Cape's bicycle track had a short run
In early 1898 Frank Dunlap, with the help of his wife, Mary Charlotte (Van Frank) Dunlap, a Cape Girardeau native, began remodeling the Riverview Hotel on the river in downtown Cape Girardeau. They...
View Article'James' Laskaris and the Coney Island
In the spring of 1942 residents of the United States had only one thing on their minds: War. Practically every page of the local newspaper had some news about the conflict: Head shots of men and women...
View ArticleCarroll house razed in 1941 for A&P store
One of the things I enjoy most about my job is introducing readers to the Cape Girardeau of years past. It's icing on the cake, when I can include images of those yesterdays. Unfortunately, I haven't...
View ArticleThe death of Judge Benjamin Franklin Davis
Benjamin Franklin Davis Back in 2011, one of the first blogs I ever wrote dealt with the history of the house at the southwest corner of Themis and Fountain streets, which was then in the process of...
View ArticleWar increased demand for photos
In the days leading up to World War II, as had happened before the War to End All Wars, photographers around the country were besieged with requests for portraits of young men and women and of family...
View ArticleA 1918 fire consumed second Elmwood Manor
All that remains of the second Elmwood manor is the entrance, seen here during a recent tour of the estate. (Sharon Sanders) In April my sister and I were privileged to be two of the 35 persons who...
View ArticleThe sacrifice of brothers Roland and Elwin Busch
I hadn't planned on writing a Memorial Day-themed blog this year. In fact, I had already pulled together an article about a girl who won a Carnegie Medal for saving the life of her teacher. That's...
View ArticleCarnegie medal presented twice to Ruby Lindsay Hargis
In April 1924, school teacher Marjorie Haines Hobbs and her 15-year-old pupil, Ruby Lindsay, were enjoying a hike in the woods north of Cape Girardeau, apparently an exercise the friends frequently...
View ArticleA house that looked the same front and back
Some time in the 1840s, Cape Girardeau's premier builder of homes, Edwin Deane, was contracted to construct a residence for flour mill-owner Ben Horrell of New Orleans. Seeking to escape The Big Easy's...
View ArticleWilliam Brunke made the bricks that made Cape Girardeau
Many of the names of the architects who designed the residences and commercial houses that litter historic Cape Girardeau have survived: Edwin Branch Deane, L.B. Blackwood, J.B. Legg, Thomas P....
View ArticleDr. William H. Lawrie Sr. and the Booker T. Washington Theater
On Dec. 14, 1916, after several failed attempts by forward-thinking white residents, Dr. William H. Lawrie Sr., a black physician of Cape Girardeau, announced plans for the opening of a movie theater...
View ArticleYes, George Washington's cousin is buried at OL
(Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian) I had a surprise visit in June from a friend from Spring, Texas. After covering all the usual topics of family, friends and work, the conversation turned to...
View ArticleWar removes Cape's mayor
W. Hinkle Statler (Southeast Missourian archive) When H. Hinkle Statler was elected mayor of Cape Girardeau on April 14, 1940, at age 30, he was the youngest man to ever claim that political plumb....
View ArticleTarzan Jr., visits Cape
Johnny Sheffield wore his Cub Scout uniform, when he appeared in Cape Girardeau in July 1942. (Southeast Missourian archive) Tarzan Jr., swung into Cape Girardeau the summer of 1942, not on...
View ArticleA cross for Tower Rock
Tower Rock in Perry County, Missouri, is a sight to see, especially from a small boat in the middle of the Mississippi River. Big Sis and I got to experience just that in 2016 through Southeast...
View ArticleTWIKA standard became airport landmark
If you were a kid growing up in the Cape Girardeau area in the 1960s and '70s, chances are you remember the tall global sign that marked the Cape Girardeau Municipal (now Regional) Airport. (G.D....
View ArticleUnlike the Shaw sword, Col. Lindsay Murdoch's saber is still missing
Many of you probably read the article in the Southeast Missourian recently detailing the discovery of Col. Robert Gould Shaw's Civil War sword. http://www.semissourian.com/story/2428380.html Shaw, you...
View ArticleFamily search yields story of John William Daugherty
Like many genealogists, I like to flesh out the facts I gather about long-deceased relatives with items from old newspaper. There's a wealth of these publications available for viewing on the Internet,...
View ArticleDr. A.C. Magill turned personal tragedy into triumph
Dr. Arthur Clay Magill came to Cape Girardeau in September 1909, a year after personal tragedy reshaped his life. In the years that followed, he worked to obliterate the disease that devastated his...
View Article1953 train derailment took the life of a Lilbourn Guardsman
G.D. Fronabarger photographed more than 400 National Guardsmen who escaped injury in a train derailment on July 25, 1953. The group was assembled by Lieut. Col. H.F. Wickham, commander of the troop...
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