Damsels in Distress

Storm 07-07-1966 w Flooding on BroadwayThe July 7, 1966, Missourian reported that one of the most damaging storms in several years passed through Cape Girardeau in three main sweeps Wednesday afternoon. Several blocks near Broadway and Caruthers and Independence and Pacific became flooded, power lines were downed and trees uprooted.

These Good Samaritans are helping some damsels in distress in front of the Cape Girardeau Surgical Group at 1912 Broadway. Click on the photo to make it large enough to identify the players.

Swimming pool with traffic lights

Storm 07-07-1966 w Flooding on BroadwayThese guys are blasting through water nearly deep enough to submerge the car’s Confederate flag license tag on Broadway in front of Broadway Plaza.

Earlier in the day, children splashed in the water while the traffic signal kept flashing red, yellow and green, but no traffic was passing. One kid was quoted in the paper as saying, “This is the first time I’ve ever been in a pool with traffic lights in it.”

When I called Mother Monday night, she said most of the snow is off the yard, but it’s so full of water that it’s “squishy.” Once we get past the ice and snow stage, the next news from the Midwest will be tornadoes and floods.

 

What Was Social Living Class?

Central High School classroom c 1965I gave these photos a file name of “Speech Class” because I saw the National Forensic League (NFL) logo in the back of the room. Then, I looked at the students, most of whom are in the Class of 1965, and didn’t see a large number of debaters.

The bulletin board display, with its front pages from U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek got me thinking Current Events. (The facing portraits on the board look more like Calvin Chapman than JFK.) There are also lots of stories tacked up that may be Senior Spotlights from The Tiger.

Social Living Clue

Central High School classroom c 1965My thinking changed when I saw the textbooks on the desks of Cheri Huckstep and Paul Schwab. They say “Social Living.” I can’t remember, for the life of me, what that class was about. Was that another name for Civics?

Photo gallery

You should have fun putting names to faces. I recognize lots of folks, but I’m going to give you the opportunity to make guesses so I don’t have to make corrections. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery. (Check out the street scene out the window of the vertical shot with Lynn Latimore in it. I bet you can ID the businesses in the background.)

English Leather

English Leather Deodorant Spray 02-15-2014Dad and I were English Leather guys. I think there is still a bottle of English Leather powder on a shelf in the basement shower room. It was traumatic when Wife Lila came home from shopping one day to break the news that English Leather spray deodorant was nowhere to be found. She bought the last couple of cans in the world.

This can has been sitting on the bedroom dresser for at least a decade. [Editor’s note: Wife Lila, while proofing this, said “two decades.”]

I reluctantly switched to another brand that I don’t like half as much as English Leather, and I set this one aside for who knows why.

After much nagging to “get rid of that stuff before it explodes,” I gave myself a couple squirts last week. It’s as good as it always was.

Citrus, woods, moss and leather

An ad for the cologne (which I never wore) describes the scent: “Bring out your deep, masculine side with English Leather by Dana. This unforgettable cologne for men mixes citrus, woods, moss and leather scents for a rich and masculine blend that can last the entire day. Introduced in 1949, this casual scent brings a classic elegance to your everyday interactions. Apply it before you leave the house for an informal outing and enjoy the sense of rich manliness it brings to all of your personal encounters during the day.”

I’m not sure I’d describe it exactly that way; to me there’s a hint of a smell of talcum powder attached to it.

English Leather still exists

Some non-spray products are available on Amazon (if you click on the link to order, I get a small piece of the action and it doesn’t cost you extra).

Remember Old Spice?

Speaking of after shaves, do you remember Old Spice? It came in a white glass bottle with a plastic stopper that would pull out so you could splash a little on your palm and then rub it on your face after shaving. It had enough alcohol in it that you would know immediately if you has scraped anywhere. I would almost swear the stopper and print were blue.

Alas, Old Spice is still available, but it’s not the Old Spice that we knew and loved, according to Amazon reviewers who rate it a 4-1/2 out of 5 stars.

Here’s a typical 2-star reviewer: “Old Spice was originally produced by Shulton, a New Jersey company. The Old Spice brand was purchased by Proctor and Gamble in 1990. P&G reformulated Old Spice to work with the plastic bottles a few years later. If you have memories of the Shulton Old Spice scent, you will find the new stuff to be evocative, but decidedly brighter, more floral and powdery. The original Shulton was deeper and spicier. The new P&G Old Spice “classic” after shave and cologne are not terrible products, but they are not ‘the same as they always were.‘”

I rarely used Old Spice, but my Grandfather Welch did. I thought of him every time I smelled it.

Maybe that’s why the product description reads, “Old Spice Cologne has been around for generations. If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist. Neither would velvet paintings, the chili dog and sheepskin rugs — manly things that were made by men who smelled strong and splashed Old Spice cologne on their faces before doing other manly stuff during their day.

World’s Oldest 3-Year-Old

Graham Steinhoff with birthday cake 02-08-2014Last weekend I went to a joint birthday party for Grandsons Elliot (who was 1) and Graham, who turned 3 on Valentine’s Day.

Civilized cake

Birthday cake for Graham and Elliot Steinhoff 02-08-2014You saw the photos of Elliot eating his cake last week. It’s pretty obvious why he got his own cake and the rest of us got pieces of this one.

Video of a boy old beyond his years

Much to Grandson Malcolm’s annoyance, I’ve always quizzed the youngsters about things that might be in their food. (He was taught at an early age to intone, “Bluuuuuuberries cause efluuuuvia.)

In this video, Graham in response to my questioning, assures me that his cake doesn’t contain rhinoceros tails, crocodile noses or hippopotamus hides. Beating me to my next offering, he says, “No alligators, just cake.”

Then, he cracks me up by holding a hand to his ear, making a face and solemnly saying “That music is too loud.”

I thought he had turned into Instant Old Man, but he DID let the other guests play on his lawn.

Taking little brother out for a drive

Adam, Graham and Elliot Steinhoff 02-08-2014After the party broke up, Graham got his dad’s permission to take his little brother out for a drive for the first time. The kid’s a pretty good driver.

I’m going to buy him a compass for his dashboard to go along with his white belt and white shoes so he’ll fit in with the rest of Florida’s Old Man drivers.

Adam, Carly, Graham and Elliot are lucky enough to live in Loxahatchee, a rural section of Palm Beach County, on a gravel road that deadends at a canal. It’s a good place for Graham to drive if Dad or Mother is along.