Cape Girardeau County: A great place to find adventure

Dr. Frank Nickell says to make the most of life, you have to have something you like to do, and you have to live in an interesting place. Southeast Missouri has given him both.

The retired Southeast Missouri State University history professor and assistant director of the State Historical Society of Missouri, Frank has been involved in Southeast Missouri history for more than 40 years, but he never expected his initial one-year contract at the university to turn into a career and life in Cape Girardeau.

"Life happens to us; it's not what we plan," he says.

Frank says he retired from the university Jan. 1, 2013, spent three days off work walking around his house, and decided he was ready to go back to work. He's been working at the state historical society since then, and says he enjoys learning more about the area's history every day.

"I really like this region of Missouri. I think it's unique, I think it's interesting, it's diverse, it's misunderstood. So I've spent a lot of my time trying to find out what is the history of this area, what makes it tick," he says.

Dr. Frank Nickell is the assistant director of the State Historical Society of Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Frank says he enjoys working, but he also likes to take time to himself on his family farm north of Cape Girardeau. He also loves the Mississippi River.

"The river is always changing; it's always a place to go to," he says. "Every time I go there it's different, it's a different color, a different volume of water, there's different kinds of things happening on it. One can always find adventure in the Mississippi, so I spend time doing that."