Cape Girardeau History and Photos

April 16, 2013

Independence Traffic Jam

Yes, children, we had traffic jams in Cape in The Old Days. I shot this one on Independence looking toward Kingshighway on the same day I shot the demolition of the St. Charles Hotel, April 13, 1967.

It took some headscratching to figure out where it was taken. The key landmarks were the bridge over Cape LaCroix Creek, the Wiethop Truck Sales sign, the highway sign pointing to Hwy 61 and the car dealership way off in the background.

I must have been using my 200mm telephoto lens. That would have accounted for the way everything is compressed and looks closer than it really is.

The only thing that’s still there is Wiethop. Moon Distributing Company and Pollack Hide and Fur, which don’t show at that intersection, are long gone. Harris Motor Company has become Aldi’s. The area off to the right contains Kmart, Schnucks, Walgreen Drugs and some other stores.

And, that traffic-jammed two-lane road has become four lanes with a suicide center turn lane.

April 15, 2013February 27, 2015

Razing St. Charles Hotel

These are a present to the SEMO student working on the Main Street Project who drew the St. Charles Hotel as a subject.

These photos were taken April 13, 1967, when it was all over for the historic hotel used as General Grant’s HQ during the Civil War.

Businesses to the south

I tried to read the painted sign on the building south of the hotel, but I can’t quite make it out. It might be Sherman’s.

The City Directory lists Irvin’s Clothing at 39 North Main. That would be the vertical black sign with the white letters. Below it is a sign advertising Arrow Shirts. That could belong to Irvin’s or it might be for Main Street Clothing, which was at 35 North Main in 1968. Dolly’s Hat Shop was in the directory at 37 North Main.

Personal Finance Loans was at 31 North Main. You can see its sign. The directory lists Tony’s Jewelry and Thrift at the same address. The Sweet Shop was at 33 North Main, but I can’t see a sign for that business.

Sterling Variety Store was 41 North Main

The building that replaced the hotel was Sterling Variety Store, and it’s listed at 41 North Main.

Across the street you can see Lee Optical and Co-Op Drugs. I assume the Budweiser sign marks Cowboy’s Tavern.

St. Charles a month earlier

I took this picture of the St. Charles waiting for the wrecking ball on March 11, 1967. You can see more photos and read some history of the hotel here.

April 14, 2013

Ivan McLain’s Birthday Party

Hanging around cop shops was a good way get to know the men and women with badges before you ran into them as strangers at a spot news scene where confrontations could escalate. Besides, it was always fun to exchange war stories.

Dispatchers, in particular, could be your best friend. They could sometimes both follow the letter of their orders and still be helpful. “The captain said if you called to tell you that there is nothing going on at 101 Main Street. Got that?” I spent a lot of time at the Cape County Sheriff’s office in Jackson. Part of that was because it was across the courthouse square from The Jackson Pioneer, and partly because Deputy Jon Knehans and I became friends while taking some SEMO classes together.

That might have been why I was around when Sheriff Ivan McLain was the target of a surprise birthday party. None of these photos ran in The Missourian, so I was either tipped off about the party or I just happened to be lurking there.

Always a nice guy

The sheriff showed extraordinary patience to a green reporter. He always took the time to answer my questions and never, so far as I knew, lied to me. I photographed him on a number of occasions, including demonstrating lie detectors techniques to students.

Jon Knehans for sure

I recognize some of the faces in the pictures, but Jon is the only one I can ID for sure.

Ivan McLain died Feb. 22, 2013

I was sorry to find his obituary in The Missourian.

Ivan Ernest McLain, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born June 1, 1930, in Oriole to Monroe and Myrtle Comer McLain.

Ivan was a veteran of the Korean War, serving in the Navy. He and Betty Lois Jauch were married June 19, 1954, at Oriole.

Sheriff from 1966 to 1977

Mr. McLain worked for the Cape Girardeau Police Department from September 1955 to November 1966 and was sheriff of Cape Girardeau County from November 1966 to January 1977. He was in real estate sales from 1977 to 1980 and worked at the Gene Rhodes Oil Co. from 1980 to 1983.

Ivan was chief of police in Chaffee, Mo., from 1983 to 1992. He retired from Wal-Mart after being a greeter from June 1992 to December 2010.

A member of VFW

He was a member of the Cape County Cowboy Church and attended Red Star Baptist Church. He also was a member of the VFW Post 3127 in Chaffee.

Survivors

Survivors include his wife, Betty Lois McLain of Cape Girardeau; sons Ivan (Aida) Santos of Grand Prairie, Texas, and Randy (Judy) McLain of Cape Girardeau; daughters Cathy Proffer of Advance, Mo., and Penny (Curt) Johns of Jackson; a brother, Jack (Jean) McLain of Cape Girardeau; sisters, Carrie Wilhelm of Mount Dora, Fla., and Mary Wissmann of Cape Girardeau; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, seven brothers, two sisters and two grandsons, Rusty Watson and Colin McLain.

April 14, 2013April 14, 2013

Too Dirty for The Missourian

My original headline was “Dirty Pictures of Little Girls,” but Wife Lila, playing editor, put the kibosh on that.

The Missourian was very conservative. I’ve mentioned before that we had an editor who would censor Ann Landers if he thought the column was too racy. Some of these photos were too dirty for the Youth Page, so they have been suppressed for close to half a century.

The shot above and the one below ran August 12, 1967, with the caption “Brownie Scouts Shirley Laurentius (below) and Nancy Noffel (above) demonstrate how to do The Wade at Brownie Girl Scout Camp. It’s more difficult than it seems: novices end up doing The Splash.”

Shirley Laurentius

More than 160 Brownies attended the activities this week at the Seabaugh Farm on Cape LaCroix Creek Road. Shirley is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Laurentius, 1601 Bloomfield, and Nancy is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. S. Edwin Noffel, 2532 Timber Lane. Now, let’s see, first you stick your right foot out and teeter all about…”

What in the world did you do?

Something tells me some parents got a real surprise when their Brownie showed up for a ride home. Here is a cleaner story about camping on the Seabaugh Farm.

Photo gallery of muddy Brownie Scouts

Here are some other outtakes from Brownies Gone Wild on the Seabaugh Farm. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery. Parental discretion advised.