Where’s the Ice Storm?

Cape ice storm 02-21-2013_2713Wife Lila said she was having problems getting her photo gallery to work on her gardening blog. I told her I’d take a look at it because it was probably something simple. I checked all the normal stuff and sent her a message saying that I had 40 ice storm photos to edit for MY blog and I’d check it again later.

At 4 in the A of M, I finished my post and did a preview. MY gallery wasn’t working, either. Looks like The Kid did an upgrade to the blog platform that hosed up that feature. If he gets it fixed, you’ll get to see the ice storm photos. If he doesn’t, you may get to see the ice storm photos this summer.

I’m going to bed.

Ready for Snow, Ice

MODOT snow equipment - Nash Road - 02-20-2013By the time most of you read this, we’ll know if these trucks wasted a lot of time and salt Tuesday prepping the roads for what might, or might not, be a big deal.

A Southeast Missourian weather blog summarized the situation:

100% chance of… something

MODOT snow equipment - Nash Road - 02-20-2013Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2013, at 5:21 PM

The forecast continues to deteriorate, with a “near 100 percent” chance of precipitation now forecast for tomorrow. But what kind of precip? That’s the question.

Earlier forecasts suggested that the temperature would rise above freezing during the afternoon, hitting 34°F or so at Cape Girardeau, and melting any snow/sleet/ice/whatever that accumulated during the morning. In that scenario, Winter Storm “Cupid” would be mostly a non-event.

 Now the forecast has dropped a few degrees, projecting that the temperature will hover around 30° or 31° all afternoon. Surprise! That could produce a drastic change in the severity of the storm.

 As usual, Southeast Missouri is straddling the dividing line between “no big deal” and “a huge mess.” The official forecast is leaning toward “a huge mess”, but it could go either way:

 THURSDAY…A CHANCE OF SNOW AND SLEET POSSIBLY MIXED WITH FREEZING RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN FREEZING RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION UP TO 2 INCHES. ICE ACCUMULATION AROUND ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. EAST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR 100 PERCENT.

When did this become normal?

Snow was a big deal when I was a kid. When did multiple big snows or sleet storms become the norm?

 

 

Main Street Project

 Reflections Main St Cape Girardeau MO 10-20-2009

Katy Beebe, an assistant professor at SEMO, asked if I would speak to her Historical Preservation class February 19. I couldn’t understand why they would be sitting in a classroom listening to me instead of chaining themselves to the handball court landmark the university wants to raze, but…

Dr. Beebe gave her class an assignment to uncover the history behind the buildings on Main Street between Themis and Broadway. Here is YOUR assignment: post comments about any businesses in that area that you can think of. She said she would allow her students to use my musings and your comments as honest to goodness reference material.

To help their research, here is a partial list of stories I’ve done on Main Street. Students here’s a hint: even if the story wasn’t PRIMARILY about your Main Street business, read through the comments anyway. Folks here tend to wander all over the place. Another hint: if you visit a page, then want to see if any new comments have been added, press Ctrl-F5 or whatever you use to refresh your browser. That’ll bring up any new stuff. Don’t be afraid to leave comments or ask questions. All of the folks who placed a comment on a story will get an email if you post something after them.

Buckner-Ragsdale

 Buckner-Ragsdales - Main Street 12-14-2011

Whoever drew this business is in luck. It is one of the best-known family-owned businesses in town with a wealth of information readily available. I’ve written about it several times, the Lamkin family has a detailed website and Kathrine Porter Russell Lamkin wrote a riveting account of the 1949 tornado on torn-out pages from a calendar. (By the way, you can click on any of the photos to make them larger.)

101 North Main

101 North Main Street Area 12-07-2011

Wrecks on Main Street

John Carpenter - Walter Joe Ford remove victim from wreck in front of Montgomery Wards 04-23-1966Prowling the streets at night gave me a chance to know the “doorshakers” like Jack Burris and to work Main Street crashes

General photos and stories about Main Street

Midnight Madness 1964 09Some of these may be more valuable because of comments than the original story.

Hecht’s Department Store

Hecht's weathervane disappeared after storm 10-15-2003

Considered one of Cape’s finest department stores.

Hecht’s

Where “Poof” ended up

Other Main Street topics

St Charles Hotel  3-11-67Most of these businesses and some of the buildings are long gone.

Aerial photos of downtown

Cape Girardeau Downtown District looking up Broadway; 1960s aerial photoI tried to shoot Cape from the air as often as possible

Oddball stuff

Teen Age Club dance overflowed to 1st National Bank parking lot c 1965Some things defy categorization.

Good reference resources

 

A Rainy Night in Cape Girardeau

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013Ever wonder why car ads always show wet roads, but it’s never raining? It’s because all the reflections are REALLY neat.  This is southbound on Kingshighway south of Broadway. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

I had to make a run to UPS to send a thumb drive full of photos to the Athen (OH) Historical Society and Museum. When I stopped by there last month, I left off a bunch of photos I took when I worked in Athens back in the late ’60s and early 70s. Friend Jan and I had barely gotten out of town when curator Jessica Cyders pinged me to ask if I thought it would be possible to put together an exhibit on the Martin Luther King National Day of Mourning I shot in 1968 by February 27 to cap off a Black History Month conference. Since Jessica and Danielle Echols were doing to do most of the heavy lifting, I agreed.

I’m flying out to speak to the group at the end of the month, and I’m busy putting together a show catalog right now. It’s neat that someone thinks my old stuff is worth sharing.

Tuesday I’m supposed to speak to a historical preservation class at Southeast Missouri State University. I threw in a lot of new Cape-specific stuff this afternoon, so what I say is going to be as big a surprise to me as it will be to the class.

Stop light at Pacific and Independence

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013After I dropped the drive at UPS, I decided I’d drive around looking for rain art. Photographers always thought life was unfair. Reporters did weather stories by calling the weather bureau, digging out clips about the Last Big Storm and, if they could be bothered, looking out the windows. Photographers had to get their shoes muddy.

Old Traffic Bridge

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013Downtown was kinda blah, so I stopped by what remains of the old Traffic Bridge.

Since I retired, my new contract says that I don’t go hungry, get wet or lift heavy objects. These photos were all taken from inside my van with the heater running.

Haarig or Good Hope

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013The wind and rain were really whipping from the south when I paused on Good Hope looking west toward Sprigg. It was coming across the road in sheets.

Pacific looking south from SEMO

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013

I figured I’d better scope out where I’m supposed to be presenting Tuesday, so I went up Pacific to the Carnahan Building. On the way back I tried to capture the rain coming up the street and down the hill.  These are the times I envy the TV guys with their video. It’s tough to get across the concept of driving rain in a still.

Through the windshield

Rainy streets in Cape 02-18-2013When an oncoming car lit up the water droplets on the windshield, the camera’s autofocus thought that’s what I wanted to shoot. It’s neat, and I’m glad it happened, but it wasn’t my target.