His Name Was Mr. Jesse Harris

Posted on November 22, 2011 by darlajune

I posted an article last month about a man called Sam, who often walked through the old South Sprigg neighborhood. He was the subject of false rumors spread by the adults who lived there, simply because he was a black man. Here is a link to that article: http://southsprigg.com/2011/10/09/does-anyone-remember-a-man-named-sam/

Gary Wren, a former schoolmate and reader of this blog, saw that article and was thoughtful enough to fill in some of the blanks about the man called Sam. First, his name was Mr. Jesse Harris. His nickname was Slim, not Sam.

The best news Gary provided was that Mr. Jesse Harris loved God and that he was, in fact a very kind man who had had a very rough life. He lived to be 100 years old and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Cape Girardeau, MO. He died in 1975 and, although he appeared to be extremely poor, he left his church $35,000 (a huge sum in 1975 when candy bars cost a nickel).

Thank you, Gary, for answering some of the questions that I never thought I would know the answers to. This information gives me hope that I may still one day meet Mr. Jesse Harris and give him the respect he should have received while he was living.

Not Mr. Jesse Harris, but resembles him.

Posted in 1960, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, racism, Ranney Street | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Hummingbird Listened to Me Sing This Morning

Posted on July 22, 2015 by darlajune

rufous-hummingbird-126051297201797Hji

I just had the most awesome experience:
I was sitting on the back patio, drinking my morning coffee, & singing quietly.
A tiny hummingbird (I think it must have been a very young one) came & sat on the shepherd’s hook just a few feet from me. It sat there for half an hour!
I thank God for sending that little bird. He comforts me in my sorrow & fills my heart with joy.
While I was singing, the tiny bird sat there, motionless except for its little chest as it breathed. When I quit singing, it tilted its head and looked at me. So I started singing again and it turned its head back & continued to sit motionless.
This continued to happen for half an hour! My neighbors may think I’m nuts, singing on the patio at 6 AM, but I am so blessed!
I have been feeding hummingbirds for years and I have never seen one sit still for more than a minute, let alone half an hour!
Jon Franklin​ knows how much I love hummingbirds. I like to think that he asked God to send that little bird.

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

New Header Image

Posted on October 4, 2014 by darlajune

I have changed the header image to show the block where our house was located on South Sprigg.

This is the southernmost part of the 1200 block of South Sprigg. In this photo, the first house on the left was the Drury family. (They had an apricot tree in the back yard that we were allowed to pick and eat all we wanted. Yum!)

The house to the right of the Drurys is the Propst family. They were the only neighbors who were not very social. Their daughter had a vendetta against me and I have no idea why.

The house to the right of the Propsts is the Seabaugh family. We had so much great fun there. Their daughter, Linda, and I were buddies. I have many fond memories of time spent there….roller skating in the basement, singing together, climbing out the upstairs window to sit on the roof on summer nights, catching lightning bugs, making a club house under their back porch, pretending we were riding horses, actually going to the horse barn and really riding horses. When they moved away I missed them very much.

The house I lived in at 1240 was next door to the right of the Seabaugh home at that time. It has since burnt down so it is not shown in the photo. I don’t think I have any photos of that house from the outside. I do, however, have photos taken on the inside:

This was taken at 1240 South Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Not sure of the date, Jack looks older, maybe it was taken in 1963 or 64. Now he drives a real fire truck!

This was taken at 1240 South Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Not sure of the date, Jack looks older, maybe it was taken in 1963 or 64. Now he drives a real fire truck!

Mark Sprigg

Me Darla - born 1950 - with my brother Mark

Me Darla – born 1950 – with my brother Mark

My youngest brother Jack Maupin on his rocking horse, stuffed elephant beside him

My youngest brother Jack Maupin on his rocking horse, stuffed elephant beside him

Gotta’ love those curtains!

The people who lived near us on South Sprigg have influenced my life for the good. In those days, we knew each other and spent summer days finding fun or trouble to get into. We didn’t come home until the street lights came on.

I cherish the friendships I had on Sprigg and on other streets nearby. I think the neighborhood is all gone now, demolished to make way for a new road I believe, but it lives on in my mind.

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Neighbors, Sprigg Street | Leave a comment

I am a Grandma Again! And, I am Back at Brainards Again!

