Cape Girardeau History and Photos

January 10, 2012May 15, 2012

Cape Central Turns 100 in 2012

Cape Central High School, in all its forms, will be 100 years old in 2012. Despite what some people may think, I was NOT in the inaugural class.

Several of the high school newsletters had mentioned that Central’s librarian, Julia Howes Jogensen, had put together a book, Cape Central High School Centennial to celebrate the occasion. One of my first stops when I got to Cape this fall was the CHS library to see if they had sold out of the books. Fortunately, they hadn’t.

It’s a very nice, yearbook-style book with 120 pages of photos and stories about Central High School, from the very first days right up to the present time. The 1950-1960s eras are well-documented. In fact, I saw three or four of my yearbook shots in it.

How do I get a Centennial book?

How can you get a copy of the book? Go to the merchandise website.

Or, send a check for $50 made out to Cape Central High School (memo line: Centennial book)

Cape Central High School

1000 South Silver Springs Road

Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63703

Attn: Julia Jorgensen

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed looking through my copy. I noticed on the merchandise webpage that limited numbers of old high school yearbooks were available. I’m not sure if there are any left.

Photo gallery from the book

This is just a sample of some of the photos that are in the Centennial book. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the photo to move through the gallery. I’ll be bringing you current pictures of Julia’s new Central High School library in the next day or so. It’s nothing like the sterile, shushing study hall we remember.

January 8, 2012

Crash Damages Church Sign

I see what looks like car juice on the street, sidewalk and lawn in front of a sign that’s taking a nap in front of the Evangelical United Church of Christ at the corner of Merriwether and South Ellis. Based on other photos in the envelope, I’m going to guess these wreck pictures were taken some time in September of 1966.

Evangelical United Church of Christ sign back up

I checked out Google Earth this evening, it looked like the sign has been replaced.

When I called Cape this evening, Mother said, “Looks like you’ve been slacking off the last few days.” I tried to explain to her that I’ve been working on a project that’s kept me busy, so I’ve been reaching into the negative drawer for stuff that doesn’t require a lot of research. It’s tough when your own mother gives you a C-minus grade. I’m probably going to have to turn in some extra homework to bring up my grade.

By the way, if you’ve noticed something new at the top of the page – three rotating photos of Central High School cheerleaders, the CHS Alma Mater and something touting the Cape Central High Centennial, click on them and you’ll be taken to a website with information about how you can order a quite nice book celebrating 100 years of Cape Central High School. I was going to have a story about the book and the high school’s new library, but Mother was right: I WAS slacking off today. I took advantage of a perfect Florida afternoon to go bike riding with a couple of friends. I’ll be pounding dusty erasers for a week for playing hooky.

January 7, 2012January 7, 2012

Antique Car

Everybody’s heard about the vintage automobile that was put aside for whatever reason in some farmer’s barn, to be long forgotten until decades later when it’s found in mint condition by someone who knows its worth. I don’t have any idea of this is such a car. I vaguely remember shooting it, but I couldn’t find a story in September 1966 that went along with it. This looks more like an assignment than something I stumbled onto.

Maybe someone can identify the car and / or the woman in the pictures.

The automobile in Cape Girardeau

Here’s a piece about Cape’s early car history. Cape’s first car hit the street in 1904, for example. Cape’s first car theft happened a year later. A car ran over the first pedestrian on July 21, 1910; the next day, a car driven by R.B. Oliver, Jr., collided with a Western Union bicyclist. Cape hasn’t been safe for cyclists or pedestrians since.

More mystery car photos

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery. Happy hunting.

Some of you have been interested in how the photos were taken. It must have been fairly dark in the garage, so I used an electronic flash held at arms-length high and to the left to keep the harsh shadows from falling directly behind the subject. That give the subject more modeling than if the flash was bolted onto the camera.

January 6, 2012January 6, 2012

No Leaf Loafers Here

OK, I kinda missed the season on this one, but you get ’em as I find ’em. This was on the same roll as the Atlas Plastic strikers, so it must have been taken in September of 1966.

This is what’s called “wild art” in the business. It’s a feature shot with no real news peg. I don’t think it ever ran, so I wasted a few minutes of time and three or four frames of film that were going to be processed anyway.

Following rules can make for dull photos

This photo breaks several of the normal snapshotter rules that say you should always have the sun at your back and never shoot into it. Those are good rules, but they also make for dull photos.

In this case, I let the foreground detail go dark, creating a partial silhouette effect. I was hoping that the backlighted smoke would separate the subjects from the background, which it did. I like the composition of the woman holding her rake down, while the boy on the left has his pitchfork up in the air.

I wish the boy with the cart had been half a step to the left, but the other elements were missing when HE was in the right spot. This wouldn’t be a good picture if you wanted to be able to identify the people in it, but it’s captures the feeling of raking and burning leaves in the late afternoon.