Cape Girardeau History and Photos

March 10, 2011August 24, 2015

Advance Train Depot

The Advance train depot was originally supposed to be located in Lakeville, described in 1875 as a “thriving town” with a population of about two hundred and all of the necessities of life in that era: a post office, a Union church, Masonic lodge, hotel, public school, general store and a saw and grist mill.

When Louis Houck extended his Cape Girardeau Railway line through the Old Field, heading south and west, though, he balked at the $30 an acre price Lakeville owner Jacob Kappler was asking.

Land in Advance was $10 an acre

Houck agreed that Kappler’s price wasn’t THAT far out of line, but he instructed his civil engineer Major James Francis Brooks to “advance” about a mile west near a stand of mulberry trees and lay out a new town where Joshua Maberry would sell the land for $10 an acre.

New Lakeville thrived and was later named Advance, with the accent on the first syllable. The original town dried up when it was bypassed by the railroad.

Railroad abandoned

I shot these photos for a story that ran in The Missourian June 24, 1966. The first train trip on this line was made in 1881. The last was Nov. 30, 1965. The tracks which once carried as many as four passenger trains a day in the 1920s were being abandoned. The ties were sold to Vernon Lee of Puxico; most of the right of way became part of the property that it adjoined. (What a great rails-to-trails bike path that would have made.)

A Missouri Railroad Pioneer

I picked up a book, A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck (Missouri Biography Series), when I was in Cape in the spring. I quickly set it back down when I saw it was forty bucks.

Reader, railroad buff and frequent commenter Keith Robinson highly recommended it, so I swallowed hard and bought it when I was in Cape this fall. It’s a great read about someone whose name I had heard all my life. I knew he must have been important enough to have a SEMO stadium named after him, but I never realized how key he was to the development of the Southeast Missouri region. (There might not have BEEN a Southeast Missouri State University if there hadn’t been a Louis Houck, by the way.)

Paul Corbin

Another reader, Madeline DeJournett said I should give local historian Paul Corbin a call. We chatted a few minutes and he mentioned that Missourian photographer Fred Lynch had published some audio recordings of him talking about the railroad and growing up in the Advance area. They’re worth a listen.

The old depot wasn’t just a place where the trains stopped. There’s a sign on the building saying that it’s the Railroad Express Agency, the way you got stuff to you in the days before Fed-Ex and UPS. I had a big box of stuff shipped by Railway Express from Cape to Athens, Oh., when I was in college. (They crushed the box and I had a devil of a time getting them to settle, but that’s another story.)

Another sign proclaimed that it was the Western Union Telegraph and Cable Office. I suspect it was a mail and newspaper drop, too. The Missourian used to put out an early edition for train delivery. It was a mishmash of yesterday’s news, today’s news and bad layouts. You had to have wanted a newspaper pretty badly to accept that one.

I’m not sure when the depot was finally torn down.

March 9, 2011

World War II Shared Sacrifices

I was looking in the June 11, 1943, Southeast Missourian for another story when my eye was drawn to a Phillips 66 ad headlined, “You are a Soldier in The Battle of Transportation.”

Gas headed to $4+ per gallon

The ad copy might not have caught my attention if I hadn’t seen two things in the last couple of days

Gas prices in the $3.89 range in West Palm Beach
A Missourian story about proposed bike lanes in Cape

Grant for 30-40 miles of bike lanes

A Missourian story Wednesday said that a $253,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health will pay for 30 to 40 miles of bike lanes along seven Cape streets, which officials said will provide a healthy connection to the city’s parks, schools and other recreational areas.

Sounds like a good idea, right? Especially after I wrote a piece praising Cape for looking at bike trails as transportation corridors, not just for recreation back in December

Who could be against that?

There’s a catch, though. “One thing could put the brakes on the project, however — negative public reaction to the proposal’s plan to convert five of the seven bike routes to no-parking streets.”

Well, it didn’t take long for the story to get 40 comments, many mocking the idea of bike lanes. Interestingly enough, I don’t think I saw a single comment about the no-parking issue. Most were of this ilk:

Who commutes by bike in Cape? Last time I rode one was when I was 15. Get a car! Bike lanes are lame.

Where’s THIS message?

Have you seen this World War II message delivered on TV, radio or print or by any politicians?

“Every bit of rubber and gasoline you save on the home front is a contribution to the combat needs of our fighting men on every battle front.

“You can help hasten the day of victory by confining your driving to a patriotic minimum. Use your car only for going to and from work …for needed shopping…for war-time activities like vegetable gardening…for travel to and from places without other transportation facilities.

