BLOCK PARTY PULLS NEIGHBORHOOD TOGETHER

If you want to see some fancy footwork that makes onlookers dizzy, just watch the May Greene Jump Rope Team in action. The rope jumpers were just part of a whole day of special activities during last Saturday's neighborhood party called the Healthy Families 2000 Community Block Party.

The party, held at the site of the historic Fort D Civil War site next to May Greene Elementary School, was part cookout, part recess, part party and part fair. With all those parts, there was something for just about everyone.

The idea of holding the block party sprang from a desire to celebrate the good that comes from neighbors who work together. The event was officially sponsored by Cape Girardeau Weed and Seed and the Family Resource Center, two agencies that work all year around to find ways to make living in our city better. But some two dozen other social-service agencies -- plus businesses who donated food, beverages and prizes -- were busy too, both in planning the block party and in their participation on a hot day manning booths and coordinating games.

There is much to celebrate in the area around Fort D, one of the four earthwork forts constructed during the Civil War by Union troops to protect Cape Girardeau and the vital access of the Mississippi River. Fort D is the only one of the forts that is still pretty much the way it was when the Civil War ended. Very little is ever made of the fort. It's not a particularly big tourist draw. Neighborhood children use it as a place to play hide-and-seek. History in the Fort D area is clearly something that could be emphasized more.

Then there are the homes in that neighborhood. Visitors to the block party who took time to drive around the area found, for the most part, neatly maintained houses with flowers growing in the yards. Like any of Cape Girardeau's other neighborhoods, there were some eyesores. But the pride of most neighborhood residents certainly outweighs the few unkempt and rundown areas.

The biggest asset of the Fort D neighborhood is its people. They are friendly. They are proud of their children and grandchildren. They are closely knit. They have, in many cases, strong ties to the area in which they live.

Who knows what long-lasting effect the block party will have. Organizers hope to make it an annual event. Those who attended Saturday's all-day event showed how effective a group of like-minded neighbors can be when it comes to providing a safe, friendly place to live and raise families.