From time to time, I meander through old photos to see if something catches my eye that I might have missed. I was telling a friend the other day that there’s almost always a reason WHY you shot a picture, you just may not realize it the first time you look at it, particularly if you have a particular story in mind. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)
The first couple of these shots fit into the “What am I seeing in that window?” category. The shot above was on the north side of Broadway just east of Annie Laurie’s Antiques. The dummies, if that’s what they are, just popped out at me as I was walking down the street. When I looked at the frame later, I liked the cool cast the bluish colors give the overall image, then there’s that incongruous splatter of fluorescent orange around what appears to be a gas line.
Another dummy in the window
This is the building at the southwest corner of Main Street and Broadway that housed the St. Charles Drug Store after the St. Charles Hotel was torn down. It had once been used by the Singer Company. You can see the Singer sign if you look closely at the photos of the teen dance held in the First National Bank parking lot. Some of Main Street Midnight Madness pictures may have been taken inside the drug store.
Stag Beer
No telling how many times this Stag beer sign has been painted over. It’s on the side of a building being restored on the southwest corner of Independence and Frederick.
Building on Water Street
I thought it was curious how the stacked pallets mimic the windows in this Water Street building, down to the colors.
What you’re looking at on the east side of the Broadway Theater is the ghost of Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. Notice the outline of the chimneys and the roofing tar.
It took a little time to figure out what had been there because the 1968 City Directory didn’t have a listing for the Broadway Theater, but it DID have Shakey’s Pizza Parlor (Rivermart, Inc.) at 801 Broadway. The 1979 directory listed both businesses.
Pair charged in Arson in 1981
The front page of the May 24, 1981, Missourian showed a photo of Shakey’s Pizza with a story that said that two Cape Girardeau men were charged with arson and burglary as the result of a fire that heavily damaged Shakey’s Pizza Parlor at 801 Broadway early Saturday morning. I won’t name the two because I didn’t bother to track the outcome of the case.
Sgt. Jack Reubel, a special arson investigator … said there were “five points of origin of fire” in the basement and dining area of the pizza parlor. The resulting fire heavily damaged the rear areas of the basement and dining area and caused extensive smoke damage to the upstairs portion of the building, according to firefighters.
Shakey’s and Broadway sold in 1985
A June 9, 1985, business column by Frony said that the old Broadway Theater and a building adjacent to its east side were acquired by Vinyard Christian Fellowship from Kerasotes Missouri Theaters, Inc. The theater closed March 15, 1984. The adjacent two-story building had been unused since a fire several years ago had gutted the ground floor, occupied by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. The second floor was once occupied by offices of the old Southeast Missouri Telephone Co.
Ray Owen’s January 10, 1994, business column reported that “the fire-damaged structure which housed Shakey’s Pizza Parlor more than a decade ago, is being demolished to make way for a parking lot for Kerasotes Theaters. The building was recently acquired by Kerasotes Theaters, which owns the movie house adjoining the structure. [This is a little confusing because Frony’s 1985 column said Kerasotes sold the property in 1985 and that the Broadway closed in 1984. Did the deal with the church fall through and did it reopen as a theater later?]
Shakey’s Pizza and Dino’s Pizza must have had something good called Mojo Potatoes, based on the number of references I saw to them. Susan McClanahan ran a recipe for some that were supposed to be similar.
Kristie Freeman called Wednesday afternoon to say that her stepfather, David Holley, had lost his battle with lung cancer, and to ask if they could use one of my photos in his obit. When I went to see him July 18, 2011, he was actually in better shape than some folks in Altenburg had led me to believe.
Chemo treatment had left Holley gaunt and his beard had picked up some gray, but he was still the same old storyteller with a gentle manner and a twinkle in his eye. “I’m on my third round of chemo,” he said. “I’m hoping I’m in the 60% that makes it, but I haven’t had a whole lot of luck in my life,” he added, matter of factly.
Wittenberg, a once-thriving Mississippi River German settlement community, was down to two buildings – the house Dave and his wife lived in and the former post office. The floods of 1973 and 1993 had pretty much washed the town away.
