Photos around Cape Archives

March 17, 2012March 17, 2012

Downtown Cape Panorama

This panorama photo is made up of six aerial photos taken April 17, 2010. It ranges from William Street on the left to north of Broadway on the right. The western boundary is just beyond Fountain St. The gray parking lot at the top left is Cape’s City Hall on Independence

Most panoramas are taken from one spot and the camera swiveled on a tripod. In this case, the “tripod” was Ernie Chiles’ plane flying along at about 100 mph. Because the angle was constantly changing, there is some freaky distortions of the buildings on the edges of the photo, particularly St. Vincent’s Cathedral on the left. Still, it’s a neat effect. I made it larger than usual, so you may have to scroll around to see it all.

Broadway Theater was a panorama

When I shot the interior of the Broadway theater, I stitched together six photos to show the whole room. It’s a way to cover a wide area if you don’t have a super wideangle lens.

The super-secret assignment

I haven’t fooled around much with panoramas because they were a real pain back in the days of film and paper prints. One day The Big Boss called me in and said he needed some aerial photography done for a super secret project for someone he wouldn’t name. I wasn’t supposed to discuss the assignment. Some days you ask questions. Some days you salute and say, “Yes Sir.” This was the latter.

In 2012, you’d call up Google Earth and have what you wanted in minutes, but this was in the days when the Google Earth guys were still wearing diapers, so that wasn’t an option.

The chopper ride was the fun part

So, I chartered a helicopter, took the door off, put on a safety harness, stood on the skid and leaned out into space so I could shoot straight down as much as possible. It was cool. Because the boss wanted a couple block area covered and in close detail, we flew multiple grids and I banged off a couple hundred frames. That was the easy and fun part.

When I got into the darkroom, though, I realized that I wasn’t as smart as Photoshop is today. No matter how straight to the ground I had tried to hold the camera, there was always a slight angle that kept the prints from lining up.

The next day, I spread out enough prints on The Big Boss’s floor to just above cover the whole shebang. I explained the technical problem, then I handed him two sheets of aerial photos of the area from the county’s tax assessor. He said I wouldn’t need to muck with making the prints; the county photos would do fine. (He was pleased enough with my ingenious solution that he didn’t think to ask why I hadn’t done that in the first place.)

So, what was the whole super secret deal about? I have no idea to this day. From time to time I’d drive through the neighborhood to see if any changes were taking place, but nothing ever sprouted up. I don’t know if the project was scuttled or what happened. At least I got a neat chopper ride out of it.

Other downtown shots

Downtown Cape Girardeau from the air and ground (includes other links)

Common Pleas Courthouse from the air

St. Vincent’s Cathedral and downtown

March 15, 2012

College High Junior-Senior Prom

I hope this will make amends to Miss Peggy Schweain for not showing her face when she was crowned College High School Prom Queen in 1967. We ran this action shot of Miss Carol Keller helping Miss Schweain adjust her crown. To add insult to injury, the caption had her last named spelled both “Schwein and “Schweain.” (The latter is correct.)

Miss Keller is the daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Layton Keller, and Miss Schweain is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Schweain. Miss Nora Reynolds, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Reynolds, Jr., is at right. Click on the photos to make them larger.

College High Prom Court

Maybe I was trying to squeeze out an extra five bucks from the assignment, hoping the paper would run the action shot, then back it up with a group picture. I guess not. It was getting close to the end of the school year, so it was probably pushed off the page by the glut of school news to get in. (The New York Times motto was “All the news that fit to print.” The Missourian came closer to reflecting economic realities: “All the news that fits we print.”)

The May 13, 1967, Youth Page story said the ceremony was held in the Memorial Hall ballroom. In addition to Misses Keller and Reynolds, her attendants were Miss Judy Masterson, daughter of Mrs. Evelyn Masterson, and Miss Ellen Gockel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gus Gockel, Jr.

The queen’s throne was placed on a platform decorated with a purple curtain held back with gold streamers. At the center of the curtain was a crown of purple velvet trimmed with gold tinsel.

Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Gilbert and the parents of the queen candidates were special guests of the juniors and seniors. The class sponsors were Wendall Wyatt and Mrs. Mary E. Magill.

(As an aside, I could have sworn that Carol Keller was a Cape Central High School student. I don’t know what I assumed that.)

March 13, 2012

Girl Scout Day Camp 1967

I posted photos of a group of Girl Scouts and Brownies touring The Missourian to celebrate the 100th birthday of the organization. I don’t think I’ll be around for the 200th birthday party, so I’d better get this one out early. Here’s the 1967 Girl Scout Day Camp held at The Seabaugh Farm. The following story ran on The Missourian’s Youth Page August 5, 1967. It had a three-photo combo of Scout Kim Williamson, above, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Garnet Williamson, 1333 Howell, who “overcomes her shyness, gains enthusiasm and finally exuberantly sings out during a songfest at the Cadette and Junior Girl Scout Camp this week.” (The combo earned me a credit line and 15 bucks.)

