Holiday Inn - Lifetime of memories

By Nancy Nussbaum Robinson

Last night I awoke and started thinking about the Holiday Inn and its impending demise. I thought about yesterday when my friend and I went to the Holiday Inn for lunch to celebrate her birthday. She reminisced about her late husband and remembered fondly the many times they would come to eat a sumptuous meal in the beautiful dining room while listening to lively or soothing music from the electronic organ on which Vi Keyes would play for many years.

The elegant Victorian Room has for the last 40-plus years been the scene of many thousands of meals which have, for the traveler as well as the local crowd, been a welcome escape from the daily grind of the rat race. The stately dining room has an Old World charm: lush carpeting, oak walls and fireplace mantelpiece, library, and cozy leather wing chairs that one can sink into and feel protected at the end of a harried day. The ambience is both luxurious and very comfortable.

When the Holiday Inn was built, I remember my father saying with pride to businessmen and guests, "The Holiday Inn restaurant and hotel here in Cape are the finest between St. Louis and Memphis."

I remember grieving about the removal of the fountain in the room adjoining the dining room. As a child and even as an adult, I always wanted to sit at a table next to the fountain so I could hear the relaxing, bubbling sound of the water which covered the noise of people talking and transported me away to a distant place of silence and tranquility.

Last night I awoke and began thinking about the Holiday Inn and all of the memories I had of it as a teenager growing up in Cape Girardeau. I remember the Central High School reunions every five years. And the family reunions on those special days like Easter and Mother's Day when the tables in the adjoining rooms would groan with so many elaborate and beautifully prepared dishes: special entrees served by the chef himself, the many beautiful salads and vegetables and, of course, the fabulous desserts (cheesecake, decadent chocolate, carrot and coconut cakes, cobblers and pies and even a cookie jar with huge chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies inside).

I also remember attending Rotary meetings in the Oak Room with my father and the times he would stand up and proudly announce to everyone that a son or daughter and his or her family were there for the day visiting from out of town. Memories came flooding back of Dad sponsoring me for membership into Rotary and the years I spent running there for luncheons and business meetings. I cherish fondly the times my family had a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, and we would say excitedly, "Let's go to the Holiday Inn and celebrate," and pictures would be taken of us all around the fountain.

Local clubs which have met and are still meeting at the Holiday Inn have been served delicious, carefully prepared meals in its beautiful, cozy rooms by a gracious staff for so many years. What are the clubs to do now, and where are they to go? Where is a similar, comfortably, locally owned place filled with the same ambience of the Holiday Inn that will extend the hand of hospitality in the same gracious manner to local organizations? This is a serious matter, I believe, for the continuance of these organizations. People love to come and be a part of a group where the surroundings are clean, inviting and comfortable, the food fabulous but not too expensive and you can stay at your meeting until the cows come home if you wish without feeling rushed.

I saw the plans for the new Holiday Inn Express, and they look very concise and up-to-date. However, the new Holiday Inn cannot replace all of the history and memories many area people have of the stately, grand Holiday Inn. Its disappearance will only serve to remind us locals that we have nowhere to visit and reminisce about the old days where friends and family who were once around dined together in love and fellowship. These are the same loved ones who still live on in our memories and in the photos we share.

Last night I woke up think about the Holiday Inn, and I started grieving for its demolition that it will face on Sept. 1. I think I will go out of town that day and avoid that section of town for a while, because it will hurt too much to stay and watch its demise, all in the name of progress.

Nancy Nussbaum Robinson resides in Cape Girardeau.