Cape Girardeau History and Photos

June 3, 2013May 4, 2021

Pizza King Corner Crash

For a second I thought this was the same crash at Pacific and Broadway I had already covered, but it was definitely a different one. One of the things I found interesting was that it captured the Pizza King, which was once the Last Chance – First Chance Saloon.

Vandeven Mercantile is on the left.

View east on Broadway

Vandeven’s is on the right. You can see The Esquire, Wayne’s Grill, Radonics, Bodines and other lighted signs. This picture must have been taken later than the one below because the sign above proclaims “We’ve Gone Gulf.”

The old trolley tracks are visible in the middle of the street.

Station had been Cities Service

The station on the northeast corner of the intersection had been a Cities Service. Looks like the Bourbon billboard had been allowed to go blank in the later photo.

Howard’s on right

The old Howard’s Athletic Goods was on the right. Howard’s moved into the Vandeven building in 2009, then SEMO tore down the old (ugly) landmark building for a parking lot.

View to the north

Howard’s is on the left and the Gulf station is on the right. It’s warm enough that people are wearing light jackets, but I see the car on the left is still running snow tires. The banner mentions American Education Week, which is traditionally held in November, so it might be a warm, but rainy winter night. Those random white spots are caused by raindrops reflecting the camera’s flash.

Looks pretty minor (if it’s not YOUR car)

I’m going to guess the guys in the background are involved in the crash in some way. They have The Look on their faces.

I’m guessing the wreck was minor enough that nobody was hurt. The best indication of that is that the windshields don’t have any head dents.

June 1, 2013

High School Students Study Science

The July 3, 1965, Missourian caption reads, “High school pupils participating in the science training program at State College do a little outside experimentation too! [Please tell me I wasn’t the one who wrote a caption with an exclamation point.] From left are: Miss Susan Eubank, Edgewood, Ill.; Miss Melinda Carter, Lockwood; Stephen Hancock, Kennett, and Ron Fluegge, Jackson. The youths are getting experience in academic and social college life. The program is supported by an $18,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.”

Here’s my whole bylined Youth Page story about the science program.

Negative tomfoolery

This nameless couple didn’t make the paper, probably because they didn’t engage in any shenanigans.

That could very well have been because Girl Two’s mother said, “Keep your baton with you at all times. If anybody tries to get fresh with you, twirl ’em where it hurts.”

May 31, 2013June 6, 2013

Cubs’ Pitchers Had Problem

The day after I graduated Central High School in 1965, I showed up bright and early to start my Missourian summer internship. To my dismay, my first assignment was to fill in for the sports editor, who was going on vacation.

I confessed to Chuck Murdoch that I knew virtually nothing about sports and was in deep trouble. He took a couple of sucks on his ever-present pipe and a look of relief passed over his face as he realized his job was safe: this was ONE high school kid who wouldn’t show him up. He gave me the crash course in sports journalism (something that I always thought was somewhat of a contradiction in terms).

He explained that the first thing I had to do when I showed up three hours before the rest of the staff was to go to a dropbox on the Broadway door to retrieve an armload of youth league score books the coaches had dropped overnight. I was to take those score books and interpret scratches and scrawls that showed every batter and every play and write a play-by-play of the high spots of the games. I prayed for a tight paper so I could get by with just a game summary.

I got the job done, but I felt like a monk translating ancient scrolls from one language into another. So far as I know, nobody ever complained about my accounts.

Last night I found this comment written by a coach who either had a great sense of humor or a flair for understatement: “Cub’s pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone and walked 22 batters.”

First AP story

I thought it amusing enough I phoned it in to the Associated Press, which put in on the wire. I’m pretty sure that was the first time anything of mine moved on a news wire. It was a real thrill when I heard the clatter of the teletype and discovered that it was my brief that was going out to the world (well, maybe the nation or the region or the state. I don’t remember the codes well enough to know how far it was broadcast. It didn’t win the Pulitzer, I know that.).

I didn’t do too badly covering government and cops, but the society and agriculture beats were a bit of a stretch. I loved it.

May 31, 2013

Another Smelterville Cleanup

Two things were constants in Smelterville: floods and periodic cleanups that accomplished little. I took these photos June 19, 1967.

Arena Building and cute cat captured the news

The photos didn’t run. The bigger stories of the week included the wooden floors being ripped out of the arena building and a picture of a cat in Oshkosh surrounded by ducklings. The paper also warned that the river was coming up and that some lowlands could be covered.

When are this summer’s reunions?

I’ve been trying to find out when some of the Smelterville family reunions will be held, but haven’t had any luck. Last year was the first time the Vine Street Reunion was held, but organizers decided not to hold one this year. If you know of any, please let me know.

Smelterville and South Cape stories

Here are some earlier stories about Smelterville and South Cape: