Cape hospitality ...

Arts and crafts sales the week before Thanksgiving have become a tradition in Cape Girardeau, with dozens of vendors setting up shop and featuring a splendid array of gift items. Also on display at this year's extravaganza at the Osage Community Centre was the heartfelt generosity of our community when one of the vendors had her sales receipts stolen.

Other vendors quickly raised several hundred dollars, and an anonymous donor contributed $2,500, to cover the loss. The vendor, from Jonesboro, Ark., wrote a letter to the editor thanking the community for its generous hospitality -- another example of Cape Girardeau at its best.