“Remember, your Government asks you to do your part to prevent a transportation breakdown, asks you to care for your car–for your country.”

The concept of shared sacrifice for the common good just isn’t popular these days, I guess.

March 9, 2011

“Central Snaps” Pep Rally

The negative sleeve just says, “Central Snaps.” It looks like a pep rally of some kind.

Class of 65-66 cheerleaders

I recognize some of the cheerleaders as being in the Class of 65 and 66.

Robert Frank

A photographer named Robert Frank crisscrossed the country in 1955-56 to produce a photo book, The Americans. This photo reminds me a little bit of his style. It has lots of elements that appear to be disjointed, but are still tied together. Everyone in the picture is looking in a different direction, but they are all connected somehow.

It’s a photo I can appreciate now, but probably didn’t look at twice when I originally edited the film. Did I know what I was shooting or was it just a random shutter click?

Classes of 65 and 66 represented

Looks like majorettes Linda Maddux and Vicky Berry at the left and Mike Seabaugh and Don Sander in the convertible.

Stripes and polka dots

That’s an interesting contrast in clothing. I see some of the cars have CHS decals on them. I don’t recall having one stuck to the window of my family’s 1959 Buick LaSabre station wagon.

March 7, 2011March 7, 2011

Miss Cape Girardeau 1967

Miss Judy Mullins, a State College senior won the 1967 Miss Cape Girardeau title, The Missourian reported May 6, 1967.

Shoving modesty aside, I’ll have to mention the headline that ran directly beneath the Miss Cape piece: “Missourian Named Best Daily Newspaper in State.” Some kid named Kenneth L. Steinhoff won first places in News and Feature Photography, a second place in Sports Photography and two honorable mentions to help the paper score the points needed to capture the overall award.

Judy led from the very start

She was selected over 10 other contestants.

“Judges said Miss Mullins began gaining points at the very beginning during evening gown competition. They said her poise and posture came through strongly. Next, in swimsuit competition, Miss Mullins appearance again won her even more points, judges said. They judged her first in that.” [Where was I for the swimsuit competition?]

Did pantomime dance

“Following swimsuits, Miss Mullins did a pantomime [The Missourian spelled it “pantomine] dance in talent competition. And after becoming a finalist, she was questioned on her role in a recent College Theater production “Anything Goes.”

“‘Give us some idea of the work that went into that production,’ said Master of Ceremonies Jim Walling.

“Miss Mullins, whose measurements are 35-23-34, is the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Russell M. Mullins, Jr., Farmington.”

I like the sidelines

Very seldom did my favorite photos make the newspaper, which, for some silly idea, wanted “news” photos. I liked stuff like the folks watching from the curtains. If you were in tight with the contest officials, you might get tipped off who the winner was going to be so you could be in the right position.

I put coronations and weddings in the same class: these are things you do NOT want to screw up. Brides and queens aren’t forgiving if you botch their big day.

Official newspaper photo

Here’s the photo that ran in the paper.

Miss Judy Mullins of Farmington, the first Miss Cape Girardeau, accepts a bouquet of roses from John Heskett at her coronation Friday night in Academic Hall Auditorium at State College. Jim Walling, master of ceremonies, is at right. Miss Cape Girardeau candidates pictured are, from left, Miss Jean Siemers of Cape Girardeau, Miss Mary Ann Rice of Fredericktown, Miss Vickie Boren and Miss Tana Austin of Cape Girardeau.

The court

“First runner-up Miss Mary Ann Rice, a state college freshman, won the talent competition. The Fredericktown co-ed sang “One Kiss.” Miss Rice recently was selected Miss Beautiful in the 1967 Miss Beautiful-Ugly Man contest as State College. She is the daughter of B.G. Rice.

“Miss Vicki Boren, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Boren, 1747 Oakley, is a senior at Central High School. She sang a number from Central High’s recent production of ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’

“Miss Kathryn Slinkard is a freshman at State College. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Slinkard, she sang a French medley.”

Tana Austin was Miss Congeniality

“Miss Tana Austin not only was chosen for the queen court but was also selected as Miss Congeniality. The daughter of Mrs. Opal Austin is a sophomore at State college and sang in talent competition.

“Other contestants were Miss Linda Young, State College sophomore from Little Rock, Ark.; Miss Rosemary Young, Central High School senior; Miss Jean Siemers, State College freshman.

“The 5-foot, four-inch blonde from Farmington will now represent Cape Girardeau in the Miss Missouri Pageant at Springfield this summer.

“Miss Mullins won a $250 scholarship, $100 in cash, a complete wardrobe and an expense-paid trip to Springfield.”