I was never in the tiny service station at 802 Good Hope, at the corner of Good Hope and Ellis, but I’ve always been fascinated with it because it looks almost like a model of a real building. You can click on the photo to make it larger but the building itself is still going to look miniature.
I couldn’t find much about the history of the building, but here are a few news stories culled from The Missourian over the years:
- Sept. 12, 1934 – Arthur Kempe, 545 S. Ellis street, has purchased from the Phillips Petroleum Co. the filling station located at 802 Good Hope street. Kempe was formerly bookkeeper for the Rudert and Sons garage. He is being assisted on Saturdays by his son, Jimmy.
- Mar. 4, 1946 – Arthur Kempe called The Missourian office to say that he saw his first swallow of the season this morning in a bird house at his service station at 802 Good Hope street.
- May 25, 1961 – Officers almost nabbed a burglar late Wednesday night but darkness enabled the thief to elude his pursuers. Police, who drove up with their headlights off, spotted a man near the station with his hands full of apparently stolen articles. The suspect ran between houses near the station and managed to escape, “his dark clothing making him almost invisible in the night.” He took $3 in pennies, eight packs of cigarettes and six flashlight batteries.
- Aug. 19, 1984 – The Urhahn Service Station, 802 Good Hope, has been purchased by Otto and Rebecca Goehman, who are now operating the business. They bought the facility from Harold and Dorothy Annis. The business retails gasoline and other motor car products and also does major and minor automobile work.
- May 22, 2004 – Black oramental iron stands were reported stolen from FGR Mechanical, 802 Good Hope.
Other business is the Haarig area
- Dad’s construction office was in Farmers and Merchants Bank, the place we did our banking.
- I got my hair cut by Ed Unger at the Stylerite Barbershop.
- We bought our ice from the Pure Ice Company
- Suedkum Hardware was better than Disney World. (Or course, Disney World hadn’t been invented yet.)
- You hoped you weren’t sick enough to see Dr. Herbert
- If it was REALLY serious, you went to St. Francis Hospital
- We could buy clothes at Schades and shop for groceries at Hirsch’s Midtown.
- At Sprigg and William, in the next block up, you could go to church at St. Mary’s, buy a car at Clark Buick and a TV from Lorberg’s.
- In later years, we’d stop in to see Doris.
Fridays had catfish dinners at Al’s midtown
Sundays were special with the best cream horns ever from Martin’s Bakery
Any day was great at Sunny Hill Pet and Garden
Walking to school past Bunny Bread – aromas of sweet rolls were tortuous.
All you needed within walking distance.
Cape really was pretty compact. Living on Kingsway Drive, called Old Jackson Road when we first moved there, was actually outside the city limits. At that, it was almost exactly three miles from the house to Trinity Lutheran School. On the one hand, that felt like a long way, but it’s really within walking distance. When I got in the upper grades, my folks would let me walk or ride to and from school from time to time.
This reminds me of my uncles station that was up on Broadway across from the First Baptist Church. Emil Brennecke owned the Phillip 66 station there for years.
Martin’s Bakery had the best Bearclaws this side of Heaven. Al’s had kettle cooked beef on Wednesdays and the best coconut cream pies in town. Old Doc Crowe was scary. Aspirin was his favorite prescription.
Kempes station was a regular stop when I got that far down on Ellis St. pushing my 2 wheel cart full of papers in the late 1930’s’ Those cold, 16 ounce pepsi colas for a nickle were so good and Mr Kempe was so nice!
Joe Whitright class of “45”
Diana Hensley Tackett is my niece. I lived on South
Ellis and walked by this station the way to CHS. All
the places you mentioned were so familiar. What a
good place to live. I graduated from Central in 1951
and really enjoy all your pictures of the Cape I knew.
Those really were “the days”.
Aunt Mary Ritter did you walk to school with my mom and Pat or Uncle Lloyd. By the way I’m going to call.
I am hoping to contact Mary Hensley Brennecke Ritter – a
friend I met in 1944-45 at Grant school in Columbia, MO, and sadly, have lost track of. Mary, email me at
magain33@gmail.com.if you see this message.
Diana Hensley Tackett–I walked to CHS with your
Dad. Uncle Lloyd was already out by the time I
went. Yes! call me.
My mother once lived at 214 South Ellis, just the other end of the block from 802 Good Hope. ( She would walk to Trinity school as a girl. ) That was in the 1930’s …Some years ago, when I was in town I took her for a drive around that part of town. Almost wish I hadn’t – was a little sad seeing how things had changed, not for the better.
Thought I remember that little building.
Thanks Ken.
803 Good Hope was a Philipps 66 gas station that belonged to my Grandpa Leo Urhahn. I am not sure of the year that he bought it. But I know that in the 50’s my mother used to pump gas there when she was a young girl. My Uncle Robert (Bob) Urhahn also worked there as a mechanic. When my Grandpa died around 1968 my Uncle Bob took over the Urhahn Phillip 66 station. He passed away unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 1983. He never married and had two sisters. That is when Harold & Dorothy (Urhahn) Annis ( his older sister) bought it from the estate. Later they sold it to the Goehmans.
Thanks for the update, Laura.
I bought a 1965 Mustang convertible at Rowe Ford in Malden. I was so proud of that fiery red car, drove it home at 70-75 mph, felt like I was flying. Picked it up on a Saturday, Monday I took it to Bob Urhahn to check out. When I went to pick it up and pay the bill he told me I was lucky to be alive as the tie rods were held together with baleing wire. There were so many things that needed to be repaired the bill was $800 which shocked me. I drove that car for a year then sold it to a fellow from Marion, Ill as the top was manual and a bugger to get up and down. I truly loved that ‘Tang’!
Hi Ken, we were told that many years ago this house was used for TB patients because they didn’t want them in the main hospital. Several years ago when the house was gutted by fire, my husband was the inspector. he took lots of photos. In the photos are hundreds and hundreds of orbs. On the wall was the image of a man who looked like Christ. Can’t verify this but it was strange. I didn’t believe it till I saw the pics
Thanks for the bit of local lore, although I have a hard time believing that building would be large enough to house many patients.
I found this page while researching an item before I resale it. I have salt and pepper shakers that are Phillip’s 66 gas pumps. On the back is stamped for advertising “Kempe’s 66 Service 802 Good Hope St. Cape Girardeau, MO”. I wanted to say thank you for this page it allows me to know the history of the item that would have otherwise been lost to history. I love putting the human and life story to an antique it is truly fascinating. So thank you, take care from CA!
That’s one of the reasons this site exists. I love to put folks in touch with their past.