It seems like almost yesterday that “the Father of American Physical culture” was born. He was the predecessor of Charles Atlas and a number of individuals who emphasized body building and nutrition as the keys to long and healthy life. Bernarr Macfadden was born on August 16, 1868 in the small community of Mill Spring, in Wayne County, Missouri. A weak and sickly child, he was orphaned at age eleven and sent to live with another Wayne County farm family where he found that hard work and good

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the mechanical hobby horse came into existence. U. S. patent number 1,863,012 was filed on February 21, 1931 by J. Otto Hahs of Sikeston , Missouri. The mechanical horse was designed to serve as entertainment for children. The attractively designed pony was operated by electricity and set in motion with the insertion of a coin in a slot on the horse’s neck. There were four drive wheels in the base on which the horse stood, each providing a different speed for

It seems like Almost Yesterday that I first heard the song “On the Wings of a Dove.” This haunting melody was written by Robert Ferguson of Willow Springs, Missouri. In 1958 Ferguson was the manager of another Missourian , country singer Ferlin Husky. Husky was born and raised on a farm near Flat River, Missouri. Every Saturday night in the 1930s, the Husky family radio was tuned to the Grand Old Opry. Young Ferlin loved to sing and a family story is that his father traded a hen to a neighbor

It seems like almost yesterday that the US postal system implemented a zone improvement plan for distribution of the United States mail. World War II had dramatically increased the volume of mail and in 1943 a series of basic postal zones were created. But by the 1960’s the character and volume of U.S. mail dramatically changed. There was a virtual explosion of business mail. By 1963 business transactions made up 80%of the total volume. Computers created a massive centralization of business

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Kelvin “Earthquake” Anderson burst on the football scene at Southeast Missouri State University. The date was September 5, 1992 and the opponent was rival Murray State University. From the opening kick-off Anderson was, in the words of a student reporter, “electrifying.” In this, his first college game, Anderson carried the ball 23 times, gained 222 yards, and scored two touchdowns. One of the touchdowns was 96 yards, the longest scoring run in school history.

It seems like Almost Yesterday when the community of Greenville, Missouri experienced a disastrous flood. The event was the most extensive flood in the history of the small town on the St. Francis River, and caused such destruction that it permanently altered the region. The flood was precipitated by a persistent rain that fell for nearly one week, followed by a heavy downpour on the night of August 19. By Friday morning, August 20, the St. Francis was rising at the rate of twelve inches per

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Richard G. Wilson became the only resident of Cape Girardeau to ever receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor. Wilson was born August 19, 1931, in Marion, Ill., but grew up in Cape Girardeau in a family of seven children. On August 19, 1948 – his 17th birthday – he enlisted in the army and reported to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he was trained as a medic. He volunteered for Airborne School and was assigned to Fort

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Hollywood came to Southeast Missouri. A production company headed by prominent director Roger Corman came to Charleston and East Prairie in 1961 to produce a movie based upon Charles Beaumont’s novel about race relations and school integration in the American South. Filmed one year prior to the classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Intruder was a commercial failure. Corman was unable to secure support for the film from Hollywood Studios, thus this socially

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Southeast Missouri State Teacher’s College became a pioneer in radio broadcasting. With 200 watts of power and a wave length of 360 meters, WSAB went on the air on Tuesday, March 27, 1923. Construction of the station began in the summer of 1922, but was delayed until the Education Building, now Crisp Hall, was near completion so that an antenna could be erected there. The station was housed in an oak cabinet made by students in the agriculture shop, and was

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a twenty-two foot tall fiberglass statue of an Indian chief was placed on the top of Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau . At the time, Southeast Missouri State athletic teams were known as The Indians, and for nearly a decade the giant figure greeted those who attended sporting events at Houck Field or Houck Field House. For many students and alumni at Southeast the mascot for the athletic teams had long been known as Chief Sagamore, an Algonquin name for leader