Posted on October 1, 2014 by darlajune

harmony in whiteThis post has nothing to do with Sprigg Street, but I have a new granddaughter, Harmony Grace.grinning She was born July 24th and she brings such joy to my heart. I do get to see her at least once a week and I am so thrilled to be her grandmother.

All my children and grandchildren are special to me, but she is the newest addition to our family so I must brag a little.

Also, over the Labor Day weekend I moved back to Brainard Landings, (in Lincoln, IL) where I had lived previously for 7 years. I love it here and I hope to never move again. I still miss Cape and I guess I always will. There is no place on earth more special to me. I have been gone from there since 1966, though, and my roots have been transplanted here for too long now to be uprooted.

My health issues are still touch & go, but my new cardiologist seems to have come up with a combination of medications and nutrition which keeps my blood pressure more stable. I have low blood pressure which, in the past, has required IV fluids in order to be stabilized. So now I am spending less time at the hospital. Thanks be to God and to my physicians, Dr Paul Kasa, Family Medicine, and Dr Mayer, Cardiologist.

Any other Cape kids who have left but still miss it? Please leave me a comment.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The Mississippi River – My Confidante

Posted on July 10, 2014 by darlajune
river-1372326761mdi

This may or may not be the Mississippi. But it looks similar to where I grew up. *

 

This morning I was thinking about my life in Cape Girardeau, MO, growing up very near the Mississippi River and how special that river was to me as a child & also as a teen-ager.  There was just something about sitting on a river wall (NOT THE river wall downtown, but the one out near Cape Rock) and watching the river go by. Somehow it soothed my soul at times.

My teen-age years were tumultuous to say the least. I was quite the rebellious one. Consequently, I had many troubled thoughts. I had given up praying because I thought God likely was not happy with me, and I even doubted His existence. (I don’t doubt it now)

Did anyone else from Cape ever talk to the river? I may regret putting this information out into cyberspace, but I did talk to that river when I was young. I told it my troubles, hoping they would rush on down the river with that water. Sometimes, at particularly bad times, I would think about jumping into that river but never had the guts (or lack of them) to do it. Besides, I was afraid there might actually be a hell and I was afraid of going there.

I was madly in love with a young man who did not love me and I spent the better part of 10 years trying to MAKE him love me. I met him when I was 12; I gave up on him when I was 21. And, NO, I will not name the person. Some of you closest to me and to him know who it was. But let’s not go there. I now know that if there was ever anything impossible, definitely making someone love you is absolutely not possible. I was a sorry mess, I can tell you.

Even if the Mississippi River is not a person, it sure listened to me and never berated me or gave me any advice. Sometimes that’s really all you need; just to be able to voice what is in your heart and imagine that someone or something is listening and cares about how you feel.

I still love that river and I sure do miss it.

*Photo courtesy of:
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=45114&picture=river
Posted in 1960, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Sprigg Street | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

My GGG Grandfather??

Posted on November 7, 2013 by darlajune
Marble hill courthouse

Courthouse in Marble Hill, Missouri where the Bollinger County Archives is located. Photo used by permission via Creative Commons. Photo by jimmywayne.

The story I have for you today is not officially documented, mainly because the old courthouse in Marble Hill MO burned down many years ago and all records were lost. The information I have received is word of mouth, but trusted as true by the folks in Marble Hill who helped me with my research.

I traveled to Marble Hill MO on September 12, 2005 to the Bollinger County archives. I met Wanda Rhodes and also Mike Farmer, both extremely helpful.

Wanda Rhodes has done some research on the CHEEKS in the past and she was able to give me some “family stories” regarding Randolph Cheek. (I believe him to be my great, great, great grandfather but have no documentation to prove it)

Randolph Cheek was a full-blooded Cherokee who was born in North Carolina. He came to Missouri (not with the Trail of Tears). He was there long before the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears time-line is from 1838-1839. Randolph Cheek had children that were born in Bollinger County long before that. The first is listed in 1814 – born in Cape Girardeau County. That was before Bollinger County was made a county. At that time it was a part of Cape Girardeau County until 1850. Randolph’s first child, Patience, was born in 1811 in North or South Carolina.(There is some question about the state line between NC & SC in the early days. So there is sometimes confusion about whether someone was from NC or SC)

In 1813 there was a child named James H. Cheek born in Kentucky. So they are moving at that time. (James H. Cheek died in Bollinger Co in 1905)

Then John Cheek was born in 1814 in Cape Girardeau County. So they may have been in Bollinger Co at that time.

