Thomas L. Meyer dies; helped secure land for P&G, other big projects

Thomas Leo Meyer went door-to-door in the Neelys Landing area in the late 1960s, talking to families to search for land for a Procter and Gamble plant.

He was successful in securing three 1,100-acre tracts, and Procter and Gamble moved to the area in 1968, bringing thousands of jobs.

“These were people that did not have running water or electricity,” Tom Meyer said in talking about his father. “He could relate to them. They didn’t look at him like a city slicker. ... He had 11 kids in his family (growing up). You ask anybody on the street, and they would know his reputation.”

Thomas L. Meyer, 98, of Cape Girardeau died early Monday. In addition to being instrumental in bringing Procter and Gamble to Southeast Missouri, he also helped relocate Saint Francis Medical Center and brokered the land sale for Southeast Missouri State University’s future River Campus.

Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Meyer also helped found SEMO Bank, which later was renamed Wood & Huston Bank. Clint Karnes, president of Wood & Huston Bank, said Meyer’s reputation was a desire to help the little guy — whether it was finding him a job, getting him his first home or getting him affordable banking services.

In the early 1980s, there were only three banks in the Cape Girardeau area, and getting a charter to establish another bank was a tenuous proposition, Karnes said.

As with Procter and Gamble 13 years earlier, Meyer had to keep the talks on land for SEMO Bank quiet.

Meyer and John Huston even had code names for each other in an effort to not tip off any competitors. The established banks in town and their investors would have tried to kill the deal before it was off the ground, Karnes said.

Still, SEMO Bank had to announce its intentions to put in a new bank in town before a charter was approved by the state. The other banks in town told Meyer he would not be allowed to borrow money from them if SEMO Bank was denied, Karnes said.

“We all owe a debt to Mr. Meyer and Mr. Huston for their vision,” Karnes said.

Part of the reason Meyer invested in SEMO Bank was it was the first bank to offer free checking services.

“We were very much a working man’s bank,” Karnes said.

Meyer’s desire to work for the little guy began in 1946 when he began his real-estate career. Meyer was a World War II veteran, having served as a master sergeant instructor in the Army Air Corps in Fort Worth, Texas.

When he came back to his wife Helen’s hometown of Cape Girardeau, he was offered a job in real estate by Ben Vinyard. Meyer served returning veterans who needed homes. He prided himself on being able to close a deal in a week, Tom Meyer said.

Meyer and M.G. McCrate were the two real-estate agents who catered to veterans. Many people involved in real estate at the time came from different professions and had little desire to interact with each other.

“We had very little experience,” McCrate, 94, said. “I had none. Even the real-estate business was young.”

Meyer and McCrate competed against each other for years but quickly became friends.

“We never had a cross word,” McCrate said. “I wish everybody was like that.”

Meyer and McCrate ended up working together on a real-estate board and multi-list association. The idea of multiple listings for real estate is common today but was innovative at the time.

“Tom was always looking ahead,” McCrate said.

Some parts of modern-day Cape Girardeau owe their roots to Meyer’s vision.

Meyer helped relocate Saint Francis Medical Center to its current location on Saint Francis Drive in 1975 with the help of Al Zimmerman and Charles Drury.

Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus once was St. Vincent’s Seminary and College. Meyer helped broker the sale between the Vincentians and the university, Tom Meyer said.

Meyer, who married Helen Giroir in 1941, had seven children. Tom Meyer and Elizabeth McFerron followed their father into real estate.

Tom Meyer took over his father’s business in 1995, but he continued to have conversations with him about the real-estate business through his early 80s.

Tom Meyer said his father taught him about working hard, making connections, and understanding people.

“Everything around here reminds me of him,” Tom Meyer said in the office on North Sprigg Street. “If I have a project, I’ll think about what he would have done.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 230 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO