Ken Steinhoff, Cape Girardeau Central High School Class of 1965, spent half a century in the ink-slinging business for papers in Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida.
He retired in 2008 and has been spending time scanning hundreds of thousands of images because “photos once taken as news have grown enough whiskers that they’ve become history.”
Please comment on the articles when you see he may have left out a bit of history, forgotten a name or when your memory of a circumstance conflicts with his.
(His mother said her stories improved after all the folks who could contradict died off.)
Your information helps to make this a wonderful archive and may end up in book form.
© Ken Steinhoff – All Rights Reserved
This photo was taken in 1966 or 1967. I read somewhere that this is one of the best views of the Mississippi River you can get without leaving the comfort of your car.
The present view is still a good one but not too long ago it was being obstructed by small trees and bushes. A photographer, wanting a better view, took it upon himself to cut much of the growth down. Made it much nicer for all of us. I’m not sure if it’s being maintained or just hasn’t grown back up yet.
In case Big Brother is listening, let the record show that I was not the photographer who thinned the growth.
I go through there still every couple of weeks to check out the boat traffic.The sandbar in the background was above the water a good 5-6 feet most of last summer. By contrast the railroad tracks below just revealed themselves when the flood waters receded about a week ago.
Here is a collection of older and newer photos of Cape Rock Park.
http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/48212
One of my favorite places in the world. I usually make at least one trip to Cape Rock on my visits back to Cape and always show it to people from out of town. Even my grand kids have seen Cape Rock and enjoyed the view.
I wonder if they still have the submarine races at night, or was that just just for my generation?
I’m in Cape visiting my parents and we drove to Cape Rock this morning. It all looks rather run down and yes Dick the trees and scrub bushes are obstructing the view. I wonder why the city allows it to get that way since it is a memorable place that we all used go.
Good to know there was a differet view available.only thing i knew was it was a great spot for the submarine races. It was dangerous to watch and you always had to keep your head down. But survived many trips to see the races.
Like Terry Darter, I was in Cape last week to take my dad out to dinner for his 91st. We took a drive north on Main to see the floodwaters and continued out to Cape Rock. The route itself brought back plenty of memories, but the view from ‘The Rock’ was as it ever was–but with more water.
Have any of you tried the new overlook of the river from the old bridge? It is also rather spectacular and much easier to get to.
My dad and a group of concerned citizens tried to get the City Parks department to clean up the Cape Rock Overlook a few years back. The intent was to restore the scenic beauty of the overlook so visitors would be able to appreciate the view up and down the river. The obstacle was a few of the Parks Board members that thought that an unkempt garden in its “natural” state is far superior to allowing man’s intervention. They were concerned about the environmental impact of clearing out weeds, poison ivy and other valuable wild undergrowth. The same thought processes have rendered what used to be beautiful overlooks in Trail of Tears State Park and many other locations around the state and nation. It has become impossible to see the forest for the trees thanks to runaway environmentalism.
Cape Rock, the surrounding parkland, and the views available used to be one of the attractions of the Cape Girardeau area, but by not being good stewards of God’s beautiful creation, the Parks Board have squandered the beauty that was there.
I remember being at the submarine races one night with a person to remain unnamed. He was driving his dad’s car & accidentally backed into that little guard fence and left a bent place in it. I was just so thankful that we didn’t end up going over the cliff!
Keith Robinson, I can’t say it any better than you did in June 2013. I took my grandson out to Cape Rock, June 2012, and on the way out describing to him what he was going to be able to see. Well, his grandmother (NINA) was in shock! What I had so vividly described to him……..just wasn’t there. Frankly, it just looked “run down” in more ways than one. Takes my mind back dates prior to the late 60’s when the city fathers didn’t want any industry in the community. Well, we all know what happened to Cape……..