Cape Girardeau History and Photos

April 15, 2010March 8, 2016

Stan Snell: 1921 – 2010

The first email I opened this morning was from classmate Joe Snell with bad news: his dad, Stan Snell, had died last night.

I immediately thought of the gentle, genial man that my buddies and I thought looked like Popeye the Sailor Man. He almost always had a pipe clinched between his teeth, a crinkly little grin and perpetually squinted eyes with laugh lines around them.

Active in Boy Scouts

I didn’t know Stan as well as my brothers, who were younger. By the time they got into Trinity Lutheran School’s Troop 8, my Dad was winding down his business and had more time to spend with them. Dad and Stan got to be good friends planning Scout activities and going on camping and hiking trips.

I didn’t know until I did some research that Stan had been Scoutmaster of Washington School’s Troop 15 in the late 50s. There was a story in The Missourian on Nov. 13, 1959, about him leading the troop on a foxhunt. (Animal lovers, don’t get upset. We’re not talking about REAL foxes.)

Served in World War II

There was a long piece in The Missourian Oct. 31, 1945, listing all the men being discharged from the military. I recognized a lot of the names as men I knew who never mentioned their service in the war.

Down toward the middle of the story was a single paragraph: Stanley Lee Snell, motor machinist’s mate, 519 North Main St., Cape Girardeau – Entered service, July 1, 1942; discharged Oct. 3, 1945, at Coast Guard Center at San Francisco, CA, served aboard The Sequoia.

Married Miss Norma Mueller in 1946

The Missourian had a story about his wedding in the paper May 27, 1946. (The bride wore a brown, street-length dress with blue trimmings; she also wore a string of pearls given to her by the bridegroom.)

I’ll never forget his pipe and his grin

Most adults are sort of a blur to kids, but Stan Snell is a man I’ll never forget. He was a genuinely nice guy. There’s not enough of those around these days.

Here’s his official obituary

From the funeral home web site:

Stanley Lee Snell, 88, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, April 15, 2010 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born December 19, 1921, in McClure, Illinois, son of Lee J. and Dora Moore Snell. He and Norma Ruth Mueller were married May 18, 1946 in Cape Girardeau. Snell was a veteran of WWII, serving in the United States Coast Guard from May 3, 1943 to October 3, 1945.

He worked 30 years as office manager for Wiethop Truck Sales, retiring in 1987. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau since 1946, and was a former treasurer of the Men’s Club. His civic affiliations included membership in American Legion Post 63 and the Disabled American Veterans, both in Cape Girardeau. He volunteered many years with the Boy Scouts, serving as Scout Master for Troops 8 and 15 in Cape Girardeau, and in 1962 he became a Vigil Honor Member of the Order of the Arrow.

Loving survivors include his wife of 63 years, Norma of Cape Girardeau; a son, Joseph L. (Marguerite) of Lake St. Louis , Mo. ; a daughter-in-law, Sharon Snell of Cape Girardeau ; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, the Rev. Jerry L. Snell (5-16-1996); two brothers; and one sister.

Friends may call Sat., Apr. 17, from 10AM until time of service, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau.

Funeral service will be Saturday, at 11:00 AM with the Rev. Douglas Breite officiating. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Memorials may take the form of contributions to Living Hope, c/o Trinity Lutheran Church.

McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

April 15, 2010December 13, 2011

Snake Hill Untwisted

Negotiating the sharp turns and steep grades of Snake Hill was a rite of passage from the time it was built in the 1930 until 2003. The Cape Special Road District decided to fill in a ravine and straighten out a sharp curve in the road to make the road safer and to make road maintenance easier.

I can see where the less twisty road would be easier to deal with when it’s icy, but I would bet that speeds are a lot higher on the new road than the old one.

Google Earth Mar. 22, 1996

Google Earth June 28, 2009

April 13, 2010October 16, 2023

Washington School Reduced to Mud, Mulch and Memories

Washington School March 25, 2010

It’s amazing what a few months will do to the landscape of your home town. When I was in Cape in October, Washington School was still there.

You can see my story about a 1963 school party at this link.

Washington School October 13, 2009

The school, which had served the Cape Girardeau School District for 85 years, was closed in 1999. Southeast Missouri State University used it for storage until it was determined that repairs and increased utility costs were becoming too great.

Alaina Busch touched on the history of the school in a Nov. 3, 2009, Missourian story: Classes began in a farmhouse in 1911 after a failed bond issue. In 1913, voters approved a $125,000 bond issue that financed the construction of Washington School as well as other district projects. The school, which was originally 40,000 square feet, opened at 621 N. Fountain St. in 1914.

The University will use the land for parking for the Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Center.

Washington School Gallery

Here’s a gallery of photos showing the school in October and in March. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the picture to move through the gallery.

April 13, 2010

Murtaugh Park in Historical Triangle

I parked the car on Main Street near the Red House to walk across to photograph the Synagogue and St. Vincent’s Church. As I was crossing the median, I almost bumped into a stone monument with a corroded plaque attached to it.

MURTAUGH PARK

Named for Rev. James A. Murtaugh C.M.

Commemorating His

Civic Efforts

Time goes by after public buildings, streets, parks and bridges are named after someone special and our memories fade or the name becomes just a name, not a memorial. I often say that you live only so long as someone remembers you.

Who was James A. Murtaugh?

And, why did he deserve a skinny sliver of a park? A Google search turns up pretty empty. He was assistant pastor of St. Vincent’s Church (which is visible in this photo) and President of St. Vincent’s College.

He was known for being active in civic affairs and doing much to reduce friction between the city’s Catholic and Protestants. An Oct. 2, 1934, Missourian article said, “By his activity, he removed all imaginary lines between Catholics and Protestants and developed a united community.”

He was an early proponent of paving streets and roads. Paving Main Street had the side advantage, I read somewhere, that parishioners could now use the front door of the church without tracking mud inside.

Rev. Murtaugh died in 1916. The Knights of Columbus dedicated the memorial marker Oct. 14, 1928.

Synagogue, Catholic church and Red House

Murtaugh Park is in a perfect historical triangle between the Catholic Church, the Jewish Synagogue and the restoration of Lorimier’s Red House.

In 1958, The Missourian editorialized against a plan to remove the park to create more parking along Main St. The tiny park also memorialized Police Chief N.J. (Jeff) Hutson, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Oct. 7, 1922. The Lion’s Club planted a hawthorn tree in his honor on Arbor Day in 1923.

No big Hawthorne trees

I don’t see any large hawthorn trees north of the Murtaugh monument.

It must have gone the way of a the large, spreading hawthorne tree, “one of the finest specimen of its kind to be found anywhere,” that was planted by the Wednesday Club on April 11, 1923, to honor Miss Amy Husband Kimmel, who founded the club in 1902.

A Southeast Missourian story July 7, 1956, headlined Amy Kimmel Hawthorn, Long Pride of the Community, Is Ruined.

The story goes on to say, “During construction of the new flood control sewer, the east half of the tree was cut or torn away as if some giant knife blade had descended on it, leaving only the west section intact…. For many years it has been one of the show trees of the community. Now, butchered and distorted out of shape, it’s ultimate future is in doubt. At the time of the ceremony, an appropriately inscribed stone was buried beneath the tree. What has become of it?”

Kimmel marker found, relocated

A Missourian follow-up on Oct. 16, 1956, said the stone marker had been found and was going to be moved to a parkway east of the divide between Academic Hall and Kent Library. The Main St. parkway where the tree and marker had been located was paved over after the Kimmel Hawthorn was destroyed.