BOOK ON CAPE GIRARDEAU IS AVAILABLE THROUGH NEWSPAPER

"Images of the Past in the City of Roses" traces the history of Cape Girardeau, from its inception as a small trading post in the 18th century through the great flood of 1993.

The 240-page book, released this week, chronicles life in this Mississippi River town through nearly two centuries with page after page of photographs and informative articles.

An open house to celebrate the book's arrival is slated for Monday, from 4-6 p.m. at the Southeast Missourian offices at 301 Broadway. The Southeast Missourian published and Concord Printing Services printed "Images."

Chapters in the book are dedicated to city government and growth, architecture, education, recreation, religion, medicine, transportation, business, military, disasters, and important visitors.

But most of all, the pages reveal the character of Cape Girardeau's citizens -- the palette from which the city's colorful heritage is brushed.

An introduction pays homage to the man who shaped Cape Girardeau in its infancy -- Louis Lorimier, a French-Canadian who came to this area 200 years ago.

"Would there be a Cape Girardeau today if Louis Lorimier hadn't picked this site for his trading post?" the authors ask. "Probably. As early as 1730, another Frenchman, Ensign Jean Baptiste Girardot, recognized the benefits of the natural harbor created by the Mississippi River here and had set up a temporary trading post at what is now called Cape Rock."

But the authors doubt whether Cape Girardeau would be the same city it is today if not for the trader's nurturing.

"Lorimier's character and spirit shaped this city," the book says. "By founding Cape Girardeau, Lorimier had a vision of what it could become: a city that would continue to lead the district through government, education and economic development."

"Images of the Past" sets out to trace how Cape Girardeau has persevered in that dream birthed in a wilderness trading post two centuries ago.

"Perhaps Lorimier's vision for Cape Girardeau hasn't been attained yet, but there is still time -- the city's only 200 years old," the introduction concludes.

The book is filled with historical documentation, but it also includes profiles of prominent citizens, descriptions of historical landmarks and their significance, and accounts of contentious political issues and memorable events.

Not all of the 600 photographs and 70 stories are pleasant. As the authors state in the first chapter, "The good and the bad, the tidy and the unkept are all part of Cape Girardeau's history."

In 1949, a tornado ripped through the city, claiming 21 lives, hospitalizing 72 and injuring hundreds of others. More than 200 houses were leveled, another 231 damaged.

Former Southeast Missourian Editor John L. Blue recounted the event 20 years later, saying: "People began to emerge from shelter, from wrecked homes beneath piles of rubble. The moans and cries of the injured could be heard. Rescuers, clawing with their hands or anything they could find, frantically digging in the wreckage to reach them.

"Gradually, traffic appeared as the city realized what had happened, that Cape Girardeau had suffered a major tragedy."

Tragedies in the City of Roses haven't been limited to natural disasters.

Patrolman Donald Crittendon was the last of five Cape Girardeau Police Officers who died in the line of duty when he and Herbert L. Goss, an auxiliary policeman, were killed in a shootout with two fugitives on March 10, 1961.

Ironically, Crittendon had submitted his resignation, which was to take effect only one-and-one-half hours before he was killed.

It's often been said that the Civil War pitted brother against brother. In Chapter 9, readers learn of two brothers who personified the phrase -- even pitted against one another on the same battlefields.

And yet at the war's end, both returned to the area, farmed as neighbors along Bainbridge Road, and named sons after one another.

The final chapter, titled "Miscellaneous," is a collection of street scenes from the past, including what could be the earliest surviving image of Cape Girardeau captured by a camera.

The business district in the town is recognized only by the sign affixed to the false front of a building identified as the "Cape Girardeau Beer Hall."

Joyce Hinze, coordinator of the book, said a limited number of copies is available at the Southeast Missourian and can be purchased between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cost is $30.74 per copy.

Hinze said about 600 copies of "Images" were handed out on Thursday, the first day of sales.

"People are really pleased with the books," she said. "For those people who haven't reserved books ahead of time, it's important that they come in as soon as possible to make sure we won't sell out."