CAPE'S RIVERFRONT COULD BE A GEM, NOT AN EYESORE

A recent Speak Out comment in the Southeast Missourian has had some people thinking I called in to the newspaper's phone line to leave an anonymous message.

By the very nature of what I do -- writing a weekly column for the Banner Press in Marble Hill which often includes opinions aired openly -- I would not call in to the phone line. I'll admit, however, that despite my professional disdain for most anonymous activity, I'm an avid reader of Speak Out.

The recent caller identified him/herself as having moved to the Cape area from central Iowa. Well, that description could certainly fit me.

The caller said, "I noticed references to Cape's Riverfront Park in the Southeast Missourian. So I thought we ought to go to the park and sit on a bench in the shade of a tree with nice green grass around and watch the activity on the river. You can't imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Southeast Missourian called a slab of concrete with a couple of benches a park'."

Now this is where the strangely coincidental comes in. I have been heard to utter more or less the same sentiments.

We live in the most beautiful country in the state as far as I'm concerned. One of the crowning jewels of the area must be the mighty and historic Mississippi River as it goes past the region's largest city, Cape Girardeau. And yet it is hidden from view, tucked behind a hideous gray floodwall.

The first time we went into Cape we drove into town specifically to look at the river. Imagine our surprise when we crested the hill before descending to downtown Cape and saw, instead of our beloved Mississippi, that floodwall. A closer examination showed paintings of famous Missourians on the wall somewhat like the paintings which attempt to dress up the concrete walls of high school gymnasiums.

We parked on the street next to the wall and thought surely we would find a beautifully landscaped park on the other side next to the river to make up for the stark-looking floodwall. Families were probably enjoying an afternoon there, we figured, and perhaps some fishermen might be trying their luck from a jetty or overlook.

We crossed the railroad tracks and entered the park through a floodgate and saw just what the Speak Out caller described: a slab of concrete and a couple of park benches. There were some broken beer bottles and other debris around, and someone had recently urinated in a corner of the wall. We were disgusted and disappointed.

And there was that bleak-looking wall. True, it had paintings of steamboats and river-lore figures, and a large welcome painted on the side facing the river, possibly to greet passengers of the riverboats that arrive frequently. But those paltry decorations did not hide the fact the wall looked like that of a penitentiary, a high-security penitentiary. All it was missing was razor wire.

Oh, the beautiful river we had come to see was there, and we could see the tree-lined Illinois shore. But something was lacking.

When we lived in central Iowa we might take off on a Sunday and drive four hours east to Davenport or Burlington or Keokuk just to sit on a bench in a riverside park (with trees and grass) and watch the river. We enjoyed watching barge traffic and the activity of the locks and dams.

Pleasure craft plied the waters, and we would exchange waves and greetings with them. And there's something very restful and soul-soothing about watching flowing water and listening to its rippling sound.

OK, so I'm a newcomer in Southeast Missouri having lived here only a year, but could someone tell me why a beautiful, hospitable-appearing park has not been developed on the waterfront of Cape Girardeau? Now, understand I know the importance of floodwalls or levees. Even if I do come from a landlocked part of the Hawkeye State, I still have vivid memories of July 13, 1993, when Des Moines was flooded as its two rivers, the Des Moines and the Raccoon, each crested at the same time, breaching levees and knocking out the water plant and the power plant of the capitol city, a town of a quarter-million people. Working at the newspaper at the time and covering the scramble to save the city, I learned of some of the dynamics of river flooding.

I realize the wall has to stay, ugly as it is, but could the powers that be in Cape possibly consider planting ivy or some other green thing to crawl along and hide that wall? It's such a small thing, planting ivy to cover the gray, institutional-looking concrete. I'm reminded of baseball stadiums with walls covered with ivy or some other vining thing. Or paint the wall cream -- anything but that cheerless gray.

I tried to walk past the concrete to see how far the Riverfront Park could extend if it were spiffed up and developed, unaware and frankly not caring who owns the land. But rocks, weeds, broken bottles, trash and brush kept me from exploring. Besides, with my vivid imagination, I thought the tall weeds looked to be the perfect place for someone to dump a murdered body. It would not have surprised me to see a corpse, and I spooked myself so much I hurried back to the concrete slab and the park bench with the sagging board seat where my husband awaited.

But as long as I was imagining a pretty public park, I thought groups of potted trees near park benches would be nice, lending a little shade, and on rollers so they could be moved behind the gates in high water, and secured discreetly so vandals and other dishonest scumbags could not steal them.

Containers of flowers and greenery could be sitting around, also on rollers and secured. Period lighting could be arching over from atop the floodwall to provide illumination for evening strollers and to discourage vandalism and other criminal or indecent activity.

The concrete or paving brick or whatever could be extended as far as the wall goes, and failing that, some sort of walking paths could be developed. Special occasions -- the arrival of riverboats or community festivals or the visit of a Navy vessel -- could provide venues for street musicians and food vendors.

This would be a perfect project for civic groups backed by corporate sponsors. It would make a great Eagle Scout project -- several Scout projects, in fact. The city might even kick in and do the job with public employees and public works or parks and rec money.

The river runs past Cape, and early pioneers may have placed the waterfront where it is for commercial advantages, but it is viewed and appreciated today by many from out of town -- whether rural Cape County, Bollinger or Madison counties or tourists from other parts of the country who come into Cape Girardeau just to gaze out over the river.

Should the frontage of the Mississippi River -- that same river which provided a route for the country's early settlers and for explorers such as Lewis and Clark -- and Riverfront Park be allowed to look like the equivalent of an urban slum when it has the potential to easily be made beautiful and inviting?

Linda Banger of Burfordville, Mo., is a columnist for the Banner Press in Marble Hill and a former columnist for the Indianola (Iowa) Record Herald, Iowa's largest weekly, and the Des Moines (Iowa) Register.