Cape Girardeau History and Photos

January 6, 2012January 6, 2012

Atlas Plastic Workers Strike for More Money

The Missourian caption under my photo on the front page August 29, 1966, read, “A line of pickets bearing signs proclaiming a strike against Atlas Plastics Corp. here march in front of the company offices on Broadview. The walkout began Saturday afternoon. From left, the men are Lawrence Hagan, Glen Grojean, Tom Gibbar, Joe Gockel, Mitchell Gill and Earl Rhodes. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Albert M. Spradling, the company’s attorney, said the union was asking for an across-the-board wage increase of nearly a dollar an hour plus additional fringe benefits. Atlas Production workers earned an average of $1.88 per hour, Spradling said.The company wanted to spread the increase over a three-year contract; the union was holding out for a one-year agreement.

Atlas was third Cape strike

A September 21, 1968, story said that a walkout of 200 employees had shut down the Atlas plant, the city’s third industrial strike in three months. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local went on strike July 29 at Davis Electric Co., and IBEW Local 1601 employees of Superior Electric struck Aug. 18. I wonder if these strikes were tied in with the parent and student protest at the Jackson Junior High School in 1964.

Six employees were arrested September 24, 1968, when they blocked a truck leaving the plant after being served a restraining order.

January 5, 2012February 7, 2021

Golden Eagles Marching Band 1964

Southeast Missouri State College’s Golden Eagle Marching Band appeared on national television in 1964. I don’t know which game this was, but it was a big enough deal I shot it on the family’s Zenith television in the basement.

Golden Eagles 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.

January 4, 2012

Jackson Junior High School Pickets

This must have been one of the first protests I covered. There are two frames on the roll of Jackson Pioneer Editor Gary Frederick in the envelope. One of the shots has an August 1964 calendar in the background and the negative sleeve is slugged “Jackson Jr. High – Gary at office,” so this must have been for The Pioneer and in the summer of ’64.

The odd thing is that this group of what appears to be students, parents and teachers are demanding that union pickets go back to work so the Jackson Junior High School could open on August 31, but there weren’t any union picket lines set up and a couple of photos show workmen working. There are signs for Crites and Sailer Construction Company and Kelpe Electric Company in two of the photos, but I don’t know if their workers were the ones striking.

Are these two different schools?

This building looks like it might be in town, while the new junior high was located on what was the outskirts of town in 1964.

I think this might have been the assignment where somebody at The Pioneer tossed me some car keys and said, “Hey, Kid, go out to the junior high school and see what’s going on.” Unlike most of my peers, I didn’t run right out and get my driver’s license at one minute past midnight on my 16th birthday. I hadn’t been driving all that long in the summer of ’64 and I certainly hadn’t driven any car other than the family’s Buick station wagon. When I stepped on the brakes at the first stop sign, I felt that sickening feeling you get when you realize that you could do better by dragging your feet on the ground like something out of The Flintstones. It was a good thing the junior high school wasn’t too far away and that there wasn’t much traffic.

Junior High School photo gallery

For what it’s worth, here’s a selection of photos from the protest and school construction. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

January 3, 2012

Consolidated Grain and Barge

When I was stumbling around trying to find out how to get to the old M.E. Leming Lumber Company, I took a chance on going down LaCruz Street in what used to be Smelterville. I sort of didn’t see a sign that said don’t go here and popped out next to Consolidated Grain and Barge, now labeled CGB. I didn’t realize CGB was such a big deal until I checked out their webpage.

The barge in the photo is idling until a southbound tow gets past. The low water has had things a little tight of late. In order to be able to steer, a boat has to be able to go faster than the current, so the southbound traffic has the right of way.

Aerial of LaCruz Street area

CGB is at the end of LaCruz Street, the street that runs from Sprigg, at the bottom, to the river. Look for the two storage bins to the right side of the light-colored lot. The facility just to the left of where the barge is passing is Cape’s Sewage Treatment Plant. Cape LaCroix Creek empties into the Mississippi at the right.

Photo gallery of CGB

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