OPTIMIST CLUB MARKS 75 YEARS IN CAPE

In 1926, 15 men gathered at a cafe on Independence Street to form a new civic club. Seventy-five years later, the Cape Girardeau Evening Optimist Club is celebrating a legacy of civic contribution and community leadership.

A 75th anniversary banquet will be held Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Keynote speaker will be Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

In 1926, Rush Limbaugh Sr. was among the speakers at the group's charter banquet.

"We thought it would be neat to have his grandson speak," said Charles Wiles, chairman of the 75th anniversary celebration.

A social hour begins at 6 p.m. before greetings from various state Optimist dignitaries including Trip Gore, executive director of Optimists International. Mayor Al Spradling III will present a proclamation honoring the club for its 75 years of service.

Longevity is important, Wiles said, especially considering that the club continues to give back to a community that means so much to its members.

"It's very impressive what the club has done over the years," said Wiles, who has served as president of Optimist International.

Jerry Goin, president of the 80-member club, said the group is especially involved with area youths. "That's our slogan: friend of the youth," he said. "That's really what we're all about."

The Evening Optimists have donated money and equipment for playgrounds in city parks, doing so as early as 1929 with the dedication of a playground in Red Star district on North Main Street.

Goin said hundreds of projects represent thousands of dollars.

"It's something new every year," Goin said.

The group has provided Tot Lots in city parks as well as sponsored essay contests, bicycle safety programs, Junior Golf World, softball, baseball, soccer and flag-football leagues and church-league baseball. The club also works with Boy and Girls Scouts as well as troubled teens.

Goin said church-league basketball stands out in his mind.

"We've been doing church-league basketball since 1944," Goin said. "Last year, 650 boys played. When you talk to kids who have been in the area, chances are they played in church-league basketball at some point."

The club's newest project, held last October, is the Tour de Cape Bicycle Ride. More than 200 bikers are already signed up for this year's event.

Wiles called the projects an "overwhelming achievement."

"These kids don't know who does all this, they just show up to play," he said. "People don't realize a lot of volunteers are working their tails off to make this happen."