Photos around Cape Archives

March 8, 2014

Cubs and Cuffs

I normally don’t bother to scan old 120 and 620 film because it’s a pain and usually not very good. Tonight, though, I discovered some old family shots that were fun and just in time for Brother Mark’s birthday later this week.

In the stack were these lineups of Cub Scouts that brought back some sartorial memories of the era.

Back in those days, mothers bought pants designed to accommodate a massive growing spurt, resulting in pants cuffs that were rolled up halfway to the knees in some cases.

Yep, that’s me

The Boy Scout on the left is me. I must have had my growth spurt, because my pants cuffs are only slight rolled up. I served as Den Chief for Mrs. Jo Ann Bock’s den for a time. I wonder if that is Cape’s author on the right?

Click on the photos to make them large enough to pick out faces.

February 25, 2014

Big & Friendly Morgan’s

Morgan’s Furniture Store in downtown Advance at the corner of South Ash Street and West Gabriel Avenue was the sponsor of one of the first local radio commercials I remember hearing. The appliance and furniture was always referred to in a booming radio voice as Big and Friendly Morgan’s.”

Just down the block from the furniture store was Morgan’s Funeral Home. Lloyd Morgan was the first young man from Advance to go away to learn the science of embalming.

Getting the real scoop from Mother

I called Mother and said, “I have some Advance questions: which Morgan owned Morgan’s Furniture and were all the Morgans related?”

Jack Morgan, she said, was the furniture guy. “When I was about 9 years old, I had diphtheria and people were supposed to stay away from me, but Jack was my ‘boyfriend’ and he brought me a bouquet of flowers.” In later life, he was known for his odd dressing habits: his socks were frequently mismatched and his shoes untied.

Lloyd, the undertaker, she said, liked his spirits and would come into the Welch tavern to play the piano and dance. “He was a monkey, for sure.” A small paperback book on the history of the town reported that “Lloyd always drove a good car, but he never took the key out of it. ‘One of my friends might need a car real badly sometime and not have the time to look me up.’”

Mother’s brother, Kenneth, my namesake, would go on ambulance calls with Lloyd, she said. “Times were tough back then and not everybody had money, so Lloyd would take chickens or whatever they could spare.”

February 25, 2014

Beechwood Club from the Air

I was picking through some aerials from November 2010 when I spotted this single frame of the Beechwood Club. It’s the blue-green water surrounded by a square concrete pool deck.

You can click on the photo to make it larger, but I checked: there are no visible skinnies being dipped. While trying to figure out the correct plural of skinny, I came across this link (it’s safe for work, don’t worry). Who knew you had to LEARN how to do it?

The paved road running in the foreground is Highway 25. Take it left, go around a curve and down a hill and you’ll find yourself in what’s left of Dutchtown. Go right and you’ll pass through Gordonville on your way to Jackson.

When I wrote about the Beechwood Club on March 24, 2010, I uncovered some interesting tidbits of history about the place. Based on reader comments, though, I missed some of the most interesting goings-on.

February 24, 2014

SEMO Track Meet

Like I mentioned in another track story, the boys and girls of spring didn’t get a lot of attention. Their sports usually took place after the yearbooks closed, and they didn’t have the hoopla of basketball, football and even baseball.

I’m pretty sure this shot won some prize or another in a photo contest, but I can’t remember which one. I suspect it was less because it was a great shot (although I do like the falling hurdle), but for the fact that it doesn’t show any wardrobe malfunctions. It’s almost a cliche shot, but one of the reasons that some phrases and photos become cliches is that they tend to work.

Track meet photo gallery

Since I’m short on info, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Click on any picture to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.