Mississippi River bridge highlighted in new exhibit

Memorabilia from the dedication of the Mississippi River bridge 75 years ago will be exhibited next month in downtown Cape Girardeau even as officials and residents look forward to the opening of a new bridge in December.

The exhibit titled "Bridge to Our Past and Future" will be displayed on the first floor of the H&H Building at 400 Broadway. It will be open to the public from 1-5 p.m. on Nov. 8 to 9, and the same hours on the weekends of Nov. 15 to 16 and Nov. 22 to 23.

The exhibit will include the program handed out at the bridge dedication in 1928, a commemorative booklet and bonds that were sold to finance construction of the two-lane span that linked Missouri and Illinois.

Tokens from when the bridge was a toll bridge and a double deck of playing cards featuring an outline of the bridge on the backs of the cards also will be displayed.

The Cape River Heritage Museum is lending the playing cards and other bridge memorabilia for the temporary exhibit.

Marge Thompson, president of the board of directors of the museum, said she hopes the exhibit in the H&H Building will draw a lot of visitors and provide some publicity for the Cape River Heritage Museum.

"I am all for it," she said of the planned exhibit.

The exhibit is sponsored by Jerrianne and John Wyman, who own the H&H Building; the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

New bridge to open

The new bridge -- scheduled to open on Dec. 13 -- is named for congressman Bill Emerson, Jo Ann Emerson's late husband.

"As we welcome the future in the form of the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, it is important that we not forget our past," said Jo Ann Emerson.

Jerrianne Wyman said she wanted an exhibit that would allow the public to view some of the memorabilia associated with the bridge.

"These are historic treasures that tie us to our past and provide perspective on how far we have come," she said.

The exhibit will include a section dedicated to the memory of Bill Emerson, who died in 1996. It will feature photographs depicting issues he championed during his 16 years in Congress. The display will include congressional documents announcing the funding of the new $100 million bridge.

Exhibit organizers said they're still collecting bridge memorabilia. Anyone interested in displaying bridge memorabilia should contact Kristi Nitsch at Emerson's Cape Girardeau office by calling 335-0101.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123