Stories from Thursday, June 6, 1991

Flower power has arrived at Riverfront Park thanks to the Downtown Merchants Association. Many annuals and perennials have been added to set off the Broadway and Themis streets floodgates. "People are wanting to see more color now," said Karen Cain of the association. "We want a big splash of color at the gates. That makes a good first impression for visitors. It's amazing the number of people who come down here night and day."...

No Riverfest celebration would be complete without a fireworks show. And that suits Don Strohmeyer just fine. As chairman of the Riverfest fireworks committee, Strohmeyer gets a charge out of the festival's fireworks. In fact, Strohmeyer has been around fireworks displays for 44 years, dating back to when he was a child growing up in Kansas City...

A working 1904-model antique peanut roaster will highlight this year's Cape Girardeau Riverfest Arts and Crafts festival. The peanut roaster is owned by Larry and Cathy Hughes of Springfield, Mo. The Hugheses will demonstrate how turn-of-the-century street vendors roasted fresh peanuts and give bystanders a chance to watch first-hand...

When Captain Robin Huff guides the Spirit of St. Charles towards the Mississippi River wharf at Cape Girardeau late today, it will be the first time the 98-foot-long river cruise boat has traveled this far from its St. Charles home. The boat will be temporarily renamed Spirit of Riverfest during two days of river cruises at this year's Cape Girardeau Riverfest. In all, 20 cruises will be made during the weekend, 15 of which are hourlong cruises...

It's hard not to be enthusiastic about Cape Girardeau's downtown when you are around Jerra May. "I really love being downtown," said May, who works and lives in Cape Girardeau's historic business district. May is general manager of the Riverview Banquet Center, a downtown business. She has been active in the Downtown Merchants Association and recently took over the job of promoting the downtown area as the association's new marketing director...

Work was completed this week on a Mississippi River floodwall mural in downtown Cape Girardeau. "We had a goal to finish the mural in time for the annual Riverfest celebration," said Tim Blattner, a spokesman for the River Heritage Mural Association, which is heading the project. "The painters had some anxious moments throughout the past couple of weeks, working around the rain; but the mural is finished."...

Performers on the main stage at Riverfest '91 will likely prompt musical memories for many attending the annual event. Riverfest is Cape Girardeau's celebration of its river heritage and will be held downtown Friday and Saturday. A nostalgic tribute to The Beatles by the group, Yesterday as The Beatles, will perform Friday on the main stage...

Riverfest's main entertainment stage allows area residents to see nationally known performers, while also providing an opportunity for local bands to showcase their talent before large crowds. More than 50,000 people are expected to visit downtown Cape Girardeau during the 13th annual Riverfest this Friday and Saturday. Many of those undoubtedly will make their way toward the entertainment stage at the corner of Spanish and Themis streets...

This year's Riverfest celebration will be jam-packed with activities for kids, including a best-dressed turtle contest and sheet painting with squirt guns. All activities will take place on the south terrace near the Common Pleas Courthouse, on Friday evening until dark and all day Saturday...

Many businesses, organizations, and individuals work together to make Riverfest a successful annual event. But without corporate sponsors, Riverfest would not be the kind of event it is, says Gordon Brookman, a member of the board of directors. "It would be very difficult to operate without their support; they are the backbone of our organization," explained Brookman. "Without them, we would be in trouble."...

In an effort to maintain its reputation as a family-type event and to avoid potential problems, beer drinking at Riverfest this year will be confined to two beer garden areas. "We are hoping to make this a positive, rather than a negative," said Diane Howard, president of Riverfest. "With the large crowds we have been getting in recent years, the committee thought it would be in everybody's best interests to limit consumption around the grounds."...

The artistry and craftsmanship of Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great will be the focus of a workshop this month at Southeast Missouri State University. Sam Bishop, professor of art and secondary education, will lead the "Catherine the Great" art history workshop scheduled for Monday through Thursday and June 17-19 from 6 to 9 p.m...

As of Tuesday, volunteers chairwoman Joyce Rayfield said organizers were looking for approximately 100 more volunteers to work. But Rayfield expressed no anxiety over finding the needed help. "It's not hard to find workers, really, because a lot of people like to get involved in it," she said. "We'll probably have more workers this year because of the beer gardens. It will just take more staff."...

The Cape County Republican Women's Club will hold its regular monthly meeting Friday at noon in the Tiffany Room of the Holiday Inn. Guest speaker will be State Representative David Schwab, who will give a review of the recent legislative session. New members are welcomed to attend...

To rock fans they fill some big shoes. But members of the four-man group of Beatles impersonators who call themselves Yesterday are just doing what they love and what they always dreamed about. "I always worshiped the Beatles when I was a young boy," said the group's John Lennon, who is Don Bellezzo. "I always wanted to be a Beatle," he said in a telephone interview...

FREDERICKTOWN -- Bring your friends and your fiddle and you may just end up with a trophy. The M&M Opry near Fredericktown is hosting a fiddler's contest Friday night that will benefit the Madison County Recovery Center. The contest is open to any fiddle player and advance registration is not required...

ST. LOUIS Frontier Park in St. Charles is the site for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra's 10th annual Father's Day Concert. It will be held June 16 at 7:30 p.m. The orchestra's associate conductor, David Loebel, will lead the orchestra in a program featuring a medley of marches and selections from "Porgy and Bess," "Sunrise" and "On the Trail" from Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite."...

ST. LOUIS The VP Fair, St. Louis Zoo, Riverport Amphitheatre and a star-spangled country music concert are just some of the attraction scheduled in and around St. Louis for the summer. VP Fair Comedian Bill Cosby, singers Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson and the pop group Huey Lewis and the News will headline this year's VP Fair, organizers said...

A benefit dance will be held Saturday to help Josephine Thomas, of Cape Girardeau, who has leukemia. The dance will be held at the VFW Hall in Cape Girardeau. A silent auction begins at 8 p.m. The band Memory Lane will perform, beginning at 8:30 p.m...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The all-day Fourth of July celebration at Poplar Bluff will include an arts and crafts fair, freedom run, several live bands, a car show and more. "This Fourth of July will be like nothing we've had before," said Glen Perkins, chairman of the organization committee for the festival. "All of the activities will be consolidated in the downtown area so that everything will be within walking distance."...

Politicians are well-known for their rhetorical talents, and Cape Girardeau's Riverfest provides a unique forum for area mayors to flaunt their penchants for a tall tale. The second annual Mayoral Tell-a-Tall-Tale contest will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, just prior to the Miss Riverfest contest on the