HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION NURTURES CITY'S HERITAGE

For a quarter-century now, the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau has been working to preserve this nearly 200-year-old city's proud heritage.

And over the years, it has spread its roots like an oak tree, turning an old Victorian home, the Glenn House, into a majestic reminder of bygone days and working to instill in us all an appreciation of Cape Girardeau's past.

Its silver anniversary marks a milestone in Cape Girardeau's growth as a community and is a testimony to the spirited volunteers who hold history so dear.

Formed on Feb. 19, 1967, the association has continued to put an emphasis on the 1880s-era Glenn House while also working to preserve another historic building, the Reynolds House.

Keeping up the past is not an easy job. The association has had to make repairs to the Glenn House from time to time, including roof repairs.

The Reynolds House, built in 1857, is in need of restoration, but the cost of such work has been a deterrent. The north side of the building has some structural damage.

The association hopes to eventually restore the residence and furnish it in the style of a typical farm family of that period.

While public attention is often focused on the buildings themselves, the association's real success has been as a vehicle to retain our past and foster a strong appreciation of our community's roots.

That appreciation, in turn, has led to establishment of the Cape River Heritage Museum and the creation of a historic preservation commission of city government. Now, preservation-minded citizens are working to preserve Old Lorimier Cemetery, where Cape Girardeau's founder, Louis Lorimier, and other early settlers and community leaders are buried.

Today, the association is benefiting from the assistance of a historic preservation class at Southeast Missouri State University, which is helping to inventory the Glenn House collection. A historic preservation student is now serving as marketing director for the association, a move that should aid the group's endeavors.

An offshoot of the historical association, the Downtown Homeowners Association, was formed about a year ago by persons interested in restoring old homes. That, too, is a promising development.

As we look ahead to the city's bicentennial, we can point with pride to the community's past and to Cape Girardeau's historical association, which has done much to foster such emotion.