Cape Girardeau History and Photos

September 21, 2013

1967 Girardot Queen

I wonder if I smelled like smoke at the dance? This shot of the queen and her court was on the same roll as the fatal fire I mentioned yesterday and another fire at Dearmont Hall at SEMO. (You’ll hear more about that one later. It was there I asked one of the dumbest questions of my career.)

Here are the names as found in The Missourian caption on the September 21,1967, Youth Page: Miss Mary Hirsch, center, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hirsch, 1855 Thilenius, was crowned Central High School Girardot Queen at ceremonies last Friday in the school gymnasium. Her attendants are, from left, Miss Holly Lueders, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lueders, 1115 North Henderson; Miss Jane Dunklin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice T. Dunklin, 839 Alta Vista; Miss Georganne Penzel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Penzel, 1844 Thilenius, and Miss Debby Holland, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. W.T. Holland, 2221 Brookwood.

September 20, 2013

A Smell You Don’t Forget

It was time for my biannual body inventory at the dermatologist this morning. I had a hunk of skin cancer hacked off my face a few years ago, so I’m supposed to go back for inspection once or twice a year.

(When I showed up at the office with a huge bandage on my face back then, I answered the inevitable question by saying, “I was just sitting there minding my own business when this gang wearing masks and gloves surrounded me demanding money for drugs. Even though I paid off, they cut me anyway.” Well, it WAS true, kind of.)

After a bunch of uh-huhs and some picture taking of various and sundry body parts, he froze some places, scraped some places and sliced away at some others.

When he hit a couple of spots with a cauterizing iron, I commented, “That’s a smell I’ve never forgotten. The first fatal fire I worked was a guy who fell asleep with a cigarette smouldering in a feather bed.”

I could tell by the expression on his assistant’s face that’s not a comment she hears every day.

Just by the luck of the draw, I was scanning a queen crowning tonight when I found that fire on the same roll of film. I’m not going to provide a link to the story or any details except to say that the guy in the white jacket on the right is coroner Don Kremer. The remains of the featherbed are scattered all over the yard.

I hadn’t turned 20 yet

That wasn’t the last smoking-in-bed fatal I encountered, but it’s the one I flash back to.

I just looked at the file date on the film. I hadn’t turned 20 years old yet. That’s a long time to hold onto a memory.

September 20, 2013May 9, 2021

Trinity’s Balcony and Pews

Here’s another series of photos of the demolition of Trinity Lutheran Church. I’m focusing on the balcony and pews this time. I always thought it was impressive how the balcony swept out over the congregation. I always liked to sit in that section.

A simple church

The church eschewed ostentation. It was a simple, but elegant building with a distinct lack of geegaws.

The only jarring element for me was the cheap-looking acoustic tile ceiling. I often wondered what the original church ceiling was made of.

I noticed stuff like that as a kid. My first grade scrapbook contains the September 19, 1953, entry: “The whole family went to 8 o’clock church. I didn’t wiggle very much. To pass the time away, I counted 13 bugs on the wall….”

“I have loved the habitation of Thy House”

Shortly after taking those photos, I got to watch the church being dismantled, ironically under the words of Psalm 26:8, “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house and the place where Thine honor dwelleth.” I’ll spare you the rant this time. I got that out of my system when I posted photos of the church’s altar.

Pews at Trinity Lutheran School

At least two of the pews ended up in the hallway at Trinity Lutheran School.

Trinity Lutheran Church gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery.

September 18, 2013

Alone in a Crowd

For a guy who made a living shooting photos that told stories, sometimes I have to admit that I don’t KNOW the story in some pictures.

This was a single frame that was on a roll of Harris Motor Car fire photos from sometime around 1965ish. It must have been taken at some kind of party: I see crepe paper decorations in the background and the players are dressed up.(Click on the photos to make them larger.)

The couple on the couch doing some deep eye-gazing are oblivious to me and the other people in the room, including the person whose legs are sprawled out next to them. The kind of dorky-looking guy (and as one, I can identify one) appears to be frozen in front of a closet or divider door. I started to crop out the overexposed woman (girl?) on the right as distracting, but then decided she was part of the strange tableau.

When I blew the negative up enough to snoop the bookshelf behind the couple, I spotted a Better Homes and Garden New Garden Book, some Reader’s Digest condensed books, some Reader’s Digest magazines and several novels, including Back Home, The Way West, The Fires of Autumn and Chips Off the Old Benchley. There are two boxes with latches on the shelf. One of them has a label “Annette (?) Platter Pak.” I wonder if they might have held 45 RPM records.

Here’s your assignment

Come up with a story that explains the elements in the photo. I’m not sure if I’ll add or subtract bonus points if you can actually identify the characters and the location.

It’s almost more fun if you come up with a Rod Serling Twilight Zone twist about space aliens who launch a powerful pulse of energy that freezes all human movement so the space folk can wander around doing things like reading our bookshelves without being detected.

Now that I think of it, I ran photos of another party that generated more questions than answers. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get invited to many parties.