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NewsMay 8, 1994

During his 14 years as county park superintendent, Chester "Chet" McCain has seen many improvements to Cape Girardeau County's parks. Almost everything in the two parks was developed since McCain has been superintendent. Situated along both sides of North Kingshighway, the beautifully landscaped 200 acres of North and South county parks provide a striking entrance to Cape Girardeau from Interstate 55...

During his 14 years as county park superintendent, Chester "Chet" McCain has seen many improvements to Cape Girardeau County's parks. Almost everything in the two parks was developed since McCain has been superintendent.

Situated along both sides of North Kingshighway, the beautifully landscaped 200 acres of North and South county parks provide a striking entrance to Cape Girardeau from Interstate 55.

The view, which includes a huge American flag towering over the North County Park, makes it a memorable place for people visiting the area. It is a frequent stopping point for tour buses and school groups.

McCain knew the parks were well known, but didn't realize just how far that notoriety stretched until a few years ago when he was on a hunting trip to Colorado. He stopped at a motel to make a reservation, and the clerk asked where he was from. McCain replied that he worked for Cape County parks and the clerk knew of the place.

"I about fell over," said McCain. "But it made me feel good that someone from that far away had seen the park and remembered it."

The North County Park, so named because it is north of the highway, has been open the longest. It has the most shelters and gets the heaviest year-round use.

Originally the land was the site of a county poor farm. About 25 years ago county commissioners looked at the site as a good place for a park.

Most counties the size of Cape do not invest money in parks -- leaving the task to cities. But under the leadership of then-associate commissioner J. Ronald Fischer, funds were set aside a little at a time for park development.

Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep and former associate commissioner Leonard Sander supported Fischer's park efforts, and current Associate Commissioners E.C. Younghouse and Larry Bock have supported the parks.

McCain said the parks, which offer a wide range of activities, are almost fully developed, but use continues to increase.

The parks contain 18 shelters or areas that can be reserved for use. They range in size from a single table shelter to some large enough to seat 50 to 200 people. Last year there were 1,140 shelter reservations made. Most weekends are already booked through the summer.

Shelters can be reserved at no charge by calling the park office. "If we had more shelters we would reserve a lot more," said McCain. "We probably have turned down as many shelter requests as we have been able to fill."

While many of the shelters are reserved by businesses, groups and individuals in Cape County, McCain said he's getting an increasing number of out-of-town reservations from people wanting a central location to hold family reunions.

Near most shelters is playground equipment, including a super-sized playground in the South Park that is a popular place among school groups and day care centers.

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The North Park has a tennis court and two basketball courts, and there are three fishing lakes -- two on the north side and one on the south. Everyone may fish in the lakes from 6 a.m. until dark.

"The fishing is fairly good," said McCain. "We stock the lakes every year and they are very accessible. I think the older people especially appreciate the easy access to fishing. Our fishing lakes are busy all the time."

The lakes contain channel catfish -- some 6-10 pounders have been caught -- bass, bluegill and a few crappie, said McCain.

Park traffic increased several years ago when the Missouri Department of Conservation opened a regional headquarters in the North Park. Under an agreement with the county commission, the state leases land for its office facilities, which include a visitor center. There are plans for a nature center.

A nature trail was also constructed as part of the agreement, and it is heavily used. The department is responsible for managing a natural area around the park.

One of the first attractions built in the North Park was a war memorial to honor veterans. The memorial is highlighted by the huge American flag, and is the site of annual Memorial Day services and similar events.

The memorial led to development of a concept by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 to establish an Avenue of Flags, where burial flags of veterans are displayed on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day. The number of flags has grown rapidly to more than 400.

About six years ago, in cooperation with the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts, a Christmas display drive-through was established in the North Park from the day after Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. Displays are set up by churches, school groups, organizations, businesses and individuals.

The number of displays increased from about 60 in 1992 to 92 in 1993, and several new displays are planned for this year, said McCain.

"We are on the bus tour list for most companies," he said. "One day we had 15 to 20 buses come through here."

The parks are also a popular spot for walkers. "We have a lot of walkers; on any pretty day we could have 25 walkers at any one time, sometimes more," said McCain. "Both parks are becoming increasingly popular for walkers."

McCain said people would be surprised by the variety of usage. "It's just a real popular place for a lot of people," said McCain. "There is somebody using it all the time. It gets more winter use than most people realize."

With increased usage, keeping the park clean and in top condition is a challenge. In addition to McCain there are three full-time and three part-time workers. County jail prisoners often are assigned to park upkeep.

"It's a pretty big job, but we all work hard all the time to keep it just like we want it," said McCain. "The more people we have, the bigger challenge it is to keep it clean, and the more vandalism we seem to have. But I would say 90 percent of the people are all right and don't cause any problems. We'll keep working hard to keep it looking nice."

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