirsch’s Northtown, with Mr. and Mrs. George Hirsch in charge. The store will be redecorated, with some interior changes made.

The Hirsch Brothers Co. will remain an active corporation, retaining ownership of the store buildings and its other holdings. An office will retained in the Hirsch Building and the present officers will continue. They are Alfred Hirsch, president; George Hirsch, vice president, Mrs. Florence Hirsch Fee, treasurer, and Mrs. Alfred Hirsch, secretary. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hirsch have announced their complete retirement from the retail business.

Building is holding up well

The old Midtown building is still in pretty good shape, compared with its neighbors on Haarig’s Good Hope Street.

I can remember going in there with Mother when I was a kid, but we were more of a Broadway and Child’s customer, probably because we lived on the north end of the world. I’m almost positive that I was never in the Northtown store at Mill Street and Main.

Wife Lila, who lived just a few blocks from the store, remembers it more as a department store. I remember it for groceries. I guess it all depends on what kind of shopping your parents did there.

Category: Photos around Cape