In 1850, John Cheek is listed in the census of Bollinger Co.

I am told by the people in Marble Hill that my ancestor, Jesse Cheek (Sarah Cheek Yow’s father), was definitely Randolph Cheek’s son. He was born either 1818 or 1827 in Cape Girardeau Co. He died some time after 1880. The 1880 Census is the last census he shows up on. That census was for Jack Co Texas. I don’t know when he went to Texas or if he went anywhere else in between.

I do have documentation that my great-grandmother Sarah Elizabeth Cheek (Yow) was born in Marble Hill, MO.

This is the family story which Wanda Rhodes told me:

“When Randolph Cheek was very, very old (over 100) he had a grandson in Bollinger Co who was accused of setting fire to some barns in the area. It turned out the story originated from one of the Coles’ boys. The Coles boy said he saw “that Indian kid” setting fire to the barn. When word reached Randolph about it, he took his grandson and set off on foot to flee the area (even thought he was at least 100 yrs old)

Randolph’s family never heard from him again.

After Randolph and his grandson fled on foot, another witness stepped forward and said that she had seen the Coles boy setting the barn on fire. This woman was a credible person in the community. So Randolph’s grandson was cleared of the accusation.

However, by that time, Randolph and his grandson had already fled and no one was able to find them. Communication being as it was back then, the family had no way to contact them to let them know it was safe to come back. The family searched for them but were unable to find them.

The grandson is shown by the records as having made it to Oklahoma to the Indian Territory (now referred to as the reservation). But there is no record of Randolph being there. So it is unknown whether he made it to the reservation and died there or whether he died somewhere along the way.”

I admire the man Randolph Cheek for protecting his grandson, even in his old age. I hope he was my GGG grandfather and I think he most likely was.

Many thanks to the gracious people in Marble Hill MO who took their time to help me in my research, even sending me maps of the location of the land that Randolph Cheek and his children owned in Bollinger County.

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Family History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lewis VanBuren Yow

Posted on October 30, 2013 by darlajune
LEWIS VAN BUREN YOW

Lewis VanBuren Yow
1877-1929

OK, all you ladies waiting to know more about this handsome man.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, I now have info on Lewis VanBuren Yow, one of my great-uncles. I really have very little information on him. I never met him since he died long before my father was even born. He was one of the sons of Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow and Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow. He grew up in Grand Tower, IL, as did my grandfather, William Thomas ‘Tom’ Yow. Grand Tower is somewhat strange in that at some points in its history it was part of IL and in others it is shown as being a part of the state of Missouri. I think the issue had to do with the fact that it was literally almost IN the Mississippi River. There was a huge flood at some point in history (I can’t remember when), and they say that the river flowed backwards. ???? So I guess the community of Grand Tower was re-located by the Mississippi River. Sounds pretty weird to me. But, in any case, that is where my ancestors on my father’s side were born & raised.

I think Lewis VanBuren is an interesting figure because he was so tall, handsome, and well-dressed, especially compared to the rest of the Yow family (as you can clearly see in this photo)

SOME YOW'S

(you can click on this photo to make it larger)

In this photo, Lewis VanBuren is on the left, his brother Fred is on the right. Fred got the short gene from his mother, Sarah, in the middle of this photo, while Lewis obviously got the tall gene from his father, Louis Calvin.

According to a newspaper article written at Lewis’ death, he was a “timber buyer”. It sounds like he may have gotten involved with the wood industry through his father, ‘Cal’, who was a wood-cutter. I am speculating on this. I have no documents or legends to prove or disprove this assumption.

I do know for sure that he was married to a woman named Rhoda, who had been previously married and had a daughter, Edith Barnett, from her first marriage. She & Lewis had 2 sons, Nathan & Kenneth Yow, and 2 daughters, Mary Nevada Yow & Fay Yow (Fay died when only 11 days old).

LV, RHODA,SARAH, & NATHAN YOWIn the above photo, I don’t have all the names but Lewis VanBuren is on the left behind his wife, Rhoda. Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow, his mother (my great-grandmother) is in the center front row. Off to the right, behind the fence is Lewis’ and Rhoda’s son, Nathan. I believe this photo was taken in Marquand IL.

