Smelterville Book Archives

July 7, 2013

Class of ’65’s Cool Table

Terry Rose Crowell came in to Annie Laurie’s Antiques where I was hawking Smelterville: A Work in Progress and Snapshots of Cape Girardeau on First Friday. In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that select members of the Class of 1965 meet for lunch on the first Saturday of each month at BG’s Old Tyme Deli and Saloon. (“Select” means anybody who shows up.)

Marilyn Dudley Seyer

I hoped this might finally be my chance to set at the Cool Table, something that always seemed out of my reach when I attended Central High School. My odds were enhanced when Brenda Bone Lapp posted on Facebook that everybody usually fits around one table. It was hinted that table dancing was known to transpire. In fact, I was told confidentially, it was Marilyn’s turn this month.

Such gyrations much have occurred when I went out to the car to switch out camera bodies because it didn’t happen in my presence. I did notice a glow on Marilyn’s forehead (ladies don’t sweat), so I might have been gone longer than I thought.

Carolyn Lee Barks

When I commented that I felt a bit outnumbered at the table, I was told that guys have been known to show up; Jim Feldmeier, in particular.

There was a long discussion about how women were discriminated against before Title IX, but how things are getting better. We talked about how spring sports got the short end of the stick because of early yearbook deadlines. There was also a debate about whether girls participated in track and field sports in our day. I couldn’t remember shooting any.

Susan Valle Perry

Talk turned to Cape’s movie theaters, particularly the Rialto, which was owned by Carol Klarsfeld’s mother. Carol got all the money deposited in the penny scale in the theater, something I didn’t know. We longed for the days when you could get Black Cherry soda out of the soft drink dispenser in the lobby. Popcorn, at a dime a box (or with real butter for two bits) was a real profit center. The box, which cost a penny, was the most expensive part.

Accounts of Carol shenanigans became a major topic of conversation. It’s a shame Carol was taken from us at an early age by breast cancer because I’m sure she’d still be doing crazy stuff as a grandmother.

Pat Wright Vogelsang

Birthday cards, some of which were AARP-Rated were passed around. I blush easily, so I tried to avoid reading the insides, but they made me do it. This is a rough crowd.

Pat Wright Vogelsang is vamping for the camera while Susan and Marilyn are looking through some of my old Cape photos in the background.

Donna Eddleman Mason

We talked about favorite teachers (Miss Sadler for English and Grace Williams for math), best pizza (Tony’s) and best steak (Wayne’s Grill), the fact that The Missourian always referred to women by their husband’s name (Mrs. Joe Smith, not Mrs. Jane Smith or Jane Smith) and how few kids back then drove their cars to school.

All in all, it was a pretty good day at the Cool Table. They were nice enough to score some books and calendars and even paid for my iced tea. If I had just been around when Marilyn rocked the table, the day would have been perfect.

July 6, 2013July 27, 2013

Meeting and Greeting

I usually post the blog sometime after 1 a.m., so I’m not a morning person. Still, I couldn’t pass up a chance to appear on Faune Riggin’s KZIM/KSIM morning show the day after the 4th to talk about Smelterville: A Work in Progress. The station and the host are a bit to the right of what I’m comfortable with, but Faune did a good job of playing it down the middle. She seemed to really like the photos and asked good questions.

I gained a new appreciation for what happens when the station in short-handed and the host is simulcasting on two stations, doing promos, reading the news, giving the weather and screening telephone calls. She had a lot of balls in the air, but still had time during pauses to talk about how we were going to do the interview.

First Friday at Annie Laurie’s Antiques

Laurie Evert, my wife’s niece, was kind enough to give me space (and sweet iced tea) at Annie Laurie’s Antiques to meet folks who were interested in the book and the Snapshots of Cape Girardeau calendar. Jon Selph, Class of 1964, showed up a little early.

