Photos around Cape Archives

December 12, 2021

1965 Ford Galaxie 500/LTD

I ran across a bunch of 4×5 negatives, some of which were in really bad shape, showing the 1965 Ford Galaxie 500/LTD and noting that Ford Groves had been around for half a century.

I don’t have any idea who the women models are. Check out the old TV on the left.

Who are these women?

Here’s a better look at the young women. I wonder if they were hired talent or friends, relatives or employees of Ford Groves.

It looks like the film might have slipped out of the groove when it was being developed, resulting in all the funky stuff looking like it’s trying to eat the Ford.

If I had turned it in as a class project when I was a Fine Arts student at Ohio University, I would have come up with a fancy, high-faluting caption brimming with Deep Meanings.

This guy must be important

He looks important: he’s got on a suit, wingtip shoes and a steely countenance.

I’m sure one of you will be able to identify him.

Obligatory mug shot of Galaxie

Spell check keeps trying to change the word to Galaxy, but the name on the side of the car and the sign says Galaxie. Ford should know, right?

Wikipedia provided this information about the 1965 model:

“The 1965 Galaxie was an all-new design, featuring vertically stacked dual headlights. The cars were taller and bulkier than the previous year’s. The new top-of-the-line designation was the Galaxie 500 LTD and Galaxie 500 XL. The LTD and the XL trim package were accessory upgrades from the base Galaxie model. Engine choices were the same as 1964, except for an all-new 240 cu in (3.9 L) six-cylinder engine replacing the 1950s-era 223 “Mileage-Maker” six and the 352 was now equipped with dual exhausts and a four-barrel carburetor.

“Suspension on the 1965 models was redesigned. Replacing the former leaf-spring rear suspension was a new three-link system, with coil springs. Interiors featured a new instrument panel, as well as two-way key vehicle access: the introduction of two keys was for valet parking, where the rounded head key would only open the trunk or locked glove compartment, while the squared head key would only unlock the doors and the ignition.”

Car salesmen pitching the Ford Maverick

This ad shot is so cheesy I finally grew to appreciate it. It was for The Athens Messenger in 1969. You can see more Maverick ad photos here.

I tried everything I could do to get out of shooting advertising photos.

Part of it was because some advertisers thought that since they hired you to to take their ad picture, they could also try to dictate what you could shoot in a news situation.

December 8, 2021

SEMO Erases Another Iconic Building

Someone posted on Facebook this morning that Southeast Missouri State University’s iconic Houck Stadium was being demolished. I decided it was worth putting on my pants and donning a light jacket to take a look at it.

By midafternoon, about half of the south stands had been reduced to dust and twisted rebar. A worker I chatted with said he thought they’d be done in about a week.

The north stands and Houck Field House aren’t slated for demolition (yet).

Inside a locker room

I thought that I might be able to get a higher angle shot from an office window in Houck Field House, but the only good candidate was locked.

I wandered down a hallway until I saw an open door and walked toward the light until I ran into a friendly worker. We exchanged construction war stories until I thought we were at the point where I could gently suggest that he look the other way while I disappeared for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, another guy showed up about that time, so I abandoned the idea.

On my way out, though, I stopped long enough to shoot the lockers and peppy slogan above them. The light wasn’t great, and I couldn’t get it all in one shot, so I created this combo.

Chief Sagamore’s old perch

Gates leading to the bluff where Chief Sagamore used to appear were locked, so this is the best I could do.

The white cloud is a powerful spray of water to keep dust down. Cars parked on Bellevue Street still got a pretty heavy dusting. Reminded me of what happened in the old days when dust from the cement plant would coat Cape when the winds were out of the south.

Gallery of demolition photos

Here’s a gallery of photos I shot December 8, 2021. Click on any image to make it larger, then use the arrows to move around. I’ll go through my files to see how many vintage Houck Stadium photos I can find, along with any appropriate anecdotes for a post in the near future.

November 28, 2021

1963 BSA Wish List

The Boy Scout Catalogue of Official Uniforms and Equipment was probably the second-most thumbed-through “wish book” that arrived in the mail. The Sears catalog (I prefer that spelling) was in first place, if only because of the lingerie ads.

This 1963 spring and summer version had items that you could buy in Cape, Hayti, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Perryville, Dexter and Kennett.

I’m going through boxes of Scout material to get ready for a Scout Month exhibit at the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson in February. If I donate all the stuff I have, there will be a lot more room in the house.

Official Scout paraphernalia

Thumb through this gallery of goodies. Click on any image to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move around.

To be honest, a lot of these items were poorly-made junk that didn’t hold up, or that performed poorly. That didn’t keep us from buying them, though.

Shameless plug

Since we’re getting into the gift-giving seasons, you might consider a copy of my Smelterville: A Community of Love book. I just received another 50 copies from the printer. You could also consider photos I turned into regional postcards.

Follow this link to find out where you can get your copies. They make a fine gift for folks who grew up in Cape before floods in 1973 and 1993 washed away the community. (PS. Ignore the mention of an edition. I stopped updating the number over the years. The ones in the link are the latest.)

November 16, 2021

Medical Records for Camp Lewallen

It was serendipitous that I ran across my old Boy Scout Medical records in the same week I got my Moderna booster shot. We had to have a physical exam before we could attend Boy Scout Camp Lewallen.

My 1963 exam, when I was 16, noted that all my immunizations were up to date, including a polio booster 6/11/63. It showed that I had measles and chicken pox in 1953.

I was amused to see that I was trying to imitate Dad’s beautiful signature’s long crossed “T,” but was falling way short. I learned to curse cursive.

1963 Side Two

The back side of the form checked off all my shots, said my vision was OK with glasses, and made no restrictions on physical activity.

The doctor at camp said to check for athlete’s foot daily. I don’t recall it ever being done. Maybe there had been an outbreak that year.

1959 Exam

Dad loved green. His typewriter ribbon was green, and he was prone to use green fountain pen ink, like here on my 1959 form.

Curious Page 2 entries

You have to understand that my pediatrician was the scary Dr. Charles T. Herbert. He was, as I pointed out in an earlier post, the reason I can’t eat popsicles to this day.

When he said there was “no abnormality of the genitalia,” he must have learned that just walking into that white tiny office across from St. Francis Hospital would produce normal shrinkage akin to jumping into the Capaha Park pool on a cloudy, windy May morning.

A note to the camp examining physician said that the boys should be stripped, and throat, skin and genitalia should be inspected.

I was prepared to say that I didn’t recall that happening, but then it dawned on me that we would hump our gear up the steep lanes to our campsites, pick a tent, then dress in our swimming trunks to trek down to get the camp physical.

I’m pretty sure it just consisted of taking an inventory of all our appendages, eyes, ears and nose, so that number could be compared with a similar inventory at the end of the week. If the numbers matched, all was well.

Actually, when I went back to look at a post I did about Troop 14 checking into camp, the physical was more intensive than I had remembered.

On to the swim test

After the cursory physical exam, we’d be herded to the swimming pool (or river in the early days) to buddy up for our swim test.

It’s amazing what you can find in random boxes and envelopes.