The "straw vote" is in: When it comes to being creative with soda straws, Kenneth Corse is the winner.

What started as an idle interest for Corse more than 12 years ago has turned into a fascinating hobby.

Corse, 84, still doesn't know why he started collecting McDonald's Restaurant soda straws.

"When McDonald's first opened in Perryville we started eating there," said Corse. "The straws were different, so I stuck a couple of them in my pocket."

When Corse and his wife, Wanda, moved to Cape Girardeau in July 1990, Corse's fascination with the straws grew stronger.

"By this time I had several thousand of the colorful straws," said Corse. "It was time to do something with them."

What Corse did with the straws was construct a model McDonald's Restaurant.

"After all, the straws came from McDonald's," he pointed out.

Corse, who worked on the Mississippi River a dozen years and was a Perry County farmer for more than 30 years, laid out his plans for the McDonald's building in September 1991.

Four months, 6,500 soda straws, 4,040 straight pins and nine bottles of glue later, the 4-by-3-foot building was complete, displayed on a 6-by-8-foot board that includes a circle drive, the familiar McDonald's arches, a drive-up menu board, playground and miniature cars.

Since then Corse has continued to pick up McDonald straws. "I've even purchased several hundred of them to complete other straw projects," he said.

Corse's latest addition to his straw village is the Burrough Estate, a historic structure built in Cape Girardeau just prior to the Civil War.

"You can see the Burrough House from our window," said Corse, who resides in the Cape LaCroix Apartments on South Spring Street.

"This was a seven-day project," he said. The Burrough model is about 2-by-3 feet.

"The history of the Burrough house fascinated me," said Corse.

He said the "real" Burrough House was built by Edwin B. Deane, a native Virginian builder who moved to Cape Girardeau in 1830 as a youngster.

Deane studied planning and building in Louisville, Ky., and returned to Cape Girardeau in 1938. He also built the Ellis-Wathen-Ranney home and the Glenn House.

Deane's daughter, Mary Deane, married Jacob Burrough. The Burrough estate consisted of the main house, a barn and carriage house, stables and an ice house.

Construction of the Burrough House started in 1859 by Samuel Caruthers, who died in March 1860, before the house was finished. Jacob Burrough, a lawyer who served as first president of the Southeast Missouri Normal School's board of regents, moved into the house and had it completed.

"The house still stands amidst the influx of modern housing," said Corse. "The house has two stories and a cellar. Inside, a winding staircase leads to the second floor."

In between the McDonald's and Burrough House Corse constructed a tugboat and two barges with straws. The barges measure about 18-by-28 inches each, and the tugboat, designed after a Corps of Engineers boat, is 19-by-38 inches.

"We call the tugboat, `Becky Ann,' after our granddaughter," said Corse.

He said his next project is a model of McKendree Chapel Church near Jackson. "I have already mapped out plans for the building. Looking further into the future, I may do the Common Pleas Courthouse. This is something that I really enjoy doing," he said.

Corse's straw structures have been displayed at various sites around Cape Girardeau, including schools and at the SEMO District Fair.

"We'd like to find a place to house the buildings on display," said Corse. "We're running out of room in our apartment here."