Mississippi River Archives

Mother, Friend Jan and I were making the normal tourist loop: Thebes, Horseshoe Lake, Cairo and Kentucky Lake when we spotted fog swirling around a work boat just north of Thebes. It was like the fog was following the channel. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Thebes railroad bridge built in 1905

We followed it downstream to the Thebes Landing RV Park and Campground where it disappeared under the 1905 Thebes railroad bridge just as a long freight crossed the river.

River made safer

The extraordinary low water this year has made the Thebes stretch of the Mississippi particularly dangerous because it brings the bottom of the barges perilously close to rock pinnacles. The Corps of Engineers was originally planning to blast them from the river, but they found that most could be removed with equipment like this.

I was amused to read panicky letters to the editor from people who were sure that the blasts would trigger another New Madrid Earthquake. Those worrywarts don’t realize the number of contractors, farmers and quarries in the area that are blasting every day.

No, I mean LITERAL letters in the mail.

I’ve really enjoyed checking my real and virtual mailboxes of late. Shortly before the end of the year, I exchanged some email from a woman who asked if it was possible to buy some prints I had taken of the Esquire Theater when it looked like it might be reborn. One of the shots she was interested in was a stack of the marque letters. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

They’ll never see the marque again

I mentioned that I tried to buy some, but the supposed owner wanted to hold onto them for their original use. She said she had bought some in a local antique shop after the renovation project fell through.

We came to a mutually satisfactory agreement on the prints, and I thought that was the end of it. A couple of days ago, a box arrived in the mail. Strange boxes make me uneasy after I opened one with a live snake in it at the office. (Long story involving a staffer with a stalker ex.)

Inside it were the letters F, Z and J. Or, I guess you could say Z, F and J, or J-Z-F, depending on your perspective.

That beats a live snake all to pieces.

Wow! That’s not spam

I get a lot of messages claiming to be from the Better Business Bureau, banks I don’t do business with and the IRS that turn out to be cleverly disguised spam. At first read, I almost hit the JUNK button on this one:

Hello,
This email confirms that you have received a donation of $365.00 USD from [name deleted]
———————————–
Receipt ID: 2684-0226-3517-0502
———————————–
Donation Details
> Total amount: $365.00 USD
>Currency: U.S. Dollars
>Purpose: Ken Steinhoff / CapeCentralHigh.com

I’m going need a bigger hat

I didn’t recognize the person’s name, although I found they did subscribe to the daily email notifications, so I sent a thank-you and asked, as discretely as possible, “Who ARE you?” The response was so flattering that I’m going to have to spend the donation money on a bigger hat because it made my head swell:

I accomplished my New Year’s Resolution, to let you know how much I enjoy your web site. I go there almost every day to view your photos and read your interesting and quirky remarks and I feel like I’ve had a visit to Cape. It all started when my cousin mentioned your web site and told me I would like it. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I especially like hearing about your mother and the things your family has saved through the years, the photos of the special and historical spots around town and reading other peoples comments about the articles, and of course the river photos.

I appreciate your time, effort, and talent to make this web site so successful. Thought this would help. Thanks for starting my day with memories of Cape.

I offered to print favorite photos

I offered to have some prints made of some of the donor’s favorite photos, including the ones above. Here was her gracious response:

Picked up the photos this morning. They look good. Thanks so much. I wanted to let you know that your posting “71 years ago” is one of the reasons why I’m hooked on your web site.
A romantic story about of 2 people your viewers have come to know. I even knew who wrote in the sand because I know your Dad’s perfect printed letters. What a difference 71 years makes, your father on the beach in a suit in that gorgeous car and driving right up to the surf! Your mother is beautiful and so looking so absorbed in those vintage photos. Thanks for sharing your families’ memories.

One day it’s barges on the Mississippi, the next, Miss Ketterer yelling at wrestling match, or a birthday party on Themis…. I never know…the unexpected, almost everyday. Thanks again.

Where’s the donate button?

The DONATE button is at the top left of the page, along with a link to Amazon that gives me a cut of whatever you order at no additional charge to you. My latest donor has really put the pressure on me. When you get $365, that implies a dollar a day, which is going to force me to keep posting seven days a week. I’m going to feel guilty if I slack off. (Mother takes me to task any day I miss, anyway.)

Tag: Mississippi River

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