CAPE GIRARDEAU HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS ROSES

Officially Cape Girardeau became the "City of Roses" by a decree of the City Council in 1937, but the tradition of roses in the city dates back much farther.

In 1904, a group of Cape Girardeau women, disturbed by unsightly conditions in the burgeoning city, established the Civic Improvement Association.

They worked year-round against trash and rubbish. Each spring they held a city beautification campaign. The ladies harangued owners of vacant lots with overgrown weeds. They held gardening contests and hired park planners to embellish public places.

On April 6, 1917, the ladies held "Rose Day," and planted 100 rose slips and 200 moonvines in the yards of Cape Girardeau homes.

A story in the Daily Republican, forerunner to the Southeast Missourian, carried this call to action: "Roses red, roses rare; Rose, roses everywhere."

It pointed out that Cape Girardeau had long been known for its beautiful roses and the women intended for at least one rose bush to grow in every Cape Girardeau yard.

In 1930 when the old Spanish King's Highway between Cape Girardeau and Jackson was modernized, the state highway commission and the local special road district added to the rose's fame.

Together they planted 9,000 rose bushes, 1,317 evergreens and about 14,000 other plants along the right of way.

An old brochure detailing some of the accomplishments of the road district described the garden as "a wonderland of color and fragrance in early summer when nearly 10,000 rose bushes burst into riotous bloom."

The "Ten Mile Garden" was the subject of a feature story in the Reader's Digest in March 1961. Color photos of the garden, taken by G.D. Fronabarger of the Southeast Missourian, were the first color photographs published in Readers Digest.

In 1937, the Cape Girardeau City Council made the rose the city's official flower. Acting on a suggestion from two garden clubs the council agreed to give the rose official standing in the city.

In 1953, the garden clubs, the city's beautification committee and the Chamber of Commerce suggested a display rose garden. The idea was headed by Mrs. Thomas G. Harris and Mrs. Christ E. Stiver.

A proper site was sought with good location, soil, drainage and parking. The City Council approved the selection of the northwest corner of Capaha Park. Forty small beds, three circular beds and 12 long beds were laid out. The Council of Garden Clubs raised $1,000 to finance the garden the first year and continues to support the garden.

In the 1970s, as Highway 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson was widened and improved, the rose bushes were destroyed. And the city's City of Roses designation began to lose its bloom.

In 1986, the Cape Girardeau City Council and later Vision 2000, a community improvement effort, took up the cause of the rose.

Hundreds of new roses have been planted at intersections and entrances to the city. Bulbs and other plantings have been added. Civic groups and businesses have gotten into the act, helping ensure Cape Girardeau remains the "City of Roses."