Water, water everywhere

The Union Bus Center sign made it easier for area residents to identify the site of the flood picture that appeared on last week's Faces & Places page of the Southeast Missourian.

"I remember riding a bus from Jones Drug Store in Jackson to the Union Bus Station in Cape Girardeau," said Gary Brotherton. "We'd get off the bus on South Spanish St. and go to Woolworth's, Penney's or some other downtown Cape Girardeau business."

The photograph was of one of the big floods in the downtown Cape Girardeau area, said Bob Mitten, adding: "The picture brought back some memories. It seemed like that we'd have a flood about every other year, mostly in odd years."

Flooding was almost an annual springtime event before construction of the Mississippi River flood wall. In 1943, the Mississippi River reached a stage of 42.3 feet; in 1945, it was 36.8 feet; and in 1947, it went past 40 again, at 41.8.

Last week's flood photo was from 1951 when the river reach 41.8 feet.

"That was when officials got serious about a flood wall," said Andy Juden. "Soon after that, we got the ball rolling for the wall, which was dedicated in 1964."

The photo on Faces & Places was taken south of the bus station on South Spanish. Across the street was Midwest Dairy. Woolworth's was up the block at Spanish and Independence.

"Woolworth's was fortified by sandbags," said Juden. "They were stacked two feet tall on the Spanish end of the store. The sand bags were four to five feet tall on the Main Street end of the store,

William O'Kelley said he remembered that the water was "pretty deep" and that he "fished off the third courthouse step from South Spanish."

Harold Kuehle recalled that the 1943 floodwaters reached the top step of old St. Vincent's Church.

"I was just a young girl then," said Judy Criddle of Cape Girardeau. "I can remember walking on boards inside the Woolworth's 10-cent store."

Get ready to stomp

TV sitcom queens Lucy and Ethel were perhaps the most famous grape stompers.

Area residents who want to put their best feet forward will have an opportunity to "go for the grapes" on June 15 when Owl Creek Vineyard plays host to its second annual "grape stomp."

The vineyard is a couple of miles off U.S. 51 east of Cobden, Ill. "It's a means of getting the public involved in the vineyard," said Karen Hand, special events coordinator at the winery.

The stomp includes a variety of events for the day, including bluegrass music entertainment and food.

Everybody got in the grape-stomping act during last year's grape stomp -- even the band. "We had more than 50 participants to jump in barrels and stomp grapes for two-minute sessions," said Hand. "Most of the participants agreed that stomping grapes for two minutes is a lot harder than it sounds." Most also emerged from barrels with "color-coordinated" feet and ankles.

The highlight of last year's event was the "band stomp," noted Hand. "All the musicians from the Ole' Fishskins band jumped in a barrel and stomped around while playing and singing, 'Rocky Top.'"

The Ole Fishskins will provide music again this year.

Prizes will be awarded to contestants who can crush the most grape juice in a wood barrel over a two-minute period of time. Entry fee is $5 for the stomp. Proceeds will go to Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs in Jackson and Perry counties of Southern Illinois.

At the end of each stomp, a participant's juice will be measured.

First local ambulance

Cape Girardeau's first ambulance had no red lights, no motor and no sophisticated medical equipment.

The ambulance was powered by a simple "giddyup."

Martin G. Lorberg brought the first ambulance, a horse-drawn vehicle, to Cape Girardeau in 1911.

The ambulance made many trips to the Frisco passenger station to transport ailing or injured people brought from throughout the area to St. Francis Hospital, which was then at Good Hope and Pacific.

The ambulance, which served double-duty as a hearse, was used by Lorberg Funeral Home for five years before it was "traded up" for a motorized vehicle in 1916.

"The older ambulance ended up as a 'chicken house' on a farm near Cape Girardeau," said Amanda Lorberg, whose husband was involved in the Lorberg funeral business. "From there, I don't know what happened to the old vehicle."

The old horse-drawn ambulance was featured on last week's Faces & Places page.

The picture was provided by Lavada Schlegel of Kelso, Mo., who was curious about an old postcard she owned.

The postcard was of the Lorberg's horse-drawn vehicle. Dillman Starzinger of Jackson said funeral homes often worked with a community's fire department, sharing the use of horses. Many funeral homes used black, or dark horses, for funerals of elderly people, and white, or light-colored horses, for younger people.

The picture prompted a number of telephone calls.