Cape Girardeau History and Photos

November 11, 2010November 24, 2011

Tattered Flag on Veterans Day

A couple of decades ago, World War II veterans started the Avenue of Flags tradition on Cape County Park North on Highway 61 between Cape and Jackson.

On patriotic holidays, including September 11, volunteers put up flags representing a deceased veteran who served in a war era or in combat.

American flag was frayed

While I was walking around looking at the flags, I noticed this one that was a bit yellow. It had a hole or two in it and part of the edge was fraying. There was no name on the pole, that I could see, so I don’t know who it represents.

Just then, a gentle breeze stirred the flag and I saw a square field of stars. This was a 48-star flag. Alaska gained statehood in 1959 and caused the rows of stars to be staggered. This flag could be as much as half a century old. I’d love to know the story behind it.

Photographers’ delight

Cars with license plates from all over the area drive by. Some stop and their occupants take photos. The late afternoon wind was calm, so the photos weren’t as dramatic as other holidays.

Law Enforcement Memorial

Some visitors pause to look at the Law Enforcement Memorial for officers killed in the line of duty. Others charge off, apparently to track down a specific flag.

Nearly 700 flags are displayed

A Missourian story said that one person can put up the nearly 700 flags in less than two hours.

Display of the flags is governed by the Federal Flag Code. If there is a 40 percent or greater chance of rain, the flags aren’t displayed. Flags are supposed to be up only between sunrise and sunset unless they are illuminated. When we passed the park after dusk, the flags had already been put away for the next patriotic holiday.

November 10, 2010July 9, 2015

Thoughts on Veterans Day 2010

A number of images and events come to mind on Veterans Day. Watching the Vietnam War play out nightly on the family’s Zenith television set in our basement is one.

Gary Schemel 1946 – 1965

Gary Schemel was one of Central High School’s first casualties in the Vietnam War.

A fellow vet posted this 1932 poem on The Wall in his memory:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Posthumous Medal Presentation

A father an mother leave the Athens County Courthouse with a box of medals awarded posthumously to their son in 1969.

Homemade memorial to this generation’s dead

Missing from this handmade memorial to this generation’s war dead was the name Liz Jacobson, my son’s 21-year-old former girlfriend, who was killed by an IED while on a convoy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Adam got permission to add her “stone.” On it, he wrote some lines that she had sent him: “We’re only on this earth for a little while, so live life to the fullest and carry a smile.”

This photo was taken in 2007. I wonder how many more Liz Jacobsons there would be there in the picture today.

Support our boys in Vietnam

I don’t agree with all of the political sentiments this woman is wearing, but I can get behind the Support Our Boys in Vietnam button she sported at a pro-war march in Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1971.

Civil War Memorial Statue

Pigeons show no respect to this Civil War soldier in Washington, DC.

November 10, 2010December 21, 2011

1929 Railroad Bridge

Wife Lila’s niece, Laurie Everett, wanted to go a photo expedition. The first couple of locations didn’t pan out, so we headed to South Cape (as The Missourian used to refer to it euphemistically) to see if anything was still left from the 60s.

We drove down a gravel road until it became a couple ruts that ended at Cape LaCroix Creek, just upstream from where it dumps into the Mississippi River. On our left was a railroad trestle dated 1929.

Cape LaCroix Creek looking downstream

If we were standing on the other bank or on the bridge, we could probably see the river around that last bend. There is another bridge downstream that I didn’t notice until I looked closely at the aerial photo at the bottom of the page.

View upstream toward Sprigg St.

The view upstream looking at Sprigg St. is a much more attractive creek than it was in the days when it carried offal and other unspeakable things from packing plants located on its banks.

Long ago, that bridge on Sprigg would have been a toll bridge leading to Tollgate Hill that I wrote about earlier.

Aerial view of Cape LaCroix Creek and Mississippi River

Here is a photo of the area taken last weekend. Sprigg St. is at the bottom of the picture. The 1929 railroad bridge is above Sprigg. The third bridge is another railroad bridge. The Blue Hole Garden would have been where the green trailer is at the bottom right of the aerial photo.

November 8, 2010March 9, 2016

Hamburger Express Like Blue Hole?

Someone mentioned that the Hamburger Express drive-in at the corner of William and Pacific had barbecue sandwiches that tasted like the legendary Blue Hole Garden’s sandwiches that are the standard against which all barbecues are judged by us old locals.

I had driven past the red and white-striped building scores of times but couldn’t recall ever stopping in. It was time to give Hamburger Express a shot.

I’m not a food critic

Let’s get something clear right up front. This isn’t going to be a food review like my food editor friend Jan Norris would write. My knowledge of cooking is limited. If Wife Lila isn’t brewing up dinner, my contribution is to reach for the stack of carry-out menus next to the phone. They’re located IN the kitchen. That’s close enough to cooking for me.

Impression of the Hamburger Express BBQ

I ordered a brown (outside) pork sandwich served on toast, with fries and a Dr. Pepper.

It has twice the meat, at least, of a Wib’s sandwich.
The sauce is sweet-tasting, but not objectionably so. I like a little more heat in my sauce, but not much more.
I prefer less sauce on the sandwich. It shouldn’t drip.
It’s not a Blue Hole BBQ sandwich. Their sauce was lighter, slightly hotter and more vinegary.
I’d do it again. I vote Wib’s for taste, but Hamburger Express for value.

Jumbo burger a landmark

If you can’t place the location, you can see St. Mary’s Cathedral in the distance off to the east. Knaup Floral is across the street on Pacific. The greenhouses are gone, but the florist is still there.

Ribs and homemade sauce

After having a pork sandwich for lunch, I decided to try the St. Louis Cur Ribs for dinner. There was a lot of meat on the bone, it was tender and it was smokey tasting.

The ribs are served dry, with sauce on the side. I usually prefer it that way. I like to taste the meat, and too many places overdo the sauce. Overall, another good value for the buck. I wasn’t crazy about their Cole Slaw, but that’s a personal preference.

The only real drawback is that it’s take-out only (if you don’t count a picnic table outside in front). I like to eat my food while it’s hot and the bread isn’t soggy.

Manager Brad Jackson said the sauce is their own brew and that the place had been open about 22 years.

I won’t wait another 22 years to eat there. After all, Wibs is closed on Sundays and Mondays.