HANDLING OF SUMMER'S HEAT HAS CHANGED

Summers have always been hot in Cape Girardeau, but breaks in the heat often provide respites. In the past, people accepted the fact that summer brought warm-to-hot days, and they did not complain. They relaxed as much as possible, drank cool lemonade or something with a punch, and bought big rocking chairs for the front porch where they sat and enjoyed a lifestyle that pleased them. They made the long, lazy days of summer interesting doing things that required little exertion.

Air conditioning came in the shape of a hand fan made from a dried palm leaf, or one of silk bought at a store and made in the Orient. There were also pretty paper fans, and some folded so they could be carried in a bag or pocket. Hand fans were used by both men and women. In election years candidates found the campaign button and hand fan to be excellent items in promoting their campaigns.

Residents of old Cape Girardeau accepted the heat and adjusted their work schedule to conform to it. When it was excessively hot some stores closed for the noon hour and remained closed until it became cool enough for shoppers to venture forth. The break in business was afternoon nap time.

Women did not go out in the hot sun without protecting their skin, hair, hands and body. They wore sunbonnets when they gardened or planted and cultivated flowers, and hats with brims when they shopped, went to church or did other daytime activities.

Gloves covered their hands, and long, light, pretty summer dresses protected their bodies. Lily white skin and soft pretty hands were important to women, be they rich or poor. They did not want brown, leathery skin, although they were unaware of the danger of violet-rays and skin cancer. Today this attention to protecting skin and health is disregarded by many in spite of warnings.

One thing that irritated Missourians was to have an outsider complain about the heat by saying, "I've never been anyplace as hot as Missouri, especially Southeast Missouri."

That was a sure way to start a friendship wrong. Everyone knew other states had weather just as hot. It seemed to have started when visitors from throughout the world attended the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. It was a hot summer, so enterprising merchants at the fair introduced the ice-cream cone and iced tea. They were big hits and remain so today. Summer would not be summer without them.

When air conditioning made its debut in 1929 at a price the public could afford, summer activities changed. It was fun to attend daytime functions in air-cooled surroundings.

Then something unexplainable happened: women began to pay no attention to keeping their skin lily white and wearing clothes that protected their bodies. They took delight in getting their skin as tan as possible and gave no heed to the dangers of the sun's violet rays and cancer. Men followed their example, as did the children. Wearing as little protective clothing as possible, people became enamored with sun tanning. Outdoor activities and swimming in the hot sun were the things to do in summer.

The quiet games enjoyed in the 1800s and half of the 1900s were no longer interesting. Instead, active games took the attention of the public regardless of age: baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, and swimming in large Olympic-size pools in hotels, motels, parks and gyms.

American health improved with more attention to proper eating, exercise, and better sleeping habits. With the exception of AIDS and drugs, the health of Americans has moved forward. All of the old summer diseases that took many lives have been eradicated through serums and vaccines.

The new interest in keeping the environment clean and protected will be a further benefit. Clean water, better sewage, better health habits and restriction in public places have eliminated such epidemics as cholera, typhoid fever, malaria and other diseases associated with summer. Except for rare occasions they are health problems of the past.

Summers now are fun with less work than when large, covered wagons brought settlers into the new land west of the Mississippi that was purchased from France in 1803. People live longer, babies stand a better chance of growing up, and life is more interesting than it used to be.

Southeast Missourians have accomplished some amazing feats that have attracted attention to their part of the state. It is no longer remembered as being the hottest place others have ever visited.