Iconic Images from the Southeast Missourian

October 26, 2014

Here are some noteworthy photographs published by the Southeast Missourian in its 110-year history.

Several hundred people, mostly children, blocked Main Street in Cape Girardeau on March 21, 1939, to get a glimpse of Robert Wadlow, the "Alton, Ill., Giant." Wadlow was about 21 when he came to Cape Girardeau as the guest of a local shoe store. At the time he stood 8 feet, 8 1/4 inches tall and wore size 37 shoes. (Photo by G.D. "Frony" Fronabarger, Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian)

A woman deals with the aftermath of the tornado that hit Cape Girardeau on May 21, 1949. (Missourian photo by G.D. Fronabarger)

Two unidentified men used a motorboat to travel a flooded Main Street in 1951. The photo was taken between Themis and Independence streets, looking south. (Missourian photo by G.D. "Frony" Fronabarger)

Children picking cotton, probably in the Bootheel. Undated photo by G.D. Fronabarger.

Sen. Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, wave from the back of a convertible. Sen. Nixon brought his vice-presidential campaign to Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Oct. 21, 1952. Standing at the open car door is Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., county Republican chairman. (Photo by G.D. Fronabarger, Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian)

Published Monday, March 8, 1954 An even dozen smiles. The players of Central and the coaches, after they tucked away the 1954 state championship. It is Lou Muegge getting the massage and holding the well-known basketball is Weldon Hager, assistant coach. First row, from left: Woody McComb, Muegge, Hager, Carr O'Connell. Standing, from left: Paul Stehr, Louis Meisenheimer, C.W. Suedekum, Bob Hunt, Don Koch, Jack Boswell, Dean Meintz (partially hidden), and Jim Hency. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Photo published June 9, 1959 Fire at the Colony Club was Monday, June 8, 1959. Club was located at Illinois Highways 146 and 3. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Downtown merchants and civic leaders pause for a cup of coffee at the F.W. Woolworth Co. lunch counter. We believe the picture was taken at the store's grand opening event after remodeling on Oct. 8, 1959. They include, from left, Charles Hood, R.E.L. Lamkin Jr., L.J. Schultz, Marvin Campbell, Vinson Rueseler, Jack Lamkin, Graham Wagoner, Lymon Matthews, Walter "Doc" Ford, L.R. Roper, Henry Ochs, Ralph Hirsch, Dick Swaim, Earl Robert. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Published Wednesday, June 14, 1961, pg. 3 Cape Girardeau today lost the distinction of being home for the original Flag of Missouri. Today it was presented in formal ceremonies at a joint session of the Senate and House in Jefferson City to the State of Missouri to become one of its cherished historic items. Shown in a picture before the flag was taken to Jefferson City Tuesday are grandson Jack Oliver, and a son, Allen L. Oliver, of Mrs. R.B. Oliver, who designed the flag and of whom an early day portrait appears in the background. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Published Thursday, Feb. 28, 1962 Joan Lynn Baker, daughter of Mrs. Mary Lou Baker, 1241 Marilyn Drive, received a sympathetic reaction from Vickie Sue Bailey, right, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd C. Bailey, 1300 Victoria, at the dental check at Alma Shrader School this morning. Dr. Richard Brown, president of the District Dental Study Club,, is making the examination and Steven Paul Berkbigler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ladelle Berkbigler, 1712 Westwood, is giving a critical glance as he awaits his turn. The pupils are all 6 years old and in the first grade. The examinations were carried out in all elementary schools and coincided with National children's Dental Health Week. (Missourian photo by G. D. Fronabarger)

Former President Harry S. Truman speaks with Fred Naeter in the front office of the Missourian Building on Oct. 16, 1962. To the left of Truman is Mayor Walter Ford. At far right is State Sen. Albert Spradling. (Missourian archives; photo by Johnston Studio)

John Osborn. He literally "drummed up business," walking or standing on Cape streets and playing his drum, while advertising some event, such as a sale or (as in this case) a baseball game.

Published Monday, Feb. 11, 1963 State College employee Ed Nebel applies an ice pack to star guard Carl Ritter's knee after it was injured in an accident in Saturday's game with Maryville. Assistant Coach John Schneider (back to camera) looks in the medicine case of the dressing room for something else to put on the knee until the doctor arrives. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Published Nov. 20, 1963 Sabin oral polio vaccine to be taken Sunday by mouth fills these heavy cartons being unloaded from a plane at Municipal Airport Tuesday afternoon. Carrying the two big cartons are, from left, Dr. Joe W. Tygett and Dr. Dale Blankenship, representing the sponsoring Cape County Medical Society, Robert A. Cotner, drug salesman, Mayor Walter H. Ford and Milton George, pharmacist. There is sufficient vaccine in the cartons to give 40,000 doses, three drops to a sugar cube, in Sunday's massive effort.