Lewis VanBuren Yow came to a tragic and sudden death at the age of 53 in a freak accident as described in this newspaper article:

You will need to click on this article, then CLICK ON IT AGAIN in order to be able to read it:

newspaper article Lewis VanBuren YowToo bad the date is not shown on this article but I know that it was in 1929 that he was killed. I have a photo of his & Rhoda’s grave marker located at Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau, MO, but the photo is not very clear. I have tried to clear the lettering and numbers up but not very successfully. Again, you will need to click on the image to enlarge it. Sorry it is so blurry. Can any one make out the sentiment at the bottom? Looks like “Our love…..???” endures? maybe. If I ever get back to Cape I must go see this stone again. If any of you readers can read it, please leave a comment or send me an email at darlayow@gmail.com

???????????????????????????????Most of the info I have on Lewis VanBuren came from my brother and also from Lewis’ grandson, Jesse Yow, from Marble Hill MO, now deceased.

There is a lot of history that is lost in the Yow family. My father, Raymond Yow, related a lot of the history to me, but it seemed the family was somehow alienated from one another and my father did not want to pass on some of the unpleasant details. Maybe that is for the best.

Posted in Family History, Missouri | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Working On a New Post & a Baby Blanket

Posted on October 29, 2013 by darlajune
LEWIS VAN BUREN YOW

Lewis VanBuren Yow

I promised some of you a post regarding Lewis VanBuren Yow, (photo above) and I want you to know I am still working on it. I have moved recently & my family history documents are in a state of disarray. I know things about him but I can’t remember details, like dates and exact particulars about his life. My brother, Tim, has documentation on Lewis but his files are in IL and he is in Florida….lucky dog!

In the meantime, I am going to enlist the help of the Southeast Missourian just as soon as I can come up with a reasonable date.

I have just recently recovered from an upper respiratory virus which I (& some of my friends) refer to as ‘the plaque’. It has taken me 3 weeks to get over this thing. So I have been laying low, so to speak.

As most of you probably know, I have Multiple Sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system. I have had this disease since I was very young (around 20) but was not diagnosed until I was 42. At first, I would have attacks and then they would subside and I would be fine for long periods of time. But, in recent years, the disease has progressed and it does not subside like it used to. So I have permanent damage to my nervous system which affects me in various ways, one of which is fatigue. There are other problems that I will not discuss in this post; probably more suited to private conversations.

Anyway, I mention the MS so that you may understand why I sometimes seem to disappear for periods of time. I only have a certain amount of energy and I have to choose how I will use that energy on a daily basis. Consequently, this blog is not always at the top of my priority list even though it is in my mind. I love remembering the days gone by on Sprigg Street and also other places I lived in Cape. Even though I have been gone from Cape since 1966, it is still and probably always will be, in my heart, my hometown.

Currently I have a baby blanket to get done for my daughter’s best friend, Kayla Groves, who is having a baby boy soon. Her shower is next month and it will be here before I know it. My energy will be going towards getting that blanket done, although it doesn’t take much energy sitting in a rocking chair crocheting, but it does take time so the blog will have to wait for now. (I would post a photo but I don’t want Kayla to see it before the shower)

Please be patient with me and check back every so often for posts. Hopefully, health permitting, I will be back on the keyboard soon.

I appreciate all of the readers and especially love reading your comments on the posts. Thank you all so much.

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Family History, South Cape, Sprigg Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow

Posted on October 22, 2013 by darlajune
Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow

Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow 1849-1931

Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow was my great grandmother on my father, Raymond Yow’s side. She was said to be full blooded Cherokee, which I have tried unsuccessfully to document. She was born in Marble Hill MO. She had 10 siblings that I know about. Of course, in those days birth certificates were not legally required.

She was a tiny woman compared to her husband, Louis Calvin Yow.