Telephone directory story

There are some stories that read like a telephone directory and this is one of them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, an editor pointed out. “The phone book is probably the best-read book in town,” he said. “Everybody’s got one, and the first thing they do when a new one comes out is look up their name to see if it’s in there and if it’s spelled correctly. That’s one of the reasons we want lots of names in the paper. And, we want them spelled correctly.”

Camp Revolving Door

The Seabaugh Farm should be renamed Camp Revolving Door for two weeks out of the year because, only two hours after 113 Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts close their annual Day Camp, 225 Brownies and leaders will move in for another week of fun and learning.

The girls will arrive at 9 a.m. and stay until 2:30 p.m. Until 12:30 they will be assigned to unit homes; after that they will work in activity centers. First-year Brownies will participate in singing, hiking, fishing and camp crafts; second-year Brownies will work on badges. After the first day, the meal will be prepared by the girls.

Mrs. Janet Dickerson was camp director

Mrs. Jack Dickerson, camp director, asks parents to follow road signs posted near the camp to prevent congestion. Mrs. Dan Day is assistant camp director, Mrs. Bruce Reed is business manager, and Mrs. Barry Hazen is scout adviser. Mrs. Paul Dowling will be in charge of the truck. The following persons will serve as nurses: Mrs. Milton Schoss, Mrs. Jim Tiapek, Mrs. L.S. Bunch, Mrs. George Farrar and Mrs. Marvin Roberts.

Units 1 through 4

Leaders in the various units are as follows: No. 1, Mrs. A.D. Price, Mrs. Richard Dippold and Senior Scout Martha Hahs; No. 2, Mrs. Robert Guard, Mrs. Robert Restemyer and Senior Scout Ann Dippold; No. 3, Mrs. Ray Wilfong, Mrs. Orville Glueck, Mrs. Bob Drury and Senior Scout Regina Busche, and No. 4, Mrs. H.W. Benson, Mrs. Donald Terry and Senior Scout Betsy Evitts.

Units 5 through 7

Other troops and leaders include #5, Mrs. Wilfred Ressel, Mrs. Jimmy Musgraves and Senior Scout Tara Kaiser; No. 6, Mrs. Albert Hitt, Mrs. David Retherford and Senior Scout Chris House; No. 7, Mrs. F.I. Drew, Mrs. Joe Krueger and Senior Scout Betsy Foster, and No. 8, Mrs. Jack Kollker, Mrs. Earl Miller and Senior Scout Jan Seabaugh.

Older girls worked on badges

Badge and their directors are Indian Lore, Mrs. Ed Kaiser and the Misses Dippold and Busche; Dabbler, Mrs. Charles Doerge and Miss Evitts; Songster, Mrs. Donald Barklage and Senior Scout Barbara Stone; Water Fun, Mrs. Jack Rickard and Mrs. Charles Blattner; Rambler, Mrs. Dipplod and Miss Kaiser.

Crafts and other activities

Activities and their directors include Hike and Barnyard Fun, Mrs. George T. Rasmussen, Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Musgraves and Senior Scout Jan Seabaugh; Arts and Crafts, Mrs. Wm. Dunham and Mrs. Emil Dewrock; Songs and Games, Mrs. Price, Senior Scouts Hahs and Becky Bender; Camp Craft, Mrs. Guard, Mrs. Wilfong, Miss House and Miss Foster; Fishing, Mrs. Tom Cooper, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Richard Kogge and Mrs. Bill H. Williams. Senior Scouts who will have charge of the nursery wil be Jan Brunton, Donna Dinwiddle and Linda Drew.

For the first time this year, Boy Scouts will be participating, entertaining the sons of mothers busy at the camp. They will be hiking, cooking, engaging in camp crafts and other activities.

Photo Gallery of Girl Scout Day Camp

Here’s a gallery that captured some of the excitement of the Day Camp. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

March 10, 2012

M.E. Wright Bird House

M.E. Wright on 1636 Something Street had a pretty unique bird house under the eave of his house on May 16, 1967. Unfortunately, that is all I know about the photos. I scrolled through about a week’s worth of Missourians, but didn’t see the photo nor a story. Click on the photo to make it larger.

Here’s another interesting bird house.

49 Wright listings in Cape

The 1969 City Directory had 49 listings for the name “Wright,” but no M.E. Wrights. The closest address to 1636 was classmate Sally Wright’s parents, Herbert and Irene Wright on 1638 Luce. Wrong address, and that neighborhood doesn’t have spread-out ranch houses like this one.

Of course, it just dawned on me that 1636 Something Street could have been outside Cape. Anybody recognize the name, house or address?