A RARE PEEK INTO TWO OF THE CITY'S HOMES

The McBride-Campbell-Every home and the Centenary United Methodist parsonage are two of the Bicentennial Home Tour's jewels, if only because the public has had little or no chance to view the interiors until now.

The McBride-Campbell-Every home last was opened to the public 17 years ago. The current owners, William Scott Campbell and Pamela Every, bought the house in 1988 and are nearing completion of a project she calls "a restoration-renovation."

"I had to have a modern kitchen," she says.

Eleven of the house's 14 rooms and its 3 baths have been redone.

Where possible, they have tried to use the house's old fixtures and marble. All but one of the chandeliers have been replaced, but the replacement chandelier in the music room is a turn-of-the-century fixture they found at an auction.

The house has been furnished with antiques, reproductions and traditional pieces.

Campbell is concerned that Cape Girardeau, when compared to preservation-minded towns such as Ste. Genevieve, has lost some historic houses to growth.

"Preserving a home like this in Cape Girardeau is very important," he says. "When the town grows so rapidly, you lose your roots."

Campbell and Every, who both work in the medical field, are the fifth owners of the 87-year-old house. George McBride, the owner of a stave mill, paid $22,000 for the Greek Revival house designed by Jerome B. Legg, who also designed Union Station and Academic Hall.

As far as tour co-chairwoman Loretta Dodd knows, the parsonage never has been on an historic home tour. "A lot of people who go to the church have never been in the house before," she said.

The house was built in the mid-'30s for Louis and Anna Hecht, parents of Cape Girardeau businessman Marty Hecht. Businessman Charles Harris and his wife Connie bought the house in about 1950 and made additions. They donated the house to the church in 1967.

The Rev. and Mrs. Ray Trotter lived in the house for 18 years until his retirement. The Rev. and Mrs. Neil Stein and their 18-year-old daughter Kate have occupied the home for the past eight years.

Carolyn Stein says the high ceilings and spaciousness are among the house's charms. The living room ceiling is carved with heraldic medallions, which also can be found in the dining room's stained-glass bay window.

The fireplace in the living room has custom-made doors once featured in an architectural magazine.

Upstairs, where the family does most of its living, they've added bookshelves to the library. Also located upstairs is a sun porch where the minister's wife does her sewing.

"It's not only a pretty house to look at, but also very livable," she says.