Klaus Park and the man behind the name

Fifty-three years ago on Oct. 30, 1966, the dedication of the first public Cape Girardeau County park took place along Interstate 55, just south of the central junction of Highway 61. It was named Klaus Park to honor Frederick "Alvin" Klaus, who had served Cape Girardeau County over 20 years as deputy sheriff (1944-47), sheriff (1947-56) and county judge (1958-65).

Alvin Klaus was born on a large farm near Friedheim on Dec. 25, 1900, the son of Louis and Fredericka (Oehl) Klaus. After his brother, August was killed in a horse accident, Alvin grew up in a family of seven sisters, Rosa, Frieda, Ida, Lorene, Stella, Anna, and my grandmother, Addie Klaus (Mrs. Oscar Lohman).

He married Lydia (nee Dickmann) in 1922. They became the parents of Kenneth, Willard, and Verna Lee (Mrs. Vernon Mouser).

In 1944, the newly elected Cape County Sheriff Herman Sewing chose Alvin to be his deputy. It was a tragic turn of events that would change the deputy's life in a manner of minutes.

The events of the rainy night of May 24, 1947, hit the front page of The Southeast Missourian. A 1941 Chrysler automobile had hit a culvert on Highway 25, south of Jackson and was sitting sideways in the highway. While investigating, Sheriff Sewing was extricating the people from the car, when a tractor trailer approached from the north. With visibility very low in the rainy downpour, he slammed into the car, instantly killing Sheriff Sewing. Patrolmen Morley Swingle and Percy Little, along with Deputy Klaus, were summoned. Verla Lee, Alvin's daughter, recalled to me, "Dad left the house without saying anything. We didn't know what happened 'til later. It was a horrible night."

Three days later, the Cape Girardeau County Court's minutes noted that Alvin F. Klaus was appointed sheriff until the election could be held on June 13, 1947. Alvin Klaus was chosen by the Republican committee to run against Walter H. Ford, chosen by the Democrat committee.

The winning of the special election dictated the Klaus family move into the living quarters of the 1910 two-storied brick county jail. At the time of the jail's dedication on Washington Street, it was claimed by the Cape Girardeau Republican newspaper as one of the best jails in Missouri. Life of the law enforcement officer of Cape County was a partnership for the Klaus couple: He brought in the inmates; Lydia cooked their meals.

With the 1948 Truman-Dewey election, Klaus knew his re-election would be a tight one, and it was. The Democrats carried Cape County. However, even after a recount, two Republican candidates squeaked through: Sheriff Klaus and Prosecuting Attorney Raymond Vogel.

After serving nearly 10 years as county sheriff until 1956, Klaus decided to run for the First District County Judge in 1958. Elected four more times, the judge was serving his fifth term, when he suddenly died of a heart attack on Aug. 12, 1965.