Parks Archives

July 5, 2012

Flags Coming Down

I promised myself that I wasn’t going to do another North County Park flag picture, even if it was the Fourth of July.

Then, on my way back from Perry County at the tailend of the afternoon, I saw the flags were coming down. I knew, of course, that somebody had to put them up at dawn and taken them down before dusk, but knowing something isn’t the same as seeing it.

Controlled chaos: no conking

Volunteer Jerry Hampton said most of the work was being done by VFW Post 3838, members of Boy Scout Troop 5 and folks from the Delta 1st Baptist Church. If I missed anyone, I apologize.

The workers acted in controlled chaos. Despite flag poles whirling and spinning all around, I didn’t see anyone conked or speared. They teamed up to handle the flags respectfully and to make sure they never touched the ground.

These flags are special

Those of us who visit the parks and appreciate the beauty of the flags flowing in the wind need to keep some things in mindL

Volunteers work hard when it’s cold and when it’s hot to put the flags up and to take them down.
Families donate the flags to honor their relatives who were in the service.
Each flag once covered the casket of someone who served to protect our freedoms.

Flag display gallery

Click on any photo to see a larger photo of these hard-working volunteers, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

June 12, 2012

Governor Signs Fireworks Bill

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon sent out a press release saying he had signed a fireworks bill that “removes a discrepancy between Missouri and federal laws on the labeling of commercial fireworks, and makes those fireworks that are legal under federal law now legal under Missouri law. Because Senate Bill 835 contains an emergency clause, it takes effect immediately, and brings clarity for communities and civic organizations that plan and sponsor Fourth of July fireworks displays.”

Arena Park at night

I don’t really care much about the new law – it was mostly clearing up some technical stuff – I just wanted an excuse to run these firework pictures from 1963. (You can click on them to make them larger, by the way.)

We didn’t generally go to Arena Park for fireworks. When I was a little kid, we lived on a hill just south of the Colonial Tavern that overlooked the park. The hill has long been leveled, so that vantage point is gone.

We can ALMOST see them from Kingsway Drive. This photo of the park looks like it was taken near North Broadview Street.

The 4th was almost as good as Christmas

Kids ranked the 4th of July right up there with Christmas, their birthday and Easter as a biggie in the holiday parade. Your birthday and the religious holidays offered gifts and Easter eggs, but the Fourth gave you an opportunity to blow things up.

Here are two examples:

I love the comment you all have left. (If you’ve been to those pages before, you may need to press Ctrl-F5 to make sure you see all the new comments. (I’m not exactly sure what pressing Ctrl-F5 does, but it’s a lot less messy than the alternative – sacrificing a chicken.)

I don’t know about Cape, but down here in Florida, it seems like somebody’s putting on a big fireworks display every time you turn around. On top of that, some of our neighbors must spend hundreds of bucks on fireworks of the caliber that they used to shoot off at Arena Park. Kinda dilutes the thrill.

June 3, 2012

Splash Park Doing Well

The Missourian editorialized that the Cape Splash aquatic center is off to a good start in 2012. Hot weather sent 3,713 people to the facility over the holiday weekend. It pointed out that it made more revenue in one hour on May 26 than was collected last year’s entire first day. (To be fair, last year was cool and wet, unlike this year.)

Still, it’s hard not to wish Capaha Park pool was full of splashing and screaming children watched over by attentive lifeguards. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you can see the train on the left and the small amusement rides in the right center.

Earlier stories about pools

May 15, 2012May 16, 2012

How to Survive Nuclear Attack

You could find just about anything at the Southeast Missouri District Fair. These women wanted to give you a pamphlet on how to “Survive Nuclear Attack.” If you had more questions, you could fill out a form (using a pencil secured to the table with a string) and drop it in the Question Box. I wonder it they were the ones who turned in the radio active girls.

The boys in the background probably have copies of the of the Cape Girardeau Police Department’s Police Safety Report and have been taught to Duck ‘n” Cover in school. My bet is that they’re more interested in trying to win the free bicycle from the Western Auto booth than in nuclear holocaust. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)

Crafts and produce

Cape was still rural in the mid-60s, so you’d find lots of hand-crafted items and big watermelons.

In addition to commercial exhibits, you could find ones that had hand-lettered signs warning “Alcohol is not a food. Alcohol is not a medicine. The first and major effect is to numb the brain.”

It might have been raining outside, based on the wet hair on a couple of the girls and the wet shirt on the boy in the bike picture.

Trying to get lucky

This appears to be a booth for selling life insurance, so I don’t know what these boys were trying to win with the forms they were filling out. The boy standing on the left has a raft of shamrock necklaces around his neck. Maybe he thinks they’ll bring him luck.

Now I see what they were doing. When I made the frame larger, I could barely see that you could win a bike or a hair dryer. I bet that round thing on the table at the right was the hair dryer. I think I know which one the boys were trying to win.

Food for survival

Cape Girardeau had its share of pretty flower gardens, but a lot of back yards grew enough vegetables to keep the family well-fed.

THAT’S an ear of corn

The fair was where farmers came to hear about the latest and greatest developments to help them produce more with less.

Here are some past fair stories:

Category: Parks