SOME YOW'SShe outlived ‘Cal’ by over 15 yrs. At some point in time she went to live with her son Fred Yow, pictured on the right in the above photo holding a child, probably his daughter. Fred had moved to Arkansas and that is where Sarah lived until her death in Clay County, Arkansas in 1931. (Cal had died in 1915)

According to her death certificate, her body was brought to Cape by train and buried in the City Cemetery (now known as Fairmount). However, the sexton of Fairmount had no record of her burial location. This was quite puzzling and it took me on a search to find out the truth of the matter. For months I followed every lead I could come up with but to no avail. The sexton had shown me where Louis Calvin Yow was buried (even though there was no marker, he had old records showing the location). He also told me that there was someone buried on each side of him, but neither of them was his wife, Sarah. *

Older family members told me that she was buried with Louis Calvin. So, somebody is wrong I thought.

But, finally, the truth was discovered. There was a family member still living who remembered that Sarah was buried with Louis Calvin, but not beside him. She was buried at his feet. Mystery solved.

One of the family members said that she may have been buried at his feet in death but that she definitely WAS NOT AT HIS FEET in life. 🙂 (I knew I liked that woman)

Thanks to my brothers, there is now a tombstone at the grave with both Louis Calvin & Sarah listed on it. I know I have a photo of it somewhere but I can’t find it. If I do find it, I will update this post with the photo.

*Legend has it that Indians were not allowed to be buried in white cemeteries, so some members of the family went in to the cemetery at night and buried Sarah there. I don’t know if this is in fact true but I do know that I was told in Marble Hill (when I was still searching for Sarah) that I would not find any tombstones for anyone of Indian heritage because it was not allowed. Others have said that Indians did not want to be buried in white cemeteries. They preferred to just walk off and die somewhere.

Whatever the reason(s) were, the only tombstones I found for Indians in the Marble Hill area were for Indian women who had married prominent white men.

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Family History, Missouri | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

My Great Grandpa Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow

Posted on October 18, 2013 by darlajune
Louis Calvin Yow

Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow
1850-1915

SOME YOW'S

L to R: Lewis VanBuren Yow, unknown little girl, unknown woman, Sarah Elizabeth Cheek Yow (Cherokee), Louis Calvin Yow, Fred Yow holding young daughter

I promised in an earlier post to write about my great grandfather, Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow. As you can see, he was a mountain of a man. He was of Irish or Scottish descent. He was born in Tishomingo County Mississippi. His father, Christopher Louis Yow was, (according to family legend passed down from my father, Raymond Yow), killed over politics and thrown into the Arkansas River at Helena, Arkansas. ( I could speculate on the reasons for that, but I won’t since I don’t know for sure).

Cal Yow was married to Sarah Elizabeth Cheek. They had 7 children. They came to Grand Tower, IL so that my great grandfather could find work. Grand Tower was a very growing community at the time. There were coal mining operations there, as well as an iron works. So many men came to work there that the hotels were all full and so they set up a ‘floating hotel’ which was a steamboat used as a hotel for the workers.

At some point, my great grandfather started working at a silica mine across the river near Grand Tower. Family stories differ on the exact details but I understand that my great grandfather went blind at an early age. A family history sent to me by a relative said that Cal Yow suffered from getting silica in his eyes at the mine. The silica would not have blinded him. He went to a doctor in St Louis who put drops in his eyes. They were the wrong drops and that is what blinded him.

Being blind, he was no longer able to work at the silica mine. In fact, the only work he could do was to go into the woods and chop wood. The lady I met in grand tower said that they were called “the cutters”. (The thought of a blind man with an axe scares me)

My grandfather, Tom Yow, started working in the woods with his father when he was 4 years old. He had to be the eyes for Cal Yow. My grandfather did not get an education because he was working with his father trying to keep the family going economically.(My grandmother, Mary Ann Tripp, was well-educated and she taught my grandfather how to read & write) There was no government help in those days for people with disabilities so they just had to manage the best they could.

My great grandmother, Sarah Cheek Yow, outlived her husband by 15 years. He died in 1915 when my father was an infant. She lived until 1930. I will write more about her later. She was a very intriguing figure in our family’s history.

Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow died at my grandfather Tom Yow’s house at 542 South Hanover, in 1915 according to the obituary published at the time. I found out through my research that he was buried in a pauper’s grave at Fairmount Cemetery (not called that at the time). There was no grave marker but the sexton at Fairmount helped me to locate exactly where he is buried. (My brothers helped me to put a grave marker there, approximately 90 yrs after his death)

Here is a photo of the house at that location about 1o yrs ago. I am not sure if it is the same structure. As far as I know, it is.

