Cape Girardeau History and Photos

October 26, 2010October 26, 2010

Cape LaCroix Trail Gets Addition

When I rode the Cape LaCroix Recreational Trail last week, I noticed a new low-water crossing at the Lexington / Kingsway trailhead. It looked like there was a trail headed north along the other side of Cape LaCroix Creek.

Today I decided to see how far it went. Along the way, I found mostly good things and a few disappointing things.

Good things about the new trail

It’s a beautiful ride, particularly this time of year.
It gives you views of Cape LaCroix (3-Mile) Creek that I haven’t seen since I was 10 years old and drowning worms trying to catch something big enough to take home.
It takes you all the way to the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center Trail where there is a bike rack and a park bench.
It’s going to give great access to folks living in the Walden Park development and the trailer park south of it.

Bad things about the bike trail addition

The first thing you see at the Nature Trail is a sign that says dogs and bikes aren’t allowed. There’s a third international symbol that says if you see a bear or a rattlesnake, you are apparently not allowed to run from it. That, or you’re not allowed to do crazy dances on the trail. It’s not exactly clear. I hope the bike policy will be changed. Being able to go from South Cape all the way to the Conservation Park would be great.
It’s not finished. I talked with a worker who said the trail will be open in about two weeks, Lord willin’ and the creeks don’t rise (literally). There is one small portion that needs to be paved. ATT had to relocate some fiber optic cable, so that threw the project behind.
There are what look like to me to be some bicycle-unfriendly storm sewer grates in the Walden Park subdivision. The gaps in the grates are definitely wide enough to swallow most bike tires. The slits MAY be short enough that a tire wouldn’t sink into it, but I wasn’t about to give it a try.

Gallery of Photos Along the Trail

Except for the first two photos in the gallery, all of the photos were taken in sequence starting at the north end of the trail and heading south toward the Lexington / Kingsway trailhead. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the photo to move through the gallery.

CLARIFICATION:

Wife Lila, who didn’t have a chance to read this until hours after it was published, said that I should make it clear that the extension of the RECREATIONAL trail is open to everyone just like the old part. It’s the NATURE trail that bans dogs, bikes and – she cleared this up for me – rollerbladers.

There’s some logic to that. You wouldn’t want dogs chasing the wildlife on a nature trail. It’s made of shellrock, so rollerbladers couldn’t traverse it anyway. I could see where bikes could cause ruts that would wash. [Note: I suspect that the trail isn’t shellrock. That’s what we use in Florida – ground up ancient seashells; I imagine you folks use crushed limestone.]

October 25, 2010July 9, 2015

World War I Memorial in Jackson

On the south side of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson, a World War I Private stands at parade rest with his rifle.

I thought it would be easy to uncover the history of the statue, but I ran into deadends and contradictions.

Memorial to The World War dead

On the side of the statue is a bronze plaque with the words, “In memory of those from Cape Girardeau County who gave their lives in defense of liberty in The World War. 1916 – 1918”

Beneath it is a list of 40 names. Interestingly enough, the name of Capt. George E. Alt is missing. He was an Englishman, who was born in Japan in 1870. He served in World War I, where he was killed in France under German fire. The Alt home was bought by Trinity Lutheran Church and renamed Trinity Hall. Some accounts say he was the first Cape County resident to die in the war.

War to End All Wars

The memorial was erected before we had to add Roman Numerals to our World Wars.

The Missourian editorialized on May 30, 1925: Legion Posts from all parts of the county assembled in Jackson to dedicate the memorial statue erected by the state and the county in memory of the young men and women who served in the world war, and who made as great a sacrifice as it is possible for citizens of America to make.

The statue in Court House Park in Jackson, while not a pretentious and costly shaft, will serve the purpose and will keep fresh in mind of all people the fact that when the country calls there is always a ready response, a condition that makes this the greatest nation on earth.

In the course of time we hope to see built in Cape Girardeau county a living memorial, one that will be an inspiration to the people to live better and have greater regard for the beautiful things in life. It was an ideal of citizenship that our your people fought for, and this ideal deserves to be carried out in the material things of our lives.

Statue history is confusing

Various stories in The Missourian had the statue made of various materials.

Oct. 11, 1924 – “The county court has finally decided to erect the memorial to the Cape Girardeau county soldier dead. The monument, a beautiful statue of white marble, representing a doughboy in full uniform and equipment, has been reposing in a local marble works shop for several years. It is now to be placed on the courthouse lawn on a appropriate pedestal, on which will be placed a bronze plate bearing the names of the Cape county boys who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War.”
Nov. 27, 1924 – “The concrete foundation for the world war soldiers’ memorial has been completed and is now ready for the erection of the statue and the bronze plate to be placed on the base thereof. The monument will stand about the center of the southeast quarter of the court house lawn, and near it will be the unsightly cannon of ante-bellum vintage.”
May 7, 1925 – “American Legion Posts throughout Cape Girardeau county are to participate in the dedication of the memorial to the war dead of the county at Jackson on Decoration Day, May 30… It is planned to have the program take up the greater part of the afternoon, and there will be a band, community singing and other features… The memorial is a statue of white Italian marble. It represents a soldier in full equipment, standing at ‘parade rest,’ and is life size. It is mounted on a five foot base of vermont marble. A bronze plate adorns one side of the memorial and on this plate are the names of the 40 men who lost their lives during the war. The statue cost approximately $2,200.”
May 25, 1987 – “The World War I memorial on the south lawn of the County Courthouse, Jackson, … is made of cement.”

