Parks Archives

March 11, 2013

Trail of Tears Swimming

Now that I’m back in Florida, I expect the weather to be warm everywhere. From the looks of the forecasted Cape lows for the next week, I might be rushing these photos.

The negative sleeve said Trail of Tears 1966, so I’m going to assume it’s right. I don’t recall seeing this many people at the lake, but it might have been a really hot day. Most of the bathing suits are pretty conservative by today’s standards, but I did spot a couple that probably caused the phone lines to burn up the next day. “Did you SEE what Mabel was wearing? Or, almost NOT wearing. It was scandalous. Wonder where she bought it?”

Photo gallery of warmer days

February 8, 2013

Thoughts Turn to Summer

Temperatures in Cape Girardeau were unseasonably warm this week. It got up into the sunny 60s one day. I took that opportunity to cut up a big chunk of tree that had fallen during the last storm and Mother fired up her riding mower to mulch leaves and sticks.

At one point, I saw her sitting on the concrete steps in the back yard. I was afraid she might have overdone it, but, no, she was just soaking up the sun and “thinking about the summer.”

That warm day got me thinking about these guys at the old Capaha Park pool. I recognize Bill Jackson, second from left at the top of the ladder, but you folks are going to have to fill in the rest. Clicking on it will make it slightly larger if that helps.

December 29, 2012

Capaha Park Lagoon

This is one of those “almost” photos that came close to working, but had some flaws that kept it from being really nice. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

You shoot a silhouette by having a strong backlight and underexposing the foreground until you are essentially left with a photo of a shadow. It works only if the background is plain, however.

I like the moment with the girl’s leg caught in flight and the fingers just barely touching, but there isn’t enough separation between the running figures and the background. The guy’s legs and head, in particular, get lost in the shadows.

Capaha Park ice

This photo, which I’ve run before, is more appropriate to the weather Cape has been having, although it’s a much warmer winter so far than what we had when the lagoon froze over in January 1968.

December 12, 2012

Lifesaving Class

I should have run these photos when it was unseasonably warm back in Cape a couple of weeks ago. They’ll have to serve as reminders of warmer days now that smoke is coming out of Cape Girardeau chimneys.

I’m assuming that it was a lifesaving class at Capaha Park Pool in 1964. I see some faces that look familiar, but I’ll let you put names to them.

Other pool photos

Lifesaving photo gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery. Name guesses are encouraged.