542 S Hanover, Cape 001

542 S Hanover, Cape Girardeau, MO

Here is a copy of the obituary: (I found this on microfilm from the Southeast Missourian)

Louis Calvin Yow obit 001

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Family History, Missouri | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tom and Mary Ann Yow

Posted on October 15, 2013 by darlajune

Here are pictures of my grandparents on my dad’s side:

These pictures are from a locket they had made. It is the only photo we have of my grandmother.

Man_Copy_1005lowHis name was William Thomas ‘Tom’ Yow (1881-1955)

Woman_Copy_1005LowHer name was Mary Ann Tripp Yow (1883-1931)

Grandpa grew up at Grand Tower IL (a place that Ken Steinhoff has published a book about) He has also written many articles & posted photos of Tower Rock on his blog. Here is a link to a list of those articles<<Cape Central – Tower Rock Articles>>

Grandma grew up in a town across the river from Grand Tower called Wittenberg MO. I am told that there was a ferry that brought people back & forth from Grand Tower to the Missouri side of the river. I am not sure how they met but I have a possible theory.

Back in those days Grand Tower was actually a growing & busy community with a lot of jobs available. That is the reason my great grandfather, Louis Calvin ‘Cal’ Yow, decided to locate there to raise his family. (More on him later)

I visited Grand Tower several years ago & it is no longer a growing community; quite the opposite. I did meet some interesting people while I was there. The place looked somewhat like a ghost-town and I wanted to ask questions about my ancestors, so I went into the first place that looked occupied, the Post Office. There was a woman there who was happy to help me in my search. She was kind of like the one-woman postal clerk, welcoming committee, maybe mayor? (not really, but you get my drift) She did happen to also be the one in charge of upkeep of the cemeteries and she had the cemetery records which she happily gave me. I was able to locate some grave markers with family names on them but I was not able to find out how they were related. With a name like Yow, they had to be relatives. I took photos of the markers and maybe someday I will figure it out.

The lady in the post office also told me some of the history she knew of Grand Tower. Back in the ‘good times’, Grand Tower was a gathering place for outdoor social events. The ladies came over on the ferry from Missouri in their beautiful long dresses and hats and, of course, the young men in the town were eagerly awaiting their arrival. I have a suspicion that maybe that is how my grandparents met, but I don’t know that for a fact. It does make a nice romantic story though so that is how I choose to think of it.

Anyway, however they met, they married in 1905 and moved to Cape to live & raise a family. They had 5 children. All but one died in infancy. One was old enough to say Mama. My dad is the only child who survived. They all had a stomach ailment which my dad also had when he was born. Naturally, he was spoiled; never allowed to cry since they didn’t know if he was going to live. I cannot imagine the heartache that my grandmother must have gone through.

I knew my Grandpa; he came to live with us when I was very young. I never got to meet my Grandma. She died when she was 47. My dad was only 17 at the time and he was in St Louis at the Jefferson Barracks, enlisted in the “CC Camp”  or Conservation Corps. In those days it was a way for young men to make money working on public lands; parks, etc. They built many cabins & lodges for the state and/or national parks.

With the money Dad sent home, Grandpa started a neighborhood grocery store in 1934 at 333 North Fountain Street. (The building has since burnt)

Here is a photo of my grandpa and my dad at the counter in the grocery store:

(If you click on the photo and then zoom in, you can actually read the labels on the shelves. You will recognize some of the products.)

Grandpa Yow & Dad 001Something tells me that grandpa’s store might not pass today’s health standards. It looks like he probably wrapped raw meat on that paper in front of him. (gag)

The cash register is gorgeous.

My dad was impeccable in his grooming. He must have gotten that from his mother because, obviously, grandpa was not so well-groomed. My parents told me that grandpa thought that you shouldn’t wash your clothes too often because it would wear them out. He also thought that you shouldn’t take too many baths because it would make you weak. My mother being a clean freak, that just about made her crazy. She was always trying to get grandpa to take off his shirt so that she could wash it! LOL

He loved us so much though. And he spent lots of time with us. He would take me to his store & give me candy. I loved that, my mom didn’t.

Posted in Cape Girardeau, Family History, Missouri | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment