Cape Girardeau History and Photos

November 12, 2024

Don’t forget to look behind you

South County Park sunset 11-12-2024I was headed back to Cape from Jackson when I saw the sky had lots of color. I pulled into South County Park and saw the reflection of the sunset on the lake.

I had someone behind me, so I couldn’t stop where I wanted to, so I made the circuit of the lake and hoped I’d get back in position before the magic leaked out.

It wasn’t quite as nice as my first sighting, but it wasn’t bad.

Click on the photos to make them larger.

Check out the rearview mirror

When I started to back out of the parking lot, this is what I saw in my rearview mirror.

Some days, your best work is behind you.

October 16, 2024

Birthday Season #103

Mother was born Oct. 17, 1921, which means she would be 103 had she not died in 2015. While rooting around in some old boxes, I discovered some photos of her that I had never seen before.

I love this shot of her wearing a jaunty hat and a saucy smile. It was a tiny print that still had tape around the edges, so it must have been pasted in something.

8 or 9 at house that burned

A note on the back said she was 8 or 9 in this picture in front of her family’s house in Advance that burned. I don’t know any details.

1938 graduation pictures

This sequence was slugged “1938,” so I have to assume this was when she graduated from high school.

A pack of den mothers

Mother was a Pack 8 den mother. She’s in the back row, second from the right.

She the only one with a medal pinned on her. It might have been a Purple Heart for injuries sustained while herding a bunch of Cub Scouts around.

Christmas in the dining room

We called this side of the living room the dining room, even though I pretty much sure we never dined there. In fact, we hardly ever lived in the living room except for special occasions.

We were kitchen, basement and porch folks.

A pensive moment

She’s all dressed up, but I don’t know where she was going.

Slipping in a Dad and Mark moment

I don’t want to steal Mother’s thunder, but this never-before-remembered shot of Dad and Mark at Easter is going to become one of my favorites.

Lots of Mother links

Mother was the subject of many blog posts.

Here are some links I pulled together for her obituary.

Mary Welch Steinhoff 1921 – 2015

Here is the day of her funeral

I Guess It’s Time

September 15, 2024

Does Anybody Recognize this Mailbox Killer?

Driver who destroyed my mailbox 09-11-2024

I came home from grocery shopping to find my mailbox flattened. The guy above mowed down a rose bush, destroyed my mailbox, missed my wife’s van by about a foot, bounced off a manhole cover in my front yard, and kept going down Kingway Drive at 10:14 a.m. on Sept 11.

I’d like to have a serious discussion with the driver about covering the cost of replacing the mailbox.

Dead mailbox

I thought I’d never have to replace it

When I put it in several years ago, I endeavored to make it as bulletproof as possible. I filled the pipe with concrete and rebar and set it in concrete two feet deep. I wanted some kid with a baseball bat to get a big surprise.

I hoped whoever ran over is going to have some serious body work to fix. They not only literally flattened the box, but they yanked the post out of the ground. I didn’t see a trail of liquids, so the vehicle might have had a strong enough bumper to protect it.

Yanked right out of the ground

I can view the security camera video, but it’s in a weird format that was going to take more trouble than it was worth to post.

By the way, the driver appeared to be bald or have short hair. If this was a crime show, some tech would be able to pull up the license tag, but I don’t have the skill or equipment to do it.

When the rains stop, I’ll replace it with something even more substantial.

P.S. In case you were wondering, I didn’t have any political signs in the yard.

May 16, 2024

Storms and Strawberry Pie

It’s been a rocky start to the severe storm season. Grant Dade, KFVS weatherman, reported “43 county tornado warnings and 204 county severe thunderstorm warnings in our viewing area yesterday (May 8). We can all be thankful the low level shear was weaker than advertised or instead of sporadic storm damage today it would have been catastrophic.”

For the record, KFVS claims to cover 50 counties in four states, including all of SE MO, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Northwestern Tennessee.

So, what’s with the pie?

Last year, I dilly-dallied around and missed strawberry season at Beggs’s Berry World at the Benton I-55 exit. I came within about a week of missing it again this year because of weather.

When I was checking out with my plastic gallon bucket of fresh strawberries, the cashier asked if I’d like one of the strawberry pies they had left. My arm didn’t have to be twisted.

I’m Johnny Strawberry Seed

Shortly after I had mastered the art of making cheesecakes, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

I was lamenting on my status to Museum Director Carla Jordan when she gave me a good piece of advice: “You don’t have to eat the whole cheesecake. Cut off an allowable slice, then distribute the rest to deserving folks so you won’t be tempted.”

With that in mind, I made the rounds of Cape friends and relatives, muttering, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” as I dropped off the goodies.

FYI. the unsliced berries in the pie pan was just to fill up the space.

In case you go looking, Beggs has moved to the opposite side of the I-55 exit. I went to the old location, proving that my GPS Lady in the Sky was wiser than I was.