Tag: Sports

Posted on

Capaha Park Lagoon Algae

Scott Moyers did a story in Tuesday’s Missourian about Capaha Park Lagoon’s algae problem. This isn’t exactly a new problem. Here are some pictures from the mid and late 1960s when there was a cleanup campaign on. I’m not sure when they were taken, nor who the subjects are. A couple of the men look familiar, but I’m going to let someone else put names to the faces.

Lagoon dates to early 1900s

Scott’s story says the 3.5 acre lagoon was put in shortly after the property was transformed into a fairgrounds. The city acquired it in 1914. Generations of Cape Girardeans have enjoyed fishing, ice skating, duck feeding and even jumping into the lagoon.

Lagoon has become shallow

Over the years, silt has filled up the lagoon to the point that it’s only about five feet deep, about half of the 10 to 12 feet years ago. Algae grows in warmer, shallower water, particularly when the summer has been as hot as this year’s. The lagoon hasn’t been dredged in about 20 years, the story pointed out. What makes me uncomfortable is a comment from Mayor Harry Rediger, who said that the permanent solution is to come from the parks department’s creation of a strategic plan for the entirety of Capaha Park.

“Another idea is to change the concept of the lake a bit.” he said. “I can’t report on it just yet, because it’s still in the planning stages. But we do intend to fix that in some manner – it’s just that how it’s to be fixed has yet to be determined.”

When city officials start talking about making changes to something that’s been a part of the community as long as Capaha Park, warning flags start waving. I look at all the park amenities that we grew up with: the lagoon, Cherry Hill, the band shell, the train from the cement plant, the pool (oops, guess we can scratch that one) and I don’t see many things I’d change. When you hear the drumbeats for “improving” Capaha Park, better start going to meetings and letting your voice be heard. We know how Bloomfield Road has been “improved.”

November 2011 aerial of Capaha Park

Broadway and Southeast Hospital are on the right. The pool is empty, but not razed yet.

Other stories about Capaha Park Lagoon

Gallery of Capaha Park Lagoon photos

A collection of photos taken over a period of time. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

 

 

 

Posted on

Rumor: Minor League Ball Coming to South Cape

The first day I was in Cape, we made the usual pass down Broadway, cruised past Water Street to see that the floodgates were closed, then headed down Aquamsi Street, jogged over onto Elm Street, then Giboney, on down to where the sinkholes had swallowed South Sprigg at Cape LaCroix Creek.

Funny how I always thought that was pretty much a straight shot until I looked at it on the map.

As we passed below Fort D, I thought something was odd: we could SEE the fort. I thought I remembered the view being blocked by brush and trees.

What’s all the clearing?

On the way back from looking at the sinkholes, we noticed that there was a lot of land being cleared north of the fort in an area roughly bounded by Maple on the north, Giboney on the east, Elm on the south and Ranney on the west.

“It’s going to be a minor league ball field”

There was a work crew digging out the foundation of a building half-way up Elm Street, so I stopped to talk with a worker about what they were doing.

“Well, I guess it’s no secret. The rumor is that it’s going to be a minor league ball field. We have people stopping by here all the time saying that’s what it’s gonna be. In fact, Walter Joe Ford pulled up yesterday and asked, ‘Is this [name deleted]’s ball field?'”

I didn’t track down the alleged owner

The name is deleted because I didn’t confirm the name. I heard it from several semi-reliable sources, but I didn’t talk directly to the person who is supposedly putting the project together.

Reporting is too much like work

Why didn’t I track it down? Frankly, that’s real reporting and real reporting is too close to being work. Something else was nagging me, too. I’ve worked stories about how big land purchases are put together. The early rumors of what was thought to be going on frequently turn out not to be even close to the final deal.

So, I’m going to let you folks theorize and speculate away. Let’s see how many of you have heard the same rumor I have.

Reasons that it might be true:

  • The person who is said to be involved has a history of doing or being involved in big projects, particularly of a civic-minded nature, and has been closely linked with some of the university’s expansions.
  • The person has an interest in baseball.
  • If a pro league DIDN’T come to Cape, the property is close enough to the River Campus, that it could be re-purposed for the University.

Reasons why it might NOT be true

  • As it stands now, there doesn’t look to be enough land for a playing field, practice fields, seating and parking. That’s not to say that more property hasn’t been obtained or could be obtained.
  • That area is made up of steep hills and deep gullies. Either an awful lot of hills are going to have to be cut down or there’s going to have to be a lot of fill brought in to make it level. There might be enough dirt on site, but I’m not sure.

Two houses need to be torn down

The worker told me that there are two houses at the top of the hill that still need to be torn down. Rumor has it that at least one of the the houses is owned by an elderly man who has no desire to move from his home. There are some trespassing signs that I can “overlook,” but I decided I’d believe this guy might just mean his, so I didn’t knock on his door to ask him what was going on.

Clearing work brings out treasure hunters

When I checked out the site on Saturday, I ran into Jamihia Walker, a 26-year-old SEMO student majoring in business, who was wielding a metal detector hoping to find coins or other treasures.

Trash or treasure?

Ms. Walker, was an absolute delight to talk with except for her insistence on calling me “sir” – “I’m sorry, sir, that’s just the way my grandparents brought me up.”

She came here from Sacramento to help care for them. Now that they’ve passed away, she plans to get her degree, stay in Cape a few more years, then move to a bigger city where she will become an entrepreneur. She might just make it if she can shed that “sir” business.

What’s your opinion?

  • Is the property suitable for a minor league ball facility?
  • Would Cape be able to support a minor league team?
  • Which major league team would it be affiliated with?
  • Would you attend the games or are you going to be spending all your time and money at the casino?
  • If it’s not a ball field, what is your alternative theory? Wild guesses acceptable.
  • By the way, I’ve heard this area called Mill Town and Giboney Woods. I’m not sure if they are the same or if it’s either. Anyone know the answer to THAT?

Photo gallery

Here’s a photo gallery of pictures taken July 1, 2011, and July 16, showing how much work has been accomplished. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the collection.

Posted on

Photographers Don’t Understand Pressure

I should have know better than to take a tongue-in-cheek swing (pun intended) at golf and golfers yesterday. I described my disdain for the sport and singled out Sam Snead as a photographer-hating prima donna who would try to blame shutter noise (chirping birds, wriggling earthworms, spectator coughing) for missing a shot.

CHS classmate Brad Brune, a self-described “humble golf fan,” took me to the woodshed in a very creative comment. I decided it was worth sharing.

Brad Brune’s comment

Once upon a time….

One of the promising young rising stars in the world of photo journalism, Ken Steinhoff, is on a very important shoot. Many Thousands of Dollars, all your sponsorships, and your national ranking are at stake. Your assignment is to catch a picture of Sam Snead “exactly” as his club strikes the ball on the 18th tee box of the Masters.

You are the only photographer allowed to take this exact photo. Too soon,too late, or off center won’t work, and your successful shoot would be jeopardized. At the very least you would loose several thousands of bucks for missing that essential shot – at that historic time and place.

Hundreds of people surround you and are watching you work. “GO KEN…. YOU THE MAN!!” they shout at you as you steady your camera. Millions are watching on TV and there is a close up of you on every TV screen in America. All is quiet…. just the sound a the breeze in the trees in the distance. Sam starts his 100 mph down swing. You are nervous as hell, sweat is running down you face, and you have your moist finger lightly poised above the shutter button.

BOO!

I sneak up behind you at the worst possible moment and quietly whisper, “BOO!” You jump out of your skin, snap the shot a fraction of a second early and your hands move slightly so that Sam’s head is half cut out of your shot!

That night you are the “joke” on every talk show on cable and broadcast TV. Slow motion video of the exact millisecond you blew the shot are repeated over and over. Every paper in the country has the head line the next day, “STEINHOFF CHOKES…. BLOWS THE SHOT!” Photographic columnists take cheap shots at you because you won’t accept responsibility for blowing the shot saying, “a sudden noise from a fan caused me to loose concentration.”

