BE OUR GUEST: OLD ST. VINCENT'S SEMINARY COULD BE MAGNET TO ATTRACT TOURISTS IN COMMUNITY

David E. Murphy of Jackson is executive director of Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation, which is involved in an effort to purchase the Old St. Vincent's Seminary as a national historic museum and Civil War interpretive center. He has been with the foundation since February, and previously worked six years on the staff of Rep. Bill Emerson.

In looking back over some of the recent clippings I have taken from past editions of the Southeast Missourian, I again read the article from Sept. 4. regarding the visit made to our region by Dr. James McPherson of Princeton University. Dr. McPherson is a nationally acclaimed author and historian of the Civil War. His trip to this region was done as a Civil War re-enactment, complete with troops of the Grand Army of the Republic. It left St. Louis on the Delta Queen and went downstream to Cairo for the day and onto Paducah from there. They floated right by Cape Girardeau without so much as a "whistle stop." When it comes to preserving and capitalizing on our historical past we ~just let it, like the Delta Queen and the Mississippi Queen, float on past us!

Just how can Cape Girardeau be passed up on such an excursion as the one taken by Dr. McPherson? Moreover, how can Cape Girardeau be bypassed by the entire Delta Queen Steamboat Company? Do we not see the advantages of having this cultural exchange with the rest of the United States, and, for that matter, the rest of the world, as many of the voyagers are residents of other countries visiting our shores and discovering the mighty Mississippi first hand? Something must be done and done soon so as to stem this tide before we are overtaken by it.

In reading the book, "Big Muddy: Down the Mississippi Through America's Heartland" recently, I found in the chapter entitled "Confluence of America" this quote, "Still, the town seems more trapped by the river than it benefits from it now, trapped by the geography of being midwestern and southern jointly. A little like St. Louis, Cape wants to claim its identity." (The book's authors, B. C. Hall and C. T. Wood. both reside in Arkansas) In reading this I felt both mad and enlightened. I was upset that anyone would think this after all that has been done in our city over the course of the past many years. All one need do is drive downtown and see the many things that the redevelopment group has done to make this area more attractive, not to mention all the other fine things that have occurred elsewhere in Cape. I was enlightened though, by the fact that these people came here and saw what we take for granted every day, the river. And not just the river. But we also take for granted our historical sites as well, as I said before, something must be done! Cape Girardeau must have a plan and work the plan, either through city government or the private sector. This must be done so as to `claim our identit~y.'

One way that we can make the river work for us and break free of the trappings of our geography, is to utilize the plan that has been proposed by the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation, taking what we already have, the old seminary property, and transforming

it into the ~jewel it can be. This clears up those misconceptions and preconceived notions about the city that Mark Twain called, the "Athens of Missouri." Let us get into the tourism field and show Cape Girardeau to the world! I was told a few days ago, by a very prominent resident of Cape, that "we don't have any place in the tourism market ... People won't come here to see what we have." Are we not worthy for others to see? Should their only glimpse of this fine city be as they drive by at 65 miles per hour on the interstate? Or float by on the river at seven knots per hour? We can't push people into visiting Cape Girardeau ... We must pull them here!

We have the type of magnet that attracts folks to Cape in the pro~ject that the Foundation has laid out. Plus, as a ci~ty and region we will have a true tourist f~a~cility for those visiting our city and a true cultural center for the community. This undertaking has the foresight and vision that will grow as Cape Girardeau and the area grows, giving us both a repository for our past as well as being the building block for the very future of the city! This project, which has been written about in the Southeast Missourian on several occasions, can bring our city together in a unified manner with a real goal ... that of making Cape Girardeau a real player in the tourism market. This plan can and will succeed with all of us working together. This is something that everyone can and should be working for, a~s it will benefit every section of our city and region.

Let's not miss the boat in this opportunity to save one of Cape Girardeau's greatest landmarks, the old Saint Vincent Seminary. We will, in doing so, be building a new industry for Cape Girardeau in the guise of tourism. This pro~ject will indeed allow us to step forward into our past, while building for a stronger and brighter tomorrow.

We would welcome the South~east Missourian and other leading businesses in Cape Girardeau to be partners with us in this undertaking. We believe that we can guarantee that if you ~join with us in this mission the Mississippi Queen and the Delta ~Queen will again be frequent and welcome visitors to our city. Moreover, we are certain Cape Girardeau will become a "must stop" for many more tourists. And, as you have reported, that number will be growing in the near future as a result of the new highway investments being made across the country and especially in our region.

Through this project we will be able to see a renaissance in our city that will send us into the next century with our heads up ... giving each and everyone of us real pride in our community ... knowing that the best days are not the "good old days," but the great days, weeks, months and years that lie ahead! Therefore, we urge the many civic and business leaders of Cape Girardeau to join with us in this project and become active participants in our mission.