Preservation Homework: Churches & Cemeteries

Aerial Common Pleas Courthouse 04-14-1964Dr. Katy Beebe invited me to speak to her historical preservation class at Southeast Missouri State University last year. Dr. Lily Santora asked if I would come back April 8 to meet with her class.

Dr. Beebe’s class was researching Main Street, so I put together a list of the stories I had done about downtown. Dr. Santora gave her class a wide variety of local landmarks. I’ll spend the next couple of days helping her students by posting links to stories I’ve done about their topics. I’m going to concentrate on churches and cemeteries today. (Maybe I can make up for all those assignments I didn’t turn in when I was a student.)

[Hint to students: don’t just read what I’ve written. The comments are generally more interesting than my copy. Feel free to post questions and comments of your own. My readers are a friendly group who love to share Cape’s history. Click on the photos to make them larger.]

First Presbyterian Church

St. Mary’s Cathedral

Christ Episcopal Church

Christ Episcopol Church 04-16-2011The church and May Greene Garden

Evangelical United Church of Christ

Crash knocks over sign in front of Evangelical United Church of Christ c 1966Crash damages church sign

 St. James AME Church

NAACP 08-10-1967National NAACP president speaks at church

Fairmount Cemetery

 St. Mary’s Cemetery

St. Mary's Cemetery 04-17-2011_5233Aerial of St. Mary’s Cemetery

 

 

Dr. Bankhead Installed as Pastor

Robert Bankhead installation 08-07-1967 5I always tried to come back with a candid shot instead of a set-up from assignments. I liked this shot of a preacher’s kid who had had enough of the formal reception line.

The caption in the August 7, 1967, Missourian read, “The work of the photographer was a lot more important to William Morton Bankhead than the receiving line at a reception. Young Bankhead stands between his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Bankhead as they receive guest following Dr. Bankhead’s installation Sunday night as pastor of First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Bankhead greets Mrs. Jan Chick, while Mrs. Bankhead chats with Mrs. Charles Black, Mrs. Chick’s mother.

He was the 24th minister of the 132-year-old denomination at the corner of Broadway and Lorimier. Here’s the whole story with lots of names you’ll recognize.

Covered re-belling of new church

Robert Bankhead installation 08-07-1967 3I captured photos of the church being torn down in 1965, then the re-belling of the new church in December of that year.