LOGAN MERITS LIMBAUGH AWARD

J. Hugh Logan has netted plenty of money for others.

Since moving to Cape Girardeau in February 1934, he has devoted much of his time and talent to raising money for the United Way and other charitable organizations.

A former mayor here, he helped found the local United Way, then known as the United Fund, in 1955.

And for nearly 40 years he helped raise money for the United Way, including eight years as the organization's paid executive director.

As an owner and a longtime manager of Moon Distributing, a wholesale liquor company in Cape Girardeau, he retired in May 1965.

A stroke in February 1994 has slowed him down, ending his fund-raising efforts with the United Way.

At age 94 -- he'll turn 95 on April 9 -- Logan walks with the aid of cane, but his eyes still twinkling with enthusiasm.

Logan's wife, Marietta, died in July 1992.

Logan lives in a tidy room in the Chateau Girardeau retirement complex.

Atop his dresser is a large trophy, the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. Award, which the Chamber of Commerce presented him last month in recognition of his philanthropy.

He's appreciative of the recognition but insists the real reward is helping others.

"I think volunteers are an absolute necessity in this world," Logan said.

He and other businessmen founded the United Fund for a practical reason.

"We businessmen were tired of all these separate fund drives," he said.

Instead of being hit up for donations from every charitable organization businessmen, through the United Fund, could give once a year, with the money going to the various charities.

Although he and his wife never had children, they were big boosters of the Girl Scouts.

Logan chaired the fund drive that raised $100,000 to establish the Girl Scouts' camp in Wayne County.

He was an active member of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Association for 21 years and served on the hospital's board of trustees. Not surprisingly for an adept fund-raiser, he served for a time as executive director of the hospital's foundation.

He also assisted with a number of cerebral palsy telethons.

People were always asking him to help out, and he generally did.

Logan, who grew up in rural, northwestern Illinois and attended a one-room school through the eighth grade, held a number of jobs before coming to Cape Girardeau.

In 1927, he worked as a bookkeeper for a company that operated a grain elevator and general store in Blodgett.

"They had a big fire that burned half of Blodgett." The fire destroyed the store and sent Logan looking for another job.

For a time, he tried to sell real estate in suburban Chicago, but the Depression soon ended that career. He moved to Detroit and worked for the Ford Motor Co., but the Depression caught up with him there, too. In 1933, he was once again out of a job.

In early 1934, he moved to Cape Girardeau to help start Moon Distributing. "I was the office manager and I did about everything around there."

Logan served on the city council from 1965 to 1970, including a stint as mayor, and helped hire Cape's first city manager.

He also served on the commission that drafted the city charter in 1981.

As an avid newspaper reader, Logan still keeps up with community affairs.

He still loves to talk about fund raising. To Logan, nothing succeeds like a little charity.