Cape Girardeau History and Photos

September 4, 2012

Hurricane Isaac Flows By

I went on a bike ride last night. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on two wheels, so my legs were mush. About two-thirds of the way home, my calves started talking to me. “If you don’t stop what you’re doing, we’re going to give you a hurtin.”(Click on any photo to make it larger.)

Water spotted with foam

I listened to my calves and strolled out to the boardwalk that runs along the C51 canal between Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. It drains a substantial portion of southeast Florida between Lake Okeechobee and the ocean, including the water that has had my kid’s house an island west of town.

Not catching much

I didn’t see much activity of a catching variety going on. This couple said a guy closer to the spillway hauled in a good-sized bass, but they hadn’t caught anything yet.

September 3, 2012

Farmworkers on Strike

Labor Day got me to thinking about this photo of farm workers on strike in Immokalee, Florida. I spent a lot of time covering migrant farm workers in South Florida and had gotten to know this crew well enough that I talked them into taking a reporter and me into the fields with them.

I spent the day shooting photos and trying to avoid being shot by the farm owner (fortunately for me, the guy’s wife liked me well enough to intervene). My partner spent the day picking peppers. He was paid $18 for a day’s work: $17 of it in cash, and a buck withheld for Social Security by the crew chief. Whether that buck ever made it to Washington is a matter of conjecture. My buddy said, “When I retire, the very first dollar I spend is going to be the dollar I earned picking peppers.”

Not long after that, I went back to Immokalee to cover the workers striking for their pay to be raised from $18 a day to $22.50 a day. The strike was unsuccessful.

I am, if you haven’t guessed, the guy with a camera over his shoulder.

September 2, 2012September 2, 2012

Happy Bday Marty Perry Riley

Wife Lila’s sister, Marty Perry Riley, Central High School Class of 1968, has a birthday today. This was taken at Christmas around 1972.

Pictures on the wall include John Perry, our wedding picture, John in the navy and a piece of art by Marty. Note that the TV’s rabbit ears have been “improved” by the addition of aluminum foil.

Skipping Rocks on the Mississippi

Last summer about this time, I showed the Duncan kids learning how to skip rocks down on the riverfront. Here are a couple boys doing the same thing in 1966.

If you click on the photo to maker it larger, you can see what looks like a travel trailer being pulled across the bridge. I wonder if the driver’s knuckles were white?