Southeast Missourian publisher Fred Naeter and Harry S. Truman were fast friends from days before Mr. Truman became President. Here they chat in Mr. Naeter's office. (Johnston Studio photo; published in anniversary edition, Oct. 2, 1965)

Demolition of old Federal Building/post office, March 31, 1967.

Published Saturday, June 29, 1968, pg. 1 Firemen battle the blaze on the Broadway side which destroyed a large part of the Idan-Ha Hotel building early this morning. Flames shoot into the sky, lighting the Federal Building in the background. (Missourian photo)

Published Aug. 30, 1972 Portion of the estimated 1,500 persons attending this morning's Interstate 55 dedication ceremonies at Perryville, Missouri, await the arrival of Gov. Warren E. Hearnes and other dignitaries. Photograph by Missourian photographer Gordon McBride was taken from near the speakers' platform. The Missouri Flag is at left in foreground.

Published Aug. 31, 1972 Persons arriving late at the dedication (of Interstate 55) were obliged to walk as far as a mile and a half in the hot morning sun along the just-completed interstate near Perryville, Missouri. The unidentified women dodged the sun by hiding under an umbrella. (Missourian archive photo by Gordon McBride)

Pulbished Friday, July 2, 1976 The Statue of Liberty has been returned to her place of honor, guarding Freedom Corner after vandals threw her in a ditch in May. Martin Heider, Jackson, and Linus Quade, Burfordville, city workers, prepare her so that the arm can be remounted. (Missourian archive photo by Gordon L. McBride)

Published Dec. 12, 1977, pg 1 Tractors and pickup trucks line the Courthouse Square at Jackson today during an unannounced "park-in," the first day of a nationwide farmers strike. (Missourian archive photo by Fred Lynch)

Feb. 27, 1979 Southeast Missourian The driver of a Greyhound bus and his five passengers, who rode out Sunday's blizzard in the bus after it stalled at Highway 61 and Route W, are loaded into a National Guard Jeep for a return to the bus after spending Monday night at the Salvation Army office in the 200 block of Broadway. (Missourian photo by Fred Lynch)

Two lions leave their cage after being released on Commerce Towhead where Denver M. Wright staged a home-made lion hunt on Oct. 17, 1932. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Published 19 April 1979, pg. 1 (Demolition of Trinity Lutheran Church, Frederick and Themis streets.) (Missourian archive photo by Fred Lynch)

Approximately 120 city employees, including all of the Cape Girardeau firefighters and members of the Public Works Department, walked from Cape Girardeau to Jackson along Highway 61 on June 28, 1979, in defiance of a back-to-work order issued by Circuit Court Judge Stanley A. Grimm.

Striking firefighters stand outside Fire Station No. 1 in February 1979.

Nov. 23, 1979 Southeast Missourian With no snow on the ground for his sled, Santa Claus found an alternate means of transportation to travel to the Town Plaza Shopping Center early today. It marks the first visit this year of Santa Claus to Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch photo)

Published May 25, 1986 Missouri and Illinois were linked on the Mississippi River bridge Sunday as a part of "Hands Across America" activities. Here, Illinois Sen. Paul Simon, right, joins hands with Missouri State Rep. Mary Kasten at the Missouri-Illinois line on the bridge. Standing next to Mrs. Kasten is her husband, Dr. Melvin Kasten. (Missourian archive photo by Fred Lynch)

Town Plaza flooding in 1986.

Aug. 30, 1987 Comedian Bob Hope drove a golf ball toward the northwest from the roof of the Show Me Center Friday prior to his concert that evening. Observing his style were David Ross, left, center director; Jim Doyle, events coordinator, and Cord Dombrowski, a member of the board of regents. (Missourian photo by Fred Lynch)

Feb. 4, 1937, a large crowd watches fire consume Bartels Mercantile Co. Store, Broadway and Ellis. Fire broke out in the basement shortly after 1 p.m. and by 3 p.m. was out of control. The store was gutted, and three apartments and the medical offices of Dr. R.A. Ritter on the second floor were destroyed. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

President Ronald Reagan, the first sitting president to visit Cape Girardeau since President William Howard Taft in 1909, disembarked from Air Force One on Sept. 14, 1988, at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. With him were Cong. Bill Emerson, front right; Sen. John Danforth, rear left, and Sen. Kit Bond, rear right. (Missourian archive photo by Fred Lynch)

Published Sept. 21, 1988 A fly-over of F-4 Phantom jet fighters from the Missouri Air National Guard based at St. Louis performed a "missing man" formation over Memorial Park during the memorial service for Lt. Col. Robert Gregory Tuesday afternoon. (Missourian photo by Mike Grace)

