Fred Lynch Archives

October 19, 2020

Woman’s Dominion Over Nature

Mother was a master of the leaf blower

Being as how it would have been Mother’s 99th Birthday Season, it’s appropriate that I dig out these photos Fred Lynch took one day in 2014 when he was driving by the house.

Leaving no leaf unturned

She could get the hurricane-force wind under a pile of leaves, make them look like waves in the air, and send them all the way down the hill in no time.

I always said I could do better with a wide rake, but I couldn’t keep up with her.

Drastic Measures needed

After nearly falling when a leaf-hidden walnut rolled out from under me, and having one of nature’s Legos in the form of a black walnut sans hull leave me limping, I decided drastic measures were needed.

I was either going to have to display a sign like this and abandon the back yard for the duration, or I was going to have to corral the green (and black) monsters.

Plan B didn’t work

I tried my big rake first, but it couldn’t deal with both leaves AND walnuts. That’s when I reached into the closet for Mother’s leaf blower. It would move the leaves, but it didn’t have enough oomph to roll the walnuts (or I was skill deficient).

Plan C

Plan C was the blow away the leaves so I could see the walnuts. Once the surface detritus was gone, I could use the rake to herd the nuts to the edge of the yard.

That allowed me to create safe passage to the bird bath and bird feeders on Sunday night.

Unfortunately, by Monday morning, another crop of nuts had fallen. Maybe the sign idea wasn’t that bad.

July 26, 2018

South County Park’s Jigsaw Puzzle

A Facebook friend mentioned that the lake in South County Park was dry. Before I could check it out, The Missourian had an explanation. Photographer Fred Lynch fired up his drone for an excellent story-telling photo, making me feel guilty for not putting mine back together after an unfortunate connection with a telephone line.

Click on the photos to make them larger.

Project will take about two years

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the county came to an agreement that the MDC would partner with the county to stock and manage the two lakes at the county park.

The latest project will involve draining the south laket, then adding improvements like fishing jetties, a new fishing dock, an island with a gazebo, and lighted sidewalks.

When the lake is refilled, it will be stocked with bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, and channel cat.

Drained more quickly than anticipated

The original plan was to drain part of the lake and allow fishing to go on while earth work was going on.

It turned out that the bathtub emptied faster than planned, which was good for the timetable, but bad for fisherfolks who were looking forward to dropping hooks in the middle of concentrations of fish.

I was surprised that I didn’t see any fish skeletons around nor any birds feeding on them. Either they were swept away so fast they weren’t trapped in shallow pools, or predators cleaned them up quickly.

Lake was leaking in 2007

In 2007, The Missourian carried a story that the lake was leaking around an overflow pipe at the south end. I’m assuming it was this pipe, which serves as a secondary path for high water, supplementing the open spillway.

July 6, 2016

Broadway Burger King

The same night I photographed McDonald’s, I thought it would only be fair to knock off Burger King, too. When I searched for the history of the fast-food place, I found a gazillion restaurant reviews, but not a lot of hard information. A 2004 Century of Commerce compendium in The Missourian made note that Burger King Restaurant was established at 2346 Broadway in 1972.

Other business highlights of that year included:

Keys Music moved to 121 Broadway.
A&P Super Market on Spanish Street closed and was taken over by J. Ronald Fischer.
The former Vandeven store on Broadway was sold to Craftsman Office Supply
Speed Equipment Worlds of America Inc. opened in the 2100 block of Broadway.

FindTheData info about BK

When I searched for 2346 Broadway, an interesting site called FindTheData popped up. It mined public records for information about the property. It looks like most of it dates to 2011.

It is a commercial building with an estimated value of $195,087.
That is 216% higher than the $61,829 average for commercial properties in the 63701 Zip Code.
That places it among the most valuable 20% of commercial properties in the area.
It has 0.66 acres of land, while a typical one has 0.53 acres.
It has moderate flood risk, high earthquake risk, very high tornado risk, and very high hail risk (but has below average hail risk for Missouri, which is one of the most hail-prone states in the U.S.).

Cape is a lower middle class city

The data site has this to say about the city:

It has about 38,665 residents and is about 28.87 square miles in size.
The city is considered to be lower middle class because a disproportionately large percentage of its households earn between $25,000 and $50,000 a year. [The blue sign in the middle photo was advertising they were hiring for $8.25 an hour, by the way.]
Through geospatial analysis of the company’s database, they’ve discovered Cape Girardeau has a high number of alternative medicine, bars, and gym business types compared to the typical city.

Alvarado was located at Broadway and 61

Oldtimers will remember the Alvarado as being located at what was once the outskirts of town at Broadway and Hwy 61, where the Burger King is now. I haven’t found any file photos of the Spanish-style building, but Fred Lynch and Sharon Sanders did a good job in Fred’s blog of telling the history of the landmark building.

December 3, 2015

R.I.P. Jackson Skating Rink

When I photographed the building that had been the Jackson Skating Rink in 2010, it had already morphed into another use. On a drive to Marble Hill a few weeks ago, I saw that the rink was no more. (Check out the link to learn some interesting things about the history of the rink going back to the early 1950s.)

I don’t think I ever skated there, but Brothers Mark and David did.

I was confused

In fact, I posted some pictures of kids skating back in the 60s and thought they might have been taken inside the Hanover Skating Rink. Several readers said I was wrong, and some others thought it was the MaryAnn Rink. After a lot of give-and take, Fred Lynch provided proof that it must have been the Jackson rink by the process of elimination.

Follow this link to weigh in (it also lists a bunch of other skating-related posts).

Floor no more

All of us who grew up hearing our wooden wheels click across wooden floors like this one find modern rinks strangely silent.

You have to wonder how many beginner bottoms bounced off those boards.