Cape’s a pretty conservative town (home to Rush Limbaugh and Terry Jones), so it shouldn’t surprise you that it had an active Tea Party all the way back in 1967.
No, not the political Tea Party, the lower case tea party where little girls dress up in their mother’s clothes. The Missourian ran four of these photos in the August 22, 1967, edition. The cutline, paraphrased, said, At a a dress-up tea party this week, the eye of the camera caught a group of little girls in the act of being their mothers. In the first and second photographs, Kimberly Bowers, left, and Ginger Minton actively engage in conversation.
Kimberly and Ginger
The conversation continues.
Shari Minton and April Farrar
In the third photograph, Shari Minton and April Farrar are shown partaking in party fare between sentences.
Perfecting the heel-slip
Shari, demonstrates the popular tea-time habit of slipping-the-heel-out-of-the-shoe. April and Allison Farrar, daughters of Maj. and Mrs. B.F. Farrar of Washington, D.C., are here to visit their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Farrar, and their great-aunt, Miss Verda Farrar, who held the party on the lawn of her home at 2500 Ranchito. Ginger and Shari Minton, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Minton of New Orleans, are here to visit their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Minton. Kimberly Bowers is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Bowers, Cape Girardeau.
Tea Party Photo Gallery
Getting twenty bucks worth of photos in the paper put a spring in my step, but I had a few more shots that were cute. You’re getting them for free. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.
I haven’t seen these pictures for a long time. Kim, my sister, and our cousins had a wonderful time that day. Kim, April, and Ginger were the oldest ones at 10. (I thought I was a mature 15, and far too old to participate in that immature sort of thing.) We still have the saved paper with the article and pictures. It was always a time to celebrate and do something special when our cousins all came to Cape. And our Great Aunt Verda Farrar knew how to throw a party. Thanks Ken for posting these fun pictures. They bring back a lot of memories.
Cape may have been conservative, but one could hardly call it that now. With arguably the highest local taxes (property.& sales combined) in Missouri funding absolutely necessary projects, many of which you have documented here, the town seems more liberal than most. As an example see the previous story.
Now what would the Limbaugh listeners think about that?
These photos are treasures. I can almost hear the dialogue.
Great pictures, in all the look like scenes from the “Little Rascals.”
How very sweet these children and photos are.
what a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Ken you really caught some of the greatest facial expressions.
Oh my gosh!! Hilarious!! Ken, I would like to buy copies of all of these picutures. All I have are very small & blurry pictures of this day. My cousin April & Great Aunt Verda made all the food and drinks for this tea party. April used the Betty Crocker New Boys & Girls Cookbook.
My cousin Shari was a real tom boy with skinned knees. It was especially funny to see her all dolled up for this party. Unlike her sister Ginger who was always miss prissy. I cannot imagine what Ginger was doing on the driveway with her skirt hiked up, but it looks like the stockings are way too big. I bet her daughters are having a big hoot in Texas over this.
My very shy (then, not now!!) cousin Alison (the one with the pinned black slip as a dress) is now a math teacher in Arnold, Mo.
I think the little girl on the chair in the background & not dressed up is either Teresa Wilton or Pam Moore.
Thanks for a great giggle. This was fun that day & it is fun looking at these today.
Kim,
I’ll send you an email to talk about copies.
I’m glad you folks found yourselves. I was hoping at least one of you would remember that day.
I’d like to know who you were using as role models. There’s some serious emoting going on in these pix.
I can still remember my sisters, Ginger and Shari getting “dolled” up for this event. Luckily, I didn’t have to attend, which for a time, I thought I would have to sit around my Aunt Verda’s house and be still. Not something I was very good at then. I can still remember the photos and the paper like it was yesterday. Of course being 7 at the time, I could not for the life of me understand why this event made the newspaper, and such a large spread. I’m sure my mother still has the newspaper that went with story.
Oh my. Yes,my mother STILL has the copy of the newspaper article when it first ran. I believe one caption of a Ginger and Kim picture read something akin to:
“Darling, as I always say, never trust anyone over the age of thirty.”
I remember this day pretty well. Particularly Kim and Ginger being very dramatic for the camera. Oh, and me trying very hard to keep the gloves and clothes on which were huge.
Like my cousin Kim, I would love to buy copies of these pictures.
Ken,
I always enjoy your posts on Facebook, but I especially enjoyed this picture of Kim Bowers. She and I were classmates and longtime friends. I moved away from Cape and lost touch with her. Sooooo, Kim, I’d love to hear from you. My dad says he has seen your dad at the Cape Senior Center, but he never thinks to ask about you. You can find me on Facebook and on LinkedIn.
Michelle (Missy)