Frank Nickell

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.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the State of Missouri acquired a state flag. The date was March 22, 1913, and this was part of a movement motivated by the development of aluminum flag poles, the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the admission of three new states: Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, all occurring in the early twentieth century.

It seems like almost yesterday that a meeting in a Farmington, Missouri coffee shop yielded a story about the theft of a doughnut from a local grocery store that made national news!

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a new musical sound came up the Mississippi from the south. It moved north with the orchestras of the river excursion boats. Thus, Cape Girardeau was among the first communities in the nation to receive this new music.

It seems like almost yesterday that President William Howard Taft visited Cape Girardeau. His purpose was to promote the deepening and stabilization of the Mississippi River channel.

It seems like almost yesterday that the first train robbery in Missouri occurred. The date was January 31, 1874 and the location was a small settlement named Gads Hill on the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad, north of present day Piedmont, Missouri.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the community of Bunker celebrated its centennial history. Founded by Sylvanus J. Bunker in 1907, the small community paid tribute to its founders and its history with a weekend commemoration in June of 2007.

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.

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.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that residents of Cape Girardeau gained access to important historical records of Louis Lorimier, the founder of Cape Girardeau.