Cape Girardeau History and Photos

September 7, 2015

Mayfield’s Wooldridge Monuments

These photos of the Wooldridge Monuments in Mayfield, Ky., were taken October 19, 2008, a date which will become important later on.

The RoadsideAmerica website quotes the Mayfield Monitor’s obituary as calling Col. Henry G. Wooldridge “a very eccentric man.” The horse breeder, who never married, spent most of his 77 years living with relatives. Before he died in 1899, he commissioned what is now called the Woodridge Monuments, a collection of 18 life-sized statues of humans and animals, including a horse named Fop and two dogs named Tow Head and Bob.

He’s the only one buried there

Despite all the statues, Wooldridge is the only person buried in the 17 x 33-foot plot.

A City of Mayfield website lists the human statues as belonging to his mother, Keziah, his brothers, Alfred, W.F., John, and Josiah. Also included are his sisters, Susan Neely, Narcissa Berryman, Minerva Nichols, plus his two nieces, Maud Reeds and Minnie Neely.

There is a story that the statue of Minnie, is Henry’s childhood love who died in a riding accident. However, family records prove that Minnie was actually one of the Colonel’s great-nieces.

Tree destroyed the monuments

I mentioned that the fact that I shot these photos in 2008 was important. It’s because an ice storm toppled a tree on the monuments in 2009, smashing all the stones except for the three women in the back row. My pictures show the original statues.

Things looked bleak for one of the area’s biggest tourist attraction until federal disaster money was made available to help out hard-hit Kentucky. The funds covered most of the $100,000 it took to restore the monuments. (Col. Wooldridge supposedly paid only $6,000 to have them built.)

Wooldridge had drunk escort

The city’s website reports, “According to folklore, the Illinois Central Railroad supplied a special flatcar with “new-type air brakes” to transport from Paducah, Ky., to Mayfield the large statue of Col. Wooldridge astride his horse.

It was told that Mayfield’s “town drunk” happened to be in Paducah when the flatcar left for Maplewood Cemetery. The story goes that he climbed aboard the horse and rode behind Col. Wooldridge’s statue to enter Mayfield in grand style.

Click on the photos to make them larger.

September 6, 2015January 17, 2022

Malden’s Green Wave

After more than 1,000 miles of reconnaissance driving in Missouri’s Bootheel, I started shooting actual photos Friday. My first stop was at Dunklin county’s Malden airport for a reunion of people who had served there when it was an active training airbase during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. I’ll run that story later.

Since I was already down there, I decided to go to the Malden – Portageville football game that evening.

Serious mosquitoes

I opened my car door at dusk in Steele, in Pemiscot county, last week. It took two days to get all the mosquitoes out. Since there was a Walmart next to the football stadium, I stopped by the sports department to ask about Dunklin county skeeters. “I’d recommend the 40% Deet over the 25% can,” the salesman said.

The way he said that made me wonder if that was the game the fellow next to me buying a shotgun had in mind. I didn’t ask.

Even the cheerleaders were spraying down. The repellent did a good job against bloodsuckers, but it didn’t help chase away the cloud of gnats circling my head or the odd beetle who would bounce off my bald pate.

A salt and pepper crowd

I used to subscribe to the theory of an author who wrote that Cape Girardeau was the last bastion of civilization before descending into the Old South of the Bootheel. It was a pleasant surprise to see the friendly salt and pepper mix in the stands. I’m sure I’ll run into Jim Crow down there eventually, but he was missing Friday night, so far as I could tell.

I took the precaution of calling the school in the afternoon to ask if I needed any special credentials to get on the field. I gathered from some conversations in town that there was an issue with a pedophile some time past, and they might be a little gun shy. I told assistant superintendent Bob Wilson that I’d be happy to send him samples of football games I had covered recently to establish my bona fides:

I was welcome

Five minutes later, Bob called back to say I was welcome at the game. Just introduce yourself to any of the staff wearing khaki pants and green shirts, he said.

Indeed, that’s what I did. The first person I ran into said an email about me had gone out to everyone, and to enjoy myself. During the course of the game, I talked to at least half a dozen staff, including the personable school superintendent, who is very proud of his teachers and students.

A very nice man with a badge

Good thing I had made that afternoon call. On my way out of the game, a burly guy in civilian clothes came up to me and said, “I need to talk with you.”

Just as I was saying, “Sure,” he flashed a badge and asked who I was and what I was doing since he had seen me taking pictures of kids. (Actually that’s about all I did except for a few token action shots.)

I handed him a business card and started to explain the Bootheel project to him, but as soon as I said, “I cleared it with Bob Wilson,” he said, “That makes it OK, then.”

To be fair, the guy was polite and non-threatening. I can’t blame him for being protective of his students. I’ve certainly had lot worse encounters with guys with badges.

I love watching the mating rituals

Watching the flirting and interplay that goes on in the stands is more fun that watching the action ON the field. It’s a real treat for me to go to football games and have the luxury of not having to bring back the big play of the night.

Malden photo gallery

I’m posting these mostly as a way for me to keep in mind what I’ve been shooting in the Bootheel, so feel free to skip over them quickly. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

September 5, 2015

739 Themis Street

Looks like some substantial improvements are being made to an apartment building at 739 Themis street. I used to visit Nowell’s Camera Store’s star salesman, Marty, at that address. It was there I was introduced to music by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

Here are some Missourian briefs about some of the other residents.

August 24, 1937 – Miss Ona Wright, 739 Themis street, and Miss Mary Childress, 314 North Fountain street, went to St. Louis Sunday to spend a few days and attend the Municipal Opera.

March 24, 1945 – Seaman First Class Vern E. Owens, 22, a son of Mrs. Esther Owens, 739 Themis street, was among the survivors of the escort carrier Bismarck Sea, which, it was announced today, was sunk by enemy action Feb. 21 off Iwo Jima. His mother, of the news staff of The Missourian, received a letter dated March 17, from him Friday and had previously received a letter dated March 6. Both letters said he was well, but, presumably for security reasons, he made no mention of the sinking of the carrier.

June 26, 1947 – G.A. Kassel, 120 North Ellis, today observed his 80th birthday anniversary, and a family supper at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Leo Wagner, 739 Themis street, this evening will formally celebrate the anniversary. Mr. Kassel, still enjoying good health, remains active in his photographic studio at the Ellis street address. [Note: the Wagner’s appear in Missourian briefs frequently from the mid-1930s on.]

The Women’s Center and Safe House occupied the building starting in 1978.

September 4, 2015

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that a week or so ago, I cruised down Sprigg to Good Hope and notice that the top left side of the old Cape Cut Rate building had collapsed onto the street and sidewalk. The east wall looked like it was bulging out where its neighbor was gone like a piece of coconut cream pie with a slice missing.

I told my passenger I had better get back there before there was nothing but a pile of rubble left. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

The good news

The good news is that when I went down there Thursday afternoon, the damage had been repaired. Maybe someone has plans to save the old landmark building.

The sign that used to hang over the sidewalk is gone. The only trace I could find of it was a piece of cable that used to hold it up.

Here’s a post that has lots of links to earlier stories about the Haarig District.