Almost Yesterday

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the lead mining area of Southeast Missouri was caught up in a tense situation known as the “Flat River Riot.” From the early decades of the 18th century the lead of St. Francois County was of national importance. This was especially true when America was at war. The greatest demand for lead came in the early 20th century and during World War I, when approximately 70% of the national lead supply came from the Missouri “Lead Belt.” Much of the labor for the new

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the movie, “The Gangs of New York” shocked American audiences with its graphic portrayal of New York City in the middle of the nineteenth century. Martin Scorsese’s 2002 production is a shockingly violent account of the gangland struggle for the territorial control of lower Manhattan. The film grossed over two hundred million dollars and won a number of significant awards for direction, acting and music. Ticket sales were helped by the publicity surrounding

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a young man from Farmington, Missouri, walked on to the pitcher’s mound in New York’s Yankee Stadium for the first game in his major league baseball career. It was Saturday, June 28, 1980, when twenty-four year old Tim Lollar pitched the seventh and eighth innings against the Cleveland Indians, a game the Yankees won, eleven to ten. This game began a seven year, one-hundred ninety-nine game career by Lollar, who was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri in 1956.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the first commercial airplane landed at Chicago's Municipal Airport, later Midway Airport. The plane came in from Omaha, Nebraska, with passengers and several bags of mail. The date was December 1, 1927, and it was an historic first for aviation in Chicago. The Boeing Aircraft was piloted by Ira Oris Biffle, from Patton, Missouri. Biffle was born on September 14, 1886, the son of Valentine and Matilda Berry Biffle. Biffle spent his first eighteen years on the

It seems like almost yesterday that three veterans of the American Revolution were honored with appropriate markers at Old Bethel Cemetery south of Jackson, Missouri. The three patriots participated in the Revolutionary War and between 1797 and 1806 moved to the Jackson area, acquired land, and joined what is now called “Old Bethel Baptist Church.” “Old Bethel” has been restored, the cemetery refurbished, and the site made accessible for interpreting the early history of Southeast Missouri.

It seems like almost yesterday that George Frederick Bollinger led a contingent of North Carolinians across the Mississippi River into Missouri. The young Mr. Bollinger had visited the small community of Cape Girardeau in 1797, established a friendship with Louis Lorimier who encouraged him to return to North Carolina and bring more settlers to the area. Bollinger did so and after the autumn harvest of 1799 a group of eager adventurers set out from their farmsteads in North Carolina for the

It was more than 90 years ago but it seems like Almost Yesterday that KFVS Radio first went on the air. It was the evening of June 22, 1925. Hundreds of citizens of Cape Girardeau gathered in front of the house at 318 South Frederick Street. The street was closed to traffic and the crowd gathered on the sidewalks and the yard and the living room of the Oscar W. Hirsch home. The windows were open and individuals pushed forward to both see and hear this historic event. Peg Meyers' Melody Kings was

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 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 the transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Point in Utah. The year was 1869. Within a few months, Hiram Morgan Hill and his sister Sarah Althea Hill were on the new “Pacific Train” heading to California in search of fame and fortune. At the time, “Morgan” Hill was 22 years of age; Sarah was 20. They were the orphaned children of Samuel Allen Hill, an attorney and Missouri legislator, and Julia Sloan, daughter of Hiram Sloan, who had operated a