The nature of change in Cape

When Missouri Department of Conservation supervisor A.J. Henderschott walks among the unfinished concrete walls of the nature center in Cape Girardeau's County Park North, his eyes see nothing more than a skeleton of a building.

Drywall needs to be plastered and sanded; electric wires dangle from holes in the wall; glass windows wait to be inserted; exhibits need to be built.

But Henderschott's heart sees a different picture. He sees children crawling through a replica of a beaver dam; he sees them looking through an aquarium at fish found in the rivers here.

With every whir of a drill, every scream of a saw, Henderschott senses that his eyes and his heart are coming into focus.

For more on this story, read Wednesday's Southeast Missourian.