Who was Dennis O’Leary?

Jackson’s statue was of a generic soldier. Wife Lila and I ran into a this tombstone for Dennis O’Leary when we were looking for the graves of her father and her uncle in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM. There must be a fascinating story about a highly detailed sculpture of a young soldier in full uniform in a cemetery with otherwise plain markers, right?

The only problem was that there are more questions about Dennis O’Leary than answers.

October 24, 2010March 20, 2021

Nancy Jenkins Wilson ’65

Nancy Jenkins Wilson posted a comment wishing my mother a belated happy birthday. That reminded me that I had scanned some pictures of her before leaving for Cape.

Editor in Chief of The 1965 Girardot

Nancy was editor in chief of The 1965 Girardot and I was head photographer. We went to a week-long seminar for high school journalists at Missouri University the summer before we tackled the book.

At that conference, I got an inkling that (A) Nancy was going to be a great editor to work with, and (B) the Missouri University School of Journalism and I had very different ideas about photojournalism.

I was right on both counts.

Nancy turned out a great yearbook and I never considered going to Columbia.

Nancy in 2010

I found out that the years have been kind to my former classmate when we met at this summer’s reunion. She still has the smile I remember so well. Actually, it’s close to the expression she would get on her face just before she’d say, “You want to run a picture of WHAT?”

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Mother and Wife Lila said I should have used one where she was smiling more. Making them happy is a very important thing to my continued well-being. Happy to oblige.

October 22, 2010January 16, 2022

Cape Central Tigers vs Sikeston Bulldogs

It’s been more than 40 years since I last shot a Central High School football game. Maybe I should have passed on this one. According to news stories I’ve been reading, Cape and the Sikeston Bulldogs were undefeated for the season.

If I had to put bookends on the evening, the shot of a Tiger being consoled after the game would be at the back end and this shot of a Bulldog scoring the first touchdown would go on the front end. The Bulldogs scored in less than a minute, ending up with a 21-0 win.

Sikeston’s first touchdown

When I first started shooting sports, I was told a good photo was one that showed the ball, the player’s number, his face and action. Oh, yes, and it should be sharp unless you were trying for an arty effect.

You’re going to see a bunch of action shots here that bend that rule severely. I didn’t have any long lenses with me, so I was limited in what I could get. I decided to put in some of the marginal shots because (a) it doesn’t cost me anything and (b) somebody might recognize themselves.

Unpleasant flashback as the clock counted down

When I was shooting the final moments of the game, I had a scary flashback to a high school basketball game I shot in a small Ohio town. The game seesawed back and forth all evening. When the winning goal was shot at the buzzer, the losing cheerleaders started crying. Some of the fan objected to me taking pictures of that. I looked over at a local cop for support; he shook his head and said, “If they come after you, I’m out of here.”

A touch of class

Missourian photographer Laura Simon captured Cape Central defenders Rodney Reynolds and Devin Rowett helping Sikeston running back Darryl Howard get back on his feet in the fourth quarter. I missed seeing it, but I’m glad it happened. That’s the kind of sportsmanship you don’t see often these days. I’ve covered high school games where the coach berated a player for doing something like that.

I was touched, too, when I saw several players not only shake hands with their opponents after the game, but embrace each other.

The Jungle was full of Tiger spirit

I always enjoyed shooting the crowd more than the game. One Friday night in southern Ohio, I shot the best football game of my career. It had all the elements: enthusiastic fans, raving coaches, a kid who set a record in about every category you could think, winning cheerleaders, losing cheerleaders, a great photo of two opponents shaking hands at the end, and the losing team leaving the field.

Ohio football crowds

As it turned out, the sports editor ran a pedestrian action shot. On Monday morning, the published called me in to complain about our lackluster sports coverage of late. It gave me great pleasure to hand him the sheaf of photos I had taken at that game.

Did you hear her bell?

I was amused at the idea of the tiny bells being part of a band performance at a football stadium. (If those aren’t bells, I apologize. I know less about music than I do about football.)

Photo gallery from Cape vs. Sikeston

The gallery is in chronological order, from pre-game, game, half time, more action, then game end. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the photo to move through the gallery.

I wouldn’t waste a lot of time on the game action photos unless you’re looking for someone you know. I didn’t have the lenses to zero in on the action, it’s been over 40 years since I shot Central High School football and close to 20 years since I shot any kind of football.