Fred Lynch retired in 2018 after capturing images for the Southeast Missourian since 1975, in that time moving from black-and-white to color, from film to digital and to video. The blog title is a nod to an earlier era of news photography and the 4x5 Speed Graphic: It's more important to be there for the shot than to worry about technical details.

Arctic scene at Mississippi River

Posted Monday, January 24, 2011, at 7:30 AM

Southeast Missourian Jan. 11, 1962

Winter painted an icy, fog-laced picture of the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau today. Heavy ice floes, increasing in number, created an arctic landscape with the traffic bridge as a background. Mists rising from the warmer water into the zero temperature of the air, and seen in the background against the bridge, added to the stark cold view captured by the photograph. (G.D. Fronabarger photo)

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Hmm, I wonder how many amateur photographers went out to snap that one after it showed up in the paper? Guess I'll have to check the river for ice today...

-- Posted by Professor_Bubba on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 7:46 AM
I remember seeing a pic a few years ago where people were walking across the river on ice and I even think a car was driving over the ice. I may have imagined that but I think it was a pic from the river in downtown Cape.

-- Posted by TommyStix on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 8:46 AM
It would surprise me if a car was on the river Tommy. With the current it would create ice that looked a lot like the photo above I would think. Even if the ice were strong enough to hold the car it would be a horribly bumpy ride.

-- Posted by jcwill on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 9:03 AM
I remember a picture with a car on the river. My dad told stories about walking across the river on ice.

-- Posted by Mister_D on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 11:17 AM
It was probably the winter of 1918. I remember seeing a very old photo of that era. That winter the river froze over here and people were walking on it. The ice was smoothe like a lake and an old car was in the middle.

-- Posted by rockytop10 on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 9:14 PM
The river was frozen solid and smooth in the early '50s. Many of those early pioneers with Col. Bollinger crossed north of here. [I think just above St. Gen.]

-- Posted by Old John on Tue, Jan 25, 2011, at 12:04 AM
My mother told me that my Grandfather drove horse drawn log wagons from around Scott City area to around the Thebes, Ill area back around early 1900's across the Mississippi Rive when it would freeze over.

-- Posted by retired1 on Wed, Jan 26, 2011, at 4:03 PM

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