Cape Girardeau History and Photos

September 20, 2013May 9, 2021

Trinity’s Balcony and Pews

Here’s another series of photos of the demolition of Trinity Lutheran Church. I’m focusing on the balcony and pews this time. I always thought it was impressive how the balcony swept out over the congregation. I always liked to sit in that section.

A simple church

The church eschewed ostentation. It was a simple, but elegant building with a distinct lack of geegaws.

The only jarring element for me was the cheap-looking acoustic tile ceiling. I often wondered what the original church ceiling was made of.

I noticed stuff like that as a kid. My first grade scrapbook contains the September 19, 1953, entry: “The whole family went to 8 o’clock church. I didn’t wiggle very much. To pass the time away, I counted 13 bugs on the wall….”

“I have loved the habitation of Thy House”

Shortly after taking those photos, I got to watch the church being dismantled, ironically under the words of Psalm 26:8, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house and the place where Thine honor dwelleth.” I’ll spare you the rant this time. I got that out of my system when I posted photos of the church’s altar.

Pews at Trinity Lutheran School

At least two of the pews ended up in the hallway at Trinity Lutheran School.

Trinity Lutheran Church gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery.

September 18, 2013

Alone in a Crowd

For a guy who made a living shooting photos that told stories, sometimes I have to admit that I don’t KNOW the story in some pictures.

This was a single frame that was on a roll of Harris Motor Car fire photos from sometime around 1965ish. It must have been taken at some kind of party: I see crepe paper decorations in the background and the players are dressed up.(Click on the photos to make them larger.)

The couple on the couch doing some deep eye-gazing are oblivious to me and the other people in the room, including the person whose legs are sprawled out next to them. The kind of dorky-looking guy (and as one, I can identify one) appears to be frozen in front of a closet or divider door. I started to crop out the overexposed woman (girl?) on the right as distracting, but then decided she was part of the strange tableau.

When I blew the negative up enough to snoop the bookshelf behind the couple, I spotted a Better Homes and Garden New Garden Book, some Reader’s Digest condensed books, some Reader’s Digest magazines and several novels, including Back Home, The Way West, The Fires of Autumn and Chips Off the Old Benchley. There are two boxes with latches on the shelf. One of them has a label “Annette (?) Platter Pak.” I wonder if they might have held 45 RPM records.

Here’s your assignment

Come up with a story that explains the elements in the photo. I’m not sure if I’ll add or subtract bonus points if you can actually identify the characters and the location.

It’s almost more fun if you come up with a Rod Serling Twilight Zone twist about space aliens who launch a powerful pulse of energy that freezes all human movement so the space folk can wander around doing things like reading our bookshelves without being detected.

Now that I think of it, I ran photos of another party that generated more questions than answers. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get invited to many parties.

September 17, 2013

Notre Dame Highlites

You’re on your own on this one. The negative sleeve said “Notre Dame Highlites Queen Crowning,” but it didn’t have a date, so I couldn’t find it in The Missourian to get more information.

Photo gallery of queen crowning

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery.

September 17, 2013

Aven Kinder, Farm Editor

Aven Kinder was one of the most buttoned-down guys I ever worked with. In a business made up of characters and misfits on their way up or on their way down, Mr. Kinder (I couldn’t imagine calling him by his first name) was a model of stability.

Even though he was the Farm Editor and had to roam all over the area dodging cow pies, I never saw him with his sleeves rolled up or his tie at anything but full mast.

He had only two speeds: Slow and Steady. I never saw him get angry or get in a hurry. He was the most methodical guy in the newsroom.

I was there when he retired in 1967. after 38 years at The Missourian. The front page story about his last day said that he was honored by management and his fellow workers who presented him with a $100 savings bond. It’s hard to tell in the badly-reproduced microfilm photo, but I’m almost sure there was a flicker of a smile on his face. He doled those out sparingly.

Mr. Kinder hired on with the paper in 1929; he and One-Shot Frony were the only ones left of the original five members of the staff from that era. For three consecutive years, 1962-1964, his farm pages were judged best in the state. The paper came in second in 1965.

The story said he had no plans for retirement except to “fish a little and hunt a little.” He and Mrs. Kinder, a teacher at May Greene School, lived at 1456 Rose Street. (His obit said 1457 Rose Street, but the City Directory confirms 1456. I bet he did a spin in his grave over that.). What I find amazing in retrospect is that Mr. Kinder retired at 65 with 38 years in the business. I always thought of him as an “old man.” I retired at 62, with 45 years under my belt, 35 of them at The Post, and didn’t think I was old.

Aven Kinder obituary

Aven Kinder, 84, died Jan. 23, 1986, at the Lake Ridge Health Care Center in Roseville, Minn.

On Oct. 5, 1930, he married the former Berenice Piles at Piedmont. She died in March of 1970. On May 5, 1973, he married the former Verrell Whittaker at Advance. She preceded him in death May 21, 1973. (Those are the kinds of dates Mr. Kinder would have come over to ask, “Are you SURE of that?” The dates, sadly enough, are right. The two were married on May 5, and the new Mrs. Kinder died “unexpectedly” on May 21.)

Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Eugene (Sherrill Sue) Wright, St. Paul, Minn.; sisters Mrs. Elna Amsden, St. Louis, and Mrs. Marie O’Neal, Scott City; and two grandchildren.