Cape Girardeau History and Photos

February 28, 2013

St. Francis Growing

A Feb 24, 2013, Missourian story said that St. Francis Hospital broke ground in November on a $127 million expansion and renovation project. I spotted the work on my way to Best Buy the other day.

Big hole and lots of rock

It’s incredible how big the facility has grown and how much bigger this is going to make it.

Earlier St. Francis Stories

February 27, 2013March 29, 2021

Dawn of Mourning Exhibit in Athens

I was back in Athens, Ohio, on February 26, walking on rain-slicked cobblestones and helping set up my exhibit of photos of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Mourning taken in 1968.

“Dawn of Mourning” is presented by Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc. in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences, the Athens Historical Society and Museum, the Foster and Helen Cornwell Lecture Series, University College, the Campus Involvement Center, The Athens Messenger and The Post.

Here is a radio interview the local NPR station, WOUB, did with me. (To be honest, I could only listen to about five minutes of it. I always cringe when I hear myself being interviewed.

Danielle Echols, who has been the Sigma Gamma Rho coordinator on the project, did a great job of keeping me more or less between the lines during the radio program. I could tell she had a basket of questions to ask if I was one of those laconic “Yes, Ma’am,” “No, Ma’am” subjects, but she need not have worried. Rambling is one of my better things.

Photo gallery of show catalog photos.

Here is a catalog of the key images showing a highly emotional day at Ohio University. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

February 25, 2013February 15, 2015

Pike Lodge for Sale

The Missourian had a story Feb. 17, 2013, that the Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Lodge on South Sprigg Street down by the cement plan was going up for sale after 40-some years of testosterone and beer-fueled revelry. Chapter adviser Trae Bertrand was quoted as saying that the building is in “very poor” condition after repeated acts of vandalism.

Here’s a hint: if you are trying to sell something, it might be better if you didn’t use terms like “very poor” to describe it. I applaud his honesty, but question whether he is a business major.

Building had been Marquette School

Despite the fact that the Pike website said the building had been the Lafayette School, in reality it was the Marquette School until 1968. It was also supposed to be haunted by “Jessica.”

If you’re a Pike fan, here’s a piece I did about the Pike fire engine.

Pike Memorial Lodge 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. The little peek I got through a window leads me to concur with Trae: it DOES look like it’s in “very poor” condition, although the exterior walls and roof don’t look too bad. If you’re looking for a place that may or may not be haunted, give Trae a call.

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013

“Little German Church”

The sign in front of the plain, white church on Hwy N, two miles northeast of Delta (before the N.U.T. intersection), reads “Trinity Methodist Church” – “Little German Church.”

It looks like the foundation is made of field stones stacked atop each other with a little mortar to keep them in place.

What history he saw

I was amazed at the birth and death dates on Fritz Bock’s tombstone: the man was born before the Civil War and died in the middle of World War II. THAT’S a set of bookends you don’t see often.

I don’t know any of the church’s history, but the FindAGrave website has a pretty complete listing of the burials behind the building.

Little German Church 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.