Published Aug. 12, 1993 Eighth District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson surveyed the flood damage in the Chester, Ill., and McBride, Mo., area from a barge on Wednesday. (Missourian photo by Melina A. Mara)

Published Aug. 31, 1996 Emily Firebaugh, left, Democratic candidate for 8th District U.S. representative, and Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan watched Vice President Al Gore introduce President Bill Clinton to a crowd in Capaha Park Friday. The president's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, applauded. (Southeast Missourian photo by Lou Peukert)

What once was an attached garage at the residence located at 1855 Ridge Rd. in Jackson is now a large pile of splintered wood after Tuesday's, May 6, 2003, tornado. (Missourian photo by Don Frazier)

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Friends and neighbors with pickup trucks and trailers helped residents Wednesday afternoon, May 7, 2003, to salvage what they could from their homes that were hit hard by Tuesday night's tornado, which struck several subdivisions in the Bent Creek area of Jackson.

Demolition experts imploded a section of the old Mississippi River bridge connecting Cape Girardeau, Mo., and East Cape Girardeau, Ill., Thursday, September 9, 2004. The remainder of the bridge scheduled to be imploded at a later date unexpectedly collapsed into the river at the same time. (Missourian photo by Don Frazier)

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Timothy W. Krajcir is escorted by Illinois Department of Corrections officers into the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro, Ill. to enter his plea on charges of the 1982 murder of Debbie Sheppard on Monday, December 10, 2007.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Ameren UE workers took down limbs before they had a chance to fall on utility lines Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 12, 2008, in north Jackson on Highway 61.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Ice storm repairs along Highway 25 Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 13, 2008.

Charles Riemann, 17, of the Koch suburb, astride his bicycle, scanned the front page of The Southeast Missourian on Sept. 1, 1939. The early "extra" brought the newspaper's readers the first authentic word of the invasion of Poland by Germany. (Missourian archive photo by G.D. Fronabarger)

Jackson ice storm Feb. 12, 2008, by Bob Miller.

A beautiful night at the SEMO District fair on Sept. 12, 2008. (Photo by Chuck Wu)

Cape Girardeau police officers surround Jordan T. Modicue, 20, of Tamms, Ill., who was shot four times early Sunday morning, Sept. 28, 2008, as police responded to reports of a fight outside the Copa, a North Main Street bar. (Missourian photo by Chuck Wu)

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Joshua Kezer answers media questions on what he is planning to do as a free man while his mother Joan watches in the lobby of the Jefferson City Correctional Center on February 18, 2009.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Scott County Central senior Otto Porter is the Southeast Missourian 2011 player of the year for boys basketball.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Father Patrick Nwokoye takes a phone call outside the scene of a morning shooting at 1220 W. Cape Rock Drive,Thursday, May 30, 2013. Two people, 18-year-old Matthew Joseph and 57-year-old Mary Joseph died from gunshot wounds. George Joseph, 48, is in the hospital for treatment from a gunshot wound.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Ruby Rawson looks at Clay Waller as he takes his seat, Thursday, June 6, 2013, inside the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse. Waller pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Rawson's daughter, Jacque Waller. Jacque Waller went missing June 1, 2011. Her body was found last Wednesday in Southern Illinois.

ADAM VOGLER ~ avogler@semissourian.com The Aerostars precision aerobatic team board their Yak 52 TW aircraft before their performance at the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival Friday, June 28, 2013, at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The World War II era aerobatic trainer, designed by the former Soviet Union, was built in Romania and are powered by a 400 horsepower supercharged radial engine.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Snow blankets Broadway for a wintery scene, Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 4, 2014. A winter storm warning remains in effect for Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Mississippi, New Madrid, Perry, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne Counties until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, guards were stationed at bridges across the Mississippi River, including the traffic bridge at Cape Girardeau. By Feb. 21, 1942, when this photo was made, Army regulars from Fort Custer, Mich., had taken over guard duty here. Soldier is Cpl. K. McGrath of Chicago. (Photo by G.D. Fronabarger, Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian)

Army air cadets were assembled at Harris Field during World War II. Instructors there gave cadets their first flight training. (Missourian archive photo by G.D. Fronabarger)

Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., a Cape girardeau aviation enthusiast, smiled as he read a newspaper account of voter approval of a $115,000 airport bond on April 22, 1947. With the favorable vote, the city was able to move toward formal acquisition of Harris Field. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

Three churches were damaged by the tornado that hit Cape Girardeau on May 21, 1949, including the Red Star Tabernacle, 1301 N. Main, and Third Street Methodist. This is what was left of the Church of God in Marble City Heights, on Emerald street, after the storm passed. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

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Here are some noteworthy photographs published by the Southeast Missourian in its 110-year history.

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