VARIOUS EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR WEEKEND'S SCENIC DRIVE

Taking a scenic drive through Southeast Missouri gives motorists a chance to see what life was like before the interstates and major highways that most people travel upon.

It takes people back to a time when automobiles were new and people would drive around exploring their communities, said Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University.

The center first proposed the idea of the Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive as a way to boost tourism in the area, Nickell said. After nine years, it is still going strong.

Events are planned in many communities both Saturday and Sunday. The drive includes stops and exhibits from Brazeau to Commerce.

Brazeau, a town with only 50 or so residents, will open its refurbished blacksmith shop near the town's quaint, historic post office. The community's church, which dates to an era before Missouri gained statehood, also will be open.

Stepping into these churches and visiting small towns gives people a sense of pride in their history, Nickell said.

If you visit Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg, you "get a sense of pride of what the people who built it had to feel. You can't step inside and not grasp that pride," Nickell said.

The women of St. John's Lutheran Church in Pocahontas are proud of their works. They will display nearly 200 quilts that eventually will be sent to Third World nations for mission relief efforts.

A group of eight or 10 women from the church gather twice a year for the quilt-making day. The quilts, which measure 60 by 80 inches, are tacked together and then hemmed by machine, said Marjorie Swan, a church member.

A lot of the people who receive the quilts are terribly poor, Swan said. "We're told that in most cases it is the only item these people may own. They use it to sit on, cover with and most likely it never gets washed."

Sometimes the quilts are given to area families after a fire destroys their homes.

But regardless of how they are used, the quilts will be vibrant and colorful as they drape across the church pews during the open house this weekend.

Yet, beautiful quilts aren't the only things to see during the drive. Blooming trees and flowers should also line the roads. The last weekend of April is likely the most beautiful of the spring season, Nickell said.

The driving tour offers a combination of history and scenery in the region.

Many of the communities on the tour are rich in history but would have a difficult time of putting together a weekend of events on their own. "They can all show and interpret their local history," Nickell said.

Commerce plans a weekend of Civil War encampments and the dedication of tombstones for Civil War era soldiers during the weekend.

For more information or a map of the route, call the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau at 335-1631 or (800) 777-0068.