Fast and furious

After Jon got settled in, there was a steady stream of former classmates, some, like David Hahs, who went back to Trinity Lutheran School kindergarten days. I discovered that I have lost the ability to talk and take pictures at the same time. I kept kicking myself for not shooting (photographically, that is) the folks who were kind enough to stop by to say a nice word and to pick up a book or a calendar.

I loved it when someone said this blog was her morning newspaper. Looks like I’m back where I started in 1959, except that now I’m pitching prose and pictures into virtual puddles instead of the kind that go “Splash!”

How do I get one?

Annie Laurie’s is going to carry a limited supply of books and calendars. If you can catch me before I leave Cape in a couple of weeks, we can arrange to meet. Or, if you aren’t local, Wife Lila is standing by to take your order. If I can hand you the publication, the price is $20 for either. If it has to be mailed, it will be $25. The easiest way to handle the mail order is to press that Donate button at the top left of the page. Make a $25 donation per book or catalog, tell us what you are ordering, your name and your mailing address. Wife Lila will get your book or calendar in the mail as quickly as she can saddle up the horse.

Also available at the Cape Convention Bureau in the H&H Building on Broadway

Calendar sample pages

The calendar covers October 2013 through December 2014, so you can start filling in appointments right away. Here is what it looks like. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the sides to move through the gallery.

July 5, 2013January 14, 2015

A Quiet Fourth

Mother and I passed through Capaha Park when we ventured out to Hamburger Express to pick up some ribs. I stopped at a pavilion where it looked like it there might be a reunion of some of the folks who lived in the Smelterville area. It turned out to be the Descendants of Nettie Hopper Spicer Family Reunion. They came from the Ranney Avenue area around Fort D and May Greene School, which is on the north side of Tollgate Hill, but they knew a lot of the folks I had photographed. I’m going to hook up with some of them to hear their stories of growing up in South Cape.

Shameless plug: I’ll be at Annie Laurie’s Antiques for First Friday, July 5, between 6 and whenever if you want to pick up a Snapshots of Cape Girardeau calendar or look at my Smelterville: A Work in Progress book. They are $20 each if I can place them in your hand. They are $25 if they have to be mailed. More about that later if you are interested.

Parade of Flags

Capaha Park was quiet, particularly since the pool has been demolished, so we cruised out to North County Park, which was equally quiet. I had to take a couple frames of the Parade of Flags. The wind was as calm as the park and there was some overcast, so the flags weren’t as dramatic as they had been on other visits.

As I was taking this photo, I was moved by the idea that each of those flags represented a man or woman who had served his or her country, and the family that waited for them to come home. These flags have a real meaning. They aren’t some monster flag a car dealer puts up to sell cars. They represent real people.

Kids and sprinklers

We cruised over to see what was happening in Jackson. I couldn’t resist stopping when I saw Elias, 5, and Emily Huff, 4, playing in the backyard sprinkler. (As always, you can click on the photos to make them larger.)

We’ve lost something important

One of my former staffers told me a few years back that he no longer shoots this kind of photo. “As soon as I walk up to ask the kids for their names, they start screaming and running away. That’s if somebody looking out a window hasn’t already called the cops on me. It’s not worth the hassle,” he said.

Too many hours sitting in front of the All Fear All the Time TV Networks has robbed us and our kids of our independence and innocence. Thanks to Elias and Emily’s father, Tim, for letting me take these photos. It’s nice to know kids can still be kids in Jackson.

June 30, 2013June 30, 2013

Thanks for Stopping By

Friend Anne and I thank those folks who stopped by Hastings Saturday to look at our books and calendars. Wife Lila shot this while we were chatting with someone just out of camera range.

I’m pretty sure it was Jesse James. I’d list more names, but I don’t want to take a chance I’ll forget someone.

I’ll have more calendars and Smelterville books for sale at Annie Laurie’s Antique Shop at First Friday on July 5. Once Lila gets home next week, I’ll post how to order the materials by mail. Here is a sample of the calendar and more information about Anne’s book.