LETTERS: RIVERFRONT IMPRESSION

To the editor:

We had the distinct pleasure for five days of being passengers on the American Queen steamboat on her trip from Memphis to St. Louis. The boat is elegant, and the crew made the trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The real reason for this letter is about waterfronts. Although problems with the paddlewheel prevented the Queen from a scheduled stop at Paducah, we saw waterfronts at Memphis, Cairo and Cape Girardeau. The dock at Memphis is between Mud Island and the levee. While the skyline is nice with a riverfront drive, the levee itself is plain with mud and weeds visible.

At Cairo we watched deck hands wade in weeds for something over 15 minutes, all the while pulling the heavy mooring lines and searching for the docking rings to tie up to. Over the sea wall our scene was decaying and boarded up buildings.

The boat docked at Cape Girardeau at 4:30 a.m. before we awakened. Stepping out of our stateroom at sunup was a scene to make us proud of our town. The sea wall, still in the morning shade, depicted a graphic history of our heritage and provided a foreground for the sunlit restored buildings of Water Street to the courthouse on the hill. Later, the band playing Dixieland tunes, the welcoming citizens of Cape Girardeau and the open shops along Main Street made our fellow passengers from all over the United States want to get off the boat and see this pretty river town. And they did.

Cape Girardeau, we are proud of you.

BILL AND MARGE HARWELL

Jackson