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.

Woolworth's Lunch Counter

Posted Friday, July 1, 2011, at 6:00 AM

Downtown merchants and civic leaders pause for a cup of coffee at the F.W. Woolworth Co. lunch counter in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in this undated photo by G.D. Fronabarger. We believe the picture was taken at the store's grand opening event after remodeling on Oct. 8, 1959.

They include, from left, Charles Hood, R.E.L. Lamkin Jr., L.J. Schultz, Marvin Campbell, Vinson Rueseler, Jack Lamkin, Graham Wagoner, Lymon Matthews, Walter "Doc" Ford, L.R. Roper, Henry Ochs, Ralph Hirsch, Dick Swaim, Earl Robert.

Sept. 15, 1977 Out of the Past

F.W. Woolworth Co. announces it will close its downtown Cape Girardeau store at 1 N. Main two days after Christmas; Town Plaza store will remain open; first Woolworth store in Cape Girardeau opened on Main Street on June 12, 1914.

[City directories list the Town Plaza store, 2140 William, through 1991.]

Comments

View 7 comments or respond

Community discussion is important, and we encourage you to participate as a reader and commenter. Click here to see our Guidelines. We also encourage registered users to let us know if they see something inappropriate on our site. You can do that by clicking "Report Comment" below.

That was the america I grew up in. Everybody neatly dressed including the Woolworth employees. People back in those days took pride in what they did all worked hard each and every day. This is when the middle class was strong and the back bone of america I wish we could go back to those days.

-- Posted by swampeastmissouri on Fri, Jul 1, 2011, at 8:14 AM
The thing I most remember about the Cape Woolworths is the sound of silverware clinking on china plates. That's a sound I've not heard duplicated anywhere else.

I learned a valuable lesson in Woolworths, too. I was given a dollar bill for some occasion and was taken to the store's toy department to spend it. I picked out a small Army plane priced at 99 cents and headed to the checkout counter.

Even at that young age, I knew that if you gave someone something worth 100 pennies to buy something that cost 99 pennies, you should get one penny back.

I waited and waited and waited for my change.

That's when I found out about the tax man.

-- Posted by ksteinhoff on Fri, Jul 1, 2011, at 9:31 AM
Gosh that brings back memories. I was only 10 when they closed but I definately remember eating at that very lunch counter. They had the BEST ice cream soda's. Great memories of my Great Grandparents and Grandparents come to mind when I think of shopping in downtown Cape.

-- Posted by marstonmom2 on Fri, Jul 1, 2011, at 10:27 AM
I thought A.C. Brase was an arena.

Quite the diverse group in this photo.

Not...

-- Posted by bobby62914 on Fri, Jul 1, 2011, at 10:41 AM

Fred Lynch
The man in front of the camera, at left, is believed to be Charles Hood instead of A.C. Brase. The original identification of the photograph was based on a photo taken at the same time (by Two-Shot Frony at the time) which mostly showed only the back of the man's head. Two people have since identified the man as Charles Hood. After finding two news photos in the Southeast Missourian archive from the 1960s of Charles Hood, we also believe it is Hood at Woolworth's.
Since the KFVS tower wasn't built yet, these poor guys had to meet somewhere.

-- Posted by Red Devil on Sun, Jul 3, 2011, at 7:48 AM
I am the 7th female face in this photo, counting from the front of

pix to back.

I went to work at the Woolworth lunch counter 7-12-64, and

terminated my employment 10-12-64, when I went to work

in the office of Hutson Furniture Company. This will give you

a bit of time frame for the photo.

I do not remember the day this photo was taken; am growing old

and forgetful. :)

Beverly (Howard) Hart

-- Posted by colo11 on Sun, Aug 14, 2011, at 3:56 PM
NO DOUBT THE MAN ON THE LEFT IS CHARLES A. HOOD.

BUT I WONDER WHERE C.A.JUDEN AND EDWARD DOWNS COULD BE WHEN THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN.

-- Posted by GERALDHARTJOHNSON@GMAIL.COM on Tue, Mar 25, 2014, at 7:12 PM

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires a subscription.