Wittenberg Bomb Shelter
Back in the 60s, I did a bunch of pictures of the town, including his house, which had been a brewery, and the “Wittenberg Bomb Shelter,” caverns that had been used to cool and store the beer.
Holley and his home
In October 2009, I knocked on the door of the old brewery and a long-haired David Holley came out and graciously gave me a tour of the old caverns.
Part cave, part manmade
Holley said the brewers took advantage of a natural cave in the hillside, then added on to the front of it with bricks and stone.
Caverns are well-preserved
Despite being over a hundred years old and receiving little or no maintenance, the old beer cellars are remarkably well-preserved.
The last train robbery
Holley was a natural storyteller. Without any preamble, he launched into a story about the last train robbery in Missouri that ended in gunfire almost in front of his house in the 20s. I’m glad I was able to capture it on video.
Holley’s stories took very little editing. He had a knack for being able to tell it short and sweet.
Always searching for treasures
He was a storehouse of knowledge. He could talk about train robberies one minute, then point out the scrape marks made by steel-wheeled beer carts in the rocks in his front yard. He enjoyed roaming around the ruins of the German settler community looking for old horseshoes and other memorabilia.
Our last visit
I captured about five minutes of video of Holley talking about recent and past floods and the whirlpool at Tower Rock that could swallow up a 30-foot cottonwood snag. Midway through the account, he tells about how he’d have to put his four-year-old daughter in a boat at midnight to pick up his wife coming home from work when floodwaters had them cut off. She’d start off doing a great job of holding a flashlight so he could pick his way through the trees, but then she’d start shining it around in the air like a coonhunter, he said with a chuckle.
David Holley Obituary
Here is the obituary from McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center:
Charles David Holley, 59, of Wittenberg passed away Wednesday, April 11, 2012, at his home.
He was born May 25, 1952, in Memphis, Tenn., son of the late Charles Edward Holley and Ada Ruth (nee Tony) Holley of Memphis, Tn. He and Joanne Byerly were married July 11, 1987.
David worked as a deck hand and laborer until he was no longer able to work due to declining health. He loved the outdoors, especially exploring for Indian artifacts and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. David enjoyed spending time with his family, friends and always had a story to share or a helping hand for anyone. He also served in the US Marine Corps from 1970-1972.
In addition to his loving wife and mother, survivors include step daughter, Kristie (Dusty) Freeman of Herculaneum, Mo.; daughters Melanie Yount of Imperial, Mo; and Rachel Holley of the home; a brother, Clifford Holley and a sister, Pam Holden both of Memphis, Tenn.; two sisters-in-law, Janet Tyner of Jonesboro, Ark.; Barbara (Fred) Graham of Catron, Mo; two brothers-in-law, Bill (Shirley) Byerly of Fairhope, Al; Rick (Camilla) Byerly of Chaffee, Mo., five grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and many cousins and friends.
This roll had an interesting combination of women’s softball and what appears to be Kiwanis baseball. I don’t know when nor where they were taken, so give it your best shot.
Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left of right side of the image to step though the gallery. The film was pretty scratched up, so some of the quality is a bit iffy.
From time to time, I meander through old photos to see if something catches my eye that I might have missed. I was telling a friend the other day that there’s almost always a reason WHY you shot a picture, you just may not realize it the first time you look at it, particularly if you have a particular story in mind. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)
This is the building at the southwest corner of Main Street and Broadway that housed the St. Charles Drug Store after the St. Charles Hotel was torn down. It had once been used by the Singer Company. You can see the Singer sign if you look closely at the photos of the teen dance held in the First National Bank parking lot. Some of Main Street Midnight Madness pictures may have been taken inside the drug store.
No telling how many times this Stag beer sign has been painted over. It’s on the side of a building being restored on the southwest corner of Independence and Frederick.
I thought it was curious how the stacked pallets mimic the windows in this Water Street building, down to the colors.
