East Cape Girardeau had its birth in 1975

Steve and Becki Manley of Cape Girardeau have some good memories of East Cape Girardeau, Ill.

"We lived there the first three years of our marriage," said Manley. The Manleys were reminded of their first house when an aerial photo of the East Cape community appeared on the Faces & Places page of the Southeast Missourian newspaper recently.

The Manleys found their old house in the photograph. "When we lived there, everyone would find a sack filled with fruit and candy on Christmas morning," they said in an e-mail to the Southeast Missourian.

The aerial photograph prompted a number of calls.

"I'm familiar with that area," said Dan Burger, a farmer in the Benton, Mo., area. "We used to lease farmland along Route 146 near East Cape."

Carol Boes recognized the area immediately. "I've lived in East Cape Terrace 16 years," she said.

It took Phyllis Heise of Cape Girardeau a little longer.

"It took me overnight to figure it out," she said. "I remember the area used to have a Homestead store. I didn't realize there were that many homes in the area."

East Cape Girardeau is a community of about 500 people.

One of those residents is Joe Aden, who has been mayor of East Cape Girardeau a quarter-century.

Aden was at East Cape when it was incorporated into a city and was a member of the first Board of Trustees in 1975.

Two years later, Aden became mayor, and during the most recent village election, he was re-elected to his seventh four-year term.

The late Clyde "Bud" Pearce, a businessman in the East Cape Girardeau area for many years, was instrumental in the birth of the new community.

Pearce, owner of the Purple Crackle Supper Club and a home developer, was a firm believer in the growth of Southern Illinois. In 1975, when East Cape reached a population of more than 400, Pearce led the drive for incorporation.

Voters approved the move for incorporation in April 1975 and elected a governing body in May. The city of East Cape Girardeau was born.

First officers were James G. Bartelson, president of the governing board; Pam Smith, village clerk; and trustees William Colyer, Pat Johnson, Lloyd Phillips, Mary C. Abercrombie, Joe Aden and Donnie J. Kaufman.

Tour de Corn

You can pedal along a cypress-filled bayou or ride beside granddaddy oak trees lining a park.

You may see knee-high corn or a field of soybeans or cotton.

"Whatever you see, all routes are on paved and marked rural highways," said Silvey Barker, coordinator of the Tour de Corn Bicycle Ride, to be held Saturday in conjunction with the East Prairie Corn Festival.

The routes will vary. "But any way you look at it, there will be miles of cropland," said Barker.

Bicyclists, more than 115 of them, will meet at the First Church of God Family Life Center in East Prairie. They will receive routes, for 15-, 30- and 60-mile rides.

"We have about 120 registrations, representing six states," said Barker. A $20 registration fee includes T-shirts as long as they last.

Proceeds from the ride go to the Shrine Club.

Bicyclists will travel along stretches of the Mississippi River Trail that extends the length of the Mississippi River.

The trail mostly follows backroads for some 400 miles through eastern Missouri -- from Hannibal, Mo., past the St. Louis Arch to a Mississippi River ferry in the Bootheel. The trail passes the downtown Cape Girardeau river and floodwall murals, and new river bridge construction. The trail goes through Charleston, along Highway 105 to East Prairie and Highway 102 to the Dorena Ferry.

"Tour de Corn" is being held in conjunction with the 28th annual Sweetcorn Festival.

Other activities on Saturday include a kiddie parade, antique tractor show, quilt show, tractor and truck pull, a noon motorcycle show, concessions, entertainment and games.

It's a 'Shamble'

That four-person "Shamble" golf tournament is no misprint.

It is a "Shamble," said Larry Essner of the Community Counseling Center.

He explained how it works.

"It's a four-person best ball with a twist," said Essner. "The first shot on each hole will be a scramble. Players will play the 'best ball.'"

After that, players plays their own ball in, and the group's lowest individual score for that hole is recorded as the team's score, he said.

The Shamble tournament is sponsored by the Community Counseling Center Foundation, and will be held Oct. 11 at the Kokopelli Golf Club at Marion, Ill.

The tournament fee is $85 per player and includes 18 holes of golf, cart, lunch and beverages.

Tee time is 1 p.m.

Co-chairmen for the event are John Grimm and John Harding.

Proceeds from the event will go to the foundation for providing improved facilities, equipment and services for people with mental illness.

The Community Counseling Center serves Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Madison, Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties.