Almost Yesterday

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 residents of southeast Missouri became keenly interested in the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12. The series of 19th century tremors along the New Madrid fault have been reported as the most severe in the history of North America. Stories continue to be told, true or not, that the Missouri quakes were of such force that they rang church bells in the East and caused the Mississippi River to flow backward. This new level of historical curiosity was motivated by

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the Roberts, Johnson and Rand Shoe Company of St. Louis opened a manufacturing plant in Cape Girardeau . The date was September 9, 1907 and this proved to be a significant development in the economic growth of the city. In 1900 Cape Girardeau was a small community of fewer than 5000 residents. But it was eager to grow. In 1904 a railroad connected Cape to St. Louis, enabling residents to visit the World’s Fair and bringing frequent visitors from St. Louis.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the historic Halliday Hotel in Cairo, Ill., was destroyed by fire. The most famous structure in the history of Cairo was consumed by flames on the morning of Feb. 22, 1943. Within four hours, the majestic five-story, 155-room hotel was reduced to rubble. The estimate of damage was inititally placed at $80,000, but quickly escalated as the cost of replacement was considered. The fire started around 7 a.m. in the basement of the building, beneath the coffee shop

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 Elijah Parish Lovejoy visited Apple Creek Presbyterian Church near Pocahontas, Missouri. It was May 22, 1835 when Lovejoy visited the frame church one mile south of Pocahontas. Lovejoy was born in Albion, Maine in 1802, graduated first in his class at Colby College and came to St. Louis as a school teacher. In 1831 he joined the Presbyterian Church and returned east to study at the Princeton Theological Seminary, returning to St. Louis in 1833 as the pastor of

It seems like almost yesterday that one of the great legends of Southeast Missouri was born. On the afternoon of August 14, 1902, William Helms, a farmer near Hopewell, Missouri stopped to water his horse in a stream under a railroad trestle near Irondale. As he turned to leave he heard the muffled cry of a child. To his great surprise he found the sound coming from a suitcase that was on the river’s bank at the water’s edge. Inside the suitcase he found a baby boy with an extra set of clothes

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a group of young men in Cape Girardeau, Missouri decided to start a band. Under the leadership of Captain C. F. Schuchert, twelve young men who were musically inclined – and had instruments - came together and became a popular group, performing at parades, picnics and public events. In their first years they were identified as “Schuchert’s Cornet Band.” In 1910 Captain Schuchert’s son, Clarence, assumed leadership of the band and changed the name to “Schuchert

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a young man named Apostle Paul Vance of Fredericktown first took to the air. The year was 1941 and the location was a small air strip west of Cape Girardeau along Highway 74. From that first flight in 1941 to the spring of 2009 Paul Vance accumulated approximately 23,000 hours of flight time – equal to almost three full years in the air. Paul Vance was born on July 22, 1919 on a farm near Zalma, Missouri, the middle child in a family of eleven children. By age