Cape Girardeau History and Photos

November 14, 2010

Frohna Mill Being Razed

While updating some stories about the German settlements in Perry County, north of Cape Girardeau, I passed an old mill being torn down.

I apologize for not having more information, but I thought I’d put the pictures up in case anyone wanted to drive up to Frohna to see the structure before it was flattened. There’s a chance demolition may be delayed, but I think it’s postponing the inevitable.

Mill built in 1863

I found a paragraph in George G. Thurm’s A Pictorial Tour of Historic East Perry County Missouri that said the mill was built in 1863 by Johann Heinrich Weinhold. “The company went bankrupt in the 1920s, when creditors could not pay their bills. The property was sold and converted into a feed store. This operation ceased in 1985.”

Feed sacks for sewing

Over the years, it became an unwritten rule that no women were allowed in the mill. It was the exclusive domain and gathering place for the men in the area.

On the other hand, a local woman told me the men were sent to the feed store with samples of feed sacks so they could match the patterns on sacks the women were using for sewing projects. The sacks in this photo are made of paper.

Close to Saxon Lutheran Memorial

If you want to go to the mill, it’s within a mile of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna, and along the way. The memorial’s outdoor history museum with log cabins from around the area is well worth a drive. I’ll be running photos I shot of some of the original buildings in the 60s before long.

Gallery of photos of flour mill and feed store

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

November 14, 2010March 27, 2016

First Baptist Church

This time change has me messed up. I like sleeping an extra hour in the morning, but I’m not used to it being dark by 2:30 in the afternoon. The good thing, though, is that a lot of Cape’s buildings look neat at twilight.

I was driving by the new First Baptist Church the other evening and noticed the way the white steeple and light inside looked against the darkening sky.

Church established in 1834

The first First Baptist Church in Cape was established in 1834 on Lorimier St. Sixty years later, the congregation moved to Spanish St. and Broadway. In 1928, a growing congregation caused a move to a larger facility at Broadway and Harmony. Finally, in 2006, the new church at Cape Rock Dr. and Lexington Ave. was built.

Painting the old steeple

I ran photos of the steeple of the Broadway and Spanish church being painted in 1967. At that time, a Missourian photo caption said it was the General Baptist Church.

November 12, 2010

Marquette Lake Fishing Hole

Families and guests of employees of the old Marquette Cement Plant could go to the Marquette Lake to fish when I was a kid. I was taken on a late-afternoon visit to the lake on a day when the setting sun gave everything an orange glow.

The private lake is located behind what is now known as Buzzi Unicem on South Sprigg Street.

Anybody ever lucky enough to fish there?

November 11, 2010November 24, 2011

Tattered Flag on Veterans Day

A couple of decades ago, World War II veterans started the Avenue of Flags tradition on Cape County Park North on Highway 61 between Cape and Jackson.

On patriotic holidays, including September 11, volunteers put up flags representing a deceased veteran who served in a war era or in combat.

American flag was frayed

While I was walking around looking at the flags, I noticed this one that was a bit yellow. It had a hole or two in it and part of the edge was fraying. There was no name on the pole, that I could see, so I don’t know who it represents.

Just then, a gentle breeze stirred the flag and I saw a square field of stars. This was a 48-star flag. Alaska gained statehood in 1959 and caused the rows of stars to be staggered. This flag could be as much as half a century old. I’d love to know the story behind it.

Photographers’ delight

Cars with license plates from all over the area drive by. Some stop and their occupants take photos. The late afternoon wind was calm, so the photos weren’t as dramatic as other holidays.

Law Enforcement Memorial

Some visitors pause to look at the Law Enforcement Memorial for officers killed in the line of duty. Others charge off, apparently to track down a specific flag.

Nearly 700 flags are displayed

A Missourian story said that one person can put up the nearly 700 flags in less than two hours.

Display of the flags is governed by the Federal Flag Code. If there is a 40 percent or greater chance of rain, the flags aren’t displayed. Flags are supposed to be up only between sunrise and sunset unless they are illuminated. When we passed the park after dusk, the flags had already been put away for the next patriotic holiday.