Tag: First National Bank

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First National Bank Gone

Dance in bank parking lotI usually complain when an old building in Cape is turned into a parking lot, but I never had much of a feeling one way or another about the First National Bank, which later became the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In fact, the only photos I took of the building at the corner of Broadway and Main might have been the night the Teen Age Club was rocking so hard the dance was moved to the parking lot of the old bank.

Lynch and Baughn covered the history

Site of Old First National Bank - Broadway - Main 07-05-2013Missourian bloggers Fred Lynch and James Baughn did a good job of digging up the history of the bank, which was built in 1956. You can go to Fred’s blog to find all the links and photos, including recent ones taken while it was being razed. By the time I got to town, it was pretty much all over. This was taken July 5, 2013.

American Queen nice surprise

American Queen riverboat 07-07-2013When I went down to pick up an order at Broussard’s on July 7, I saw a reason not to lament the loss of a rather nondescript bank building. Anyone parking in that lot in the future will have a great view of riverboats like The American Queen. The Buckner building on the corner is vacant now.

(I’ll have some shots of The Queen later. You can click on any of the photos to make them larger.)

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Dancing in the Bank Parking Lot

I have a couple dozen photos slugged TAC, Teen Town and Teen Age Club. I know a lot of you spent a lot of time at some combination of those things. I think they’re all the same, but going by different names. Can someone clear up that mystery?

Rocking in the First National Bank Parking Lot

I thought the guy in the middle of this picture (with his mouth open like he’s catching flies) looked like Bill East, so I sent it to him for confirmation. I also postulated that Chuck Dockins might be in a striped shirt behind and to his left.

Bill pleads guilty

Here’s his reply:

It is. And is is Teen Town. During the summer of ’65 ( I think) the original teen town, which was on the second floor of a building on the  corner of  Themis and Spanish, was shut  down on an emergency basis. The ceiling of the store below was bouncing and the building inspector ruled it unsafe.

Bob Swaim got his father to give permission to use the bank  parking lot during the summer. A second temporary site was found, and I  don’t remember where, and then to the corner of Clark and Broadway.  Later, a more  permanent move was to a building on Broadview.

The negative sleeve is marked Teen Age Club 8/21/64, so I’m pretty sure that’s an accurate date. There were some other sleeves of what looked like the same event that were called TAC, with no date. Maybe I got lazy and figured that spelling it out once was enough.

Is that Pat Sommers in the middle?

I’ve always been lousy matching names and faces, but I think that’s Pat Sommers in dead center. The girl on his right, wearing a dark shirt, looks a little like Joan Amlingmeyer.

Gallery of Dance Photos

To keep from embarrassing myself by making other wild guesses, I’m going to take the easy way out and post the pictures in a gallery. I’ll let you fill in the dots in the comments section. Click on any image to make it larger, then step through them by clicking on the left or right side of the picture.

If you were involved with TAC / Teen Age Club / Teen Town in the 1964 – 1967 era and would like to help me ID some photos, leave me a note. I have film labeled Johnny Rabbit petition; TAC Fashion Show; Fund Raiser at Ruesslers; TAC opening and TAC meeting with Logan 8-10-67. Hints welcome.

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