Cape Girardeau History and Photos

September 1, 2015

Glued to the Zenith

There are some things I know about this photo, and a lot of stuff I don’t know.

What I think I know

It was taken in the Steinhoff family basement.
That’s our Zenith television. You can see the antenna rotor control on the top left of the set.
We’re probably watching KFVS because the picture looks reasonably sharp.
I’m pretty sure that’s Albert Underwood on the left, Bill Hopkins on the floor and Linda Folsom on the right.
It’s probably 1963 or 1964.

What I don’t know

Who the girl on the left is. I sort of want to say Margaret Randol, based on the hairstyle, but that’s a wild guess.
Why they are watching TV at my house. Underwood was a year or more ahead of me and was on the school’s photo staff, but we didn’t run around together. Hopkins was the ineffective (or corrupt) campaign manager who handled / mishandled my unsuccessful student body presidential run. Linda Folsom and I dated briefly (her choice). It’s a strange combination of people to be engrossed in a TV show.
What they are watching so intently. It doesn’t appear to be a news program.

August 31, 2015April 14, 2021

Sunday was a lazy day. I slept late, ate breakfast, went to get dressed to go out and slay dragons, but as soon as I sat down on the bed, the sheets and blankets wrapped themselves around my resisting body and dragged me down until I just couldn’t fight them off any more.

After my nap, I puttered around the house for a bit, but it was pretty late in the afternoon when I managed to actually let sunlight hit my body. I cruised around checking out a couple locations filed away as being possibilities, but they were dry today.

When I turned into St. Mary’s Cemetery off Perry avenue, it were getting close to sunset. I used the shadow cast from the cross to block out the direct sun to keep from getting lens flare.

48 years ago

Something kept telling me that statute looked familiar. Yes, indeed, this was taken August 24, 1967, almost exactly 48 years ago, and at pretty close to the same time of day. It had been floating around in the miscellaneous scans folder for four or five years because I wasn’t sure where it was taken.

Either my technique or technology has gotten better in the last half century because the recent photo is much better. (Curator Jessica will recognize my style at once. She’s figured out that I’m a sucker for backlit flags.)

I have an aerial photo of the cemetery in an earlier post. And, as always, you can click on the photos to make them larger.

August 30, 2015

Doc Jordan and Friends

The lights were burning late at the Cape Girardeau County History Center in Jackson Saturday night. Doc Jordan and Friends were having an old-fashioned pickin’.

Harry Chapin done well

Friends this evening with Doc – Steve Jordan – were Pastor Stan Hargess, Dr. Hugh Tewis, Terry Wright, Barney Hartline and Carla Jordan.

Doc and Wife Carla teamed up to sing Mr. Tanner in a way that would have made Harry Chapin proud.

A toe-tappin’ crowd

Some combination of players show up monthly. The next pickin’ will be at the history center from 7 to 9 on Saturday, October 17. A handbill says to “bring your banjo, guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, bass, or just pull up a chair to sing along or listen.”

A couple who didn’t know about the event saw the lights, heard the music and were made to feel welcome.

Other pickin’ pix

Click on any photo to make it larger, then use the arrow keys to move through the gallery.

August 29, 2015

99% Full Moon

I noticed this afternoon that my Droid Moon Phase ap said that Saturday was going to be the full moon, then I dismissed it. After a really nice meal at Tractors in Jackson, I decided to meander on the way home.

Just as I turned a bend on CR 640, this is what I saw.

I was on a curve with no good place to pull off, so I had to back up 50 or so feet where there was enough room to get my passenger side doors on a narrow shoulder that dropped straight down onto Scism Creek.

It would have been nice to be able to make the moon bigger, but I had to make a choice: show the barn or make the moon big.

Reach for the telephoto

I thought I’d try for a compromise: make the moon bigger and sacrifice part of the barn.

In the couple of minutes it took me to walk back to the car and get set up, the light had fallen off dramatically, which was good for the moon, but bad for the building.

Neither shot is earthshaking, but the car didn’t go over into the creek, I got the door closed before the van filled with mosquitoes, and I checked off another nearly full moon photo. That’s not a bad evening.

Click on the photos to make them larger.