Had you been in Bush Stadium taking a picture of Stan the Man in the World Series with 50,000 fans screaming…. my little trick would not have bothered you at all. You would have been a rich hero, and the toast of the town.

There is no comparison Ken.
Brad
a humble golf fan.

A photographer’s rejoinder

Photographers are the one group who have to literally keep their focus no matter what kind of chaos is happening around them.

When you’re shooting what should be a routine traffic stop of some armed robbery suspects and suddenly someone shouts, “Get the photographers!” that’s a little more unnerving than someone whispering “BOO!” while Sam Snead is swinging.

Lens hood being ripped off

I’m proud to say that this photo, taken seconds after the one above, is sharp, even as the trooper rips the lenshood and filter off my camera while he’s trying to take it away from me. THAT’S focus. (The hood and filter are the round, dark and light objects in his palm.)

Trooper attack from another angle

Palm Beach Post Staffer C.J. Walker captured this frame of the lens hood flying through the air. One of these days I’ll publish the whole sequence and tell the complete story.

The short version is that by the time the incident investigation was finished, the Florida Highway Patrol adopted a media access policy that has become the model for public safety departments all over the country.

So, while I won’t say that every photo I’ve taken has captured the peak action, been sharp and exposed properly, I’d say my powers of concentration are pretty good under real life pressure. Let’s see how well Sam Snead putts in a burning building, while being attacked, in a hurricane or while being teargassed.

I agree. There IS no comparison.

Ken

A humble photographer

[What happened to the trooper, you wonder? My very own newspaper named him Lawman of the Year a couple of years later. I can only assume that what happened here was an aberration or that the editors of the paper thought the trooper had the right idea of how to treat photographers.]

 

Posted on

How to Improve Your Golf Swing

Actually, I have no idea. I just used that title to catch the attention of search engines.

In fact, golf was always my least favorite sport after Dad put me to work one summer cutting weeds along the roadside. He issued me a thing with a long wooden handle and a sharp curved blade that looked like something the Grim Reaper uses to harvest souls and sent me out into the hot summer sun to make grass out of weeds.

The first time I picked up a golf club, I noticed the similarity between swinging a club and a sythe. I did not want to relive that experience in any form, so I scratched golf off my life list.

The guys above are the Central High School golf team. I recognize most of them as being Class of 65, but a whippersnapper or two from ’66 might have snuck in.

J. Fred Waltz is second from left

James Fred Waltz – he was always known as J. Fred as far as I recall – is second from the left in both photos. I mention him because he tracked me down and took me out to lunch at a secret, undisclosed location the last time I was in Cape.

Al Spradling was supposed to come along, but he came up with a convenient excuse to ditch us at the last minute.

Waltz, Palmer, Snead, Trevino

Here’s what Mr. Waltz looks like today.

Not only did I not like to play golf, I hated covering it. Fortunately, golf wasn’t a big sport in Missouri, Ohio or North Carolina. Unfortunately, it WAS a big sport in Florida, where golf courses outnumber graveyards.

The first couple of years down here, I shot all the biggies at PGA National, Doral and other cathedrals of grass and sand traps. I disliked all of the hoity-toity pretentiousness that went with the sport.

Sam Snead was the worst

The worst guy to shoot was Sam Snead. He hated photographers and always blamed us if he made a bad shot. He reamed me out in front of the whole world one day for – in his eyes – shooting before he completed his swing. When I processed my film, I saw that he had clearly hit the ball before my shutter fired, but it wouldn’t have made a difference if I’d have shown up the next day with photographic evidence.

I never could figure out why golfers need absolute silence when a baseball pitcher can throw a rock 90 miles per hour at some batter’s head with 50,000 people screaming in his ear.

Arnold Palmer wasn’t bad, but my favorite was Lee Trevino. Here was a man who didn’t take himself or the sport too seriously. He played a relaxed game like he was having fun, joking with the gallery and never saying an unkind word to anyone.

About Proudly powered by WordPress