Altenburg Archives

April 12, 2016

A Matter of Time

When Road Warriorette Anne and I drove by this barn on MO C on the way to Altenburg in the summer of 2013, I knew it was just a matter of time before gravity won.

Being taken apart

While I was enjoying my usual Wednesday night feast of liver and onions at Altenburg’s Mississippi Mud Tavern, I asked Museum Cat Herder Gerard when the old barn south of town finally gave up the ghost.

He said someone was dismantling it. I’m glad to hear that it might get a new lease on life from someone who appreciates old barn wood.

The Golden Hour

Photographers and medical folks both talk about “The Golden Hour.” To shooters, it means that magic hour before sunset or after dawn when the light becomes softer and warmer. At least, I know it does at sunset. I rarely have an opportunity to see if it happens in the morning.

During World War I, military surgeons observed that patients who received immediate treatment had a much better survival rate than others. Dr. R. Adams Crowley said, “”There is a golden hour between life and death. If you are critically injured you have less than 60 minutes to survive. You might not die right then; it may be three days or two weeks later — but something has happened in your body that is irreparable.”

Later studies have shown there is no sudden drop off after exactly 60 minutes. It’s not the exact time that’s the key; it’s just the sooner you get help, the better.

After I took the barn photo, I turned to put my cameras back in the car and saw the effect of The Golden Hour on the road curving away in the distance with people going home. The barn picture was actually TOO golden for my taste. I dialed back the color a tad to keep it from being overpowering.

As always, you can click on the photos to make them larger.

November 23, 2015January 12, 2022

Old Bank Coffee Shop Opens

There’s a new place to catch breakfast in Altenburg. The Old Bank Coffee Shop, located in the tiny Bank of Altenburg, opened on Veterans Day

Mother Lindy Roth and daughter Anna Roth share a laugh between customers. The business is open Tuesday through Friday from 5:30 to 11:30 a.m.; from 6 until noon on Saturday, and from 10 to 1 on Sunday. They are closed Monday.

Everything is made from scratch, Lindy said. Anna’s job Sunday was to make it possible to “check in” on Facebook so they would become more visible on social media.

Photo Gallery of Old Bank Coffee Shop

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

November 16, 2015

2015 Altenburg Christmas Trees

The Altenburg Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum has brought back their ever-popular Christmas tree display. The museum has undergone some major renovations to make more room for genealogical research, so I was wondering how they were going to find space for all the trees I had seen in previous years.

Director Carla Jordan said they have about the same 47 give-or-take trees they’ve always had, but they’ve made more efficient use of the space available. I’ve been going to the exhibit since 2010, and I recognize some ornaments, but they are used in different ways, so don’t think just because you’ve seen it once that it’ll look the same.

If you are looking for decorating ideas before putting up your own tree, you’ll find some great ideas here. The museum is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free (and the place has the cleanest bathrooms in SE MO). The volunteer staff will make you feel right at home. This was one of my mother’s favorite places. It’s a pleasant 30-mile drive from Cape over some beautiful farm country. The exhibit will be up from now through January 15.

Earlier exhibits

Christmas tree photo gallery

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

October 23, 2015

Liver and Onions and Tower Rock

Thursday was a pretty productive day. Back in 2013, I wrote about finding Keith Robinson’s Boy Scout canteen. Mother kept bugging me, “When is that boy going to come by and pick it up?”

Keith, my go-to guy for all things railroading emailed he was going to be escaping Kansas City for a few days to come to Cape. FINALLY, a chance to get rid of this crazy canteen.

We made arrangements to meet at the Jackson at the Cape County History Center. It turned out that he and his dad knew some of the people mentioned in the museum’s exhibits.

Journey to the Land of Liver & Onions

Museum director Carla Jordan shares my love of liver and onions, so she said she’d buy dinner at the Mississippi Mud in Altenburg if I’d drive. I rhapsodized about how good the Mud’s L&O were on September 11. Well, they were even better Thursday night. The meat was so tender you could cut it with a fork; the onions were grilled just right, and my two sides of cheesy mashed potatoes and corn couldn’t be beat.

Carla and I shared our table with Gerard Fiehler and Lynn Degenhardt; two more museum folks filled in the table next to us. Lips were smacked and plates were cleaned. I can see myself making a pilgrimage to Altenburg every Thursday night until I get my fill of Innards and Onions.

I can’t go to East Perry county without dipping down to Tower Rock. Carla and Gerard piled into the van and we got to The Rock at the crack of dusk. Our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Click on the photo to make it larger.

Here’s why I don’t wade

The river’s going to have to fall about another three feet before you’ll be able to walk out to Tower Rock.

I was up there two days earlier hoping the leaves had turned, but they still needed a few more days of cold weather. This catfish was sitting on the rock where Mother used to scoop up some of the best persimmons to ever hang on a tree.

My thought was, “If the fisherman didn’t keep this guy because he was ‘too small,’ I don’t want to stick my feet into any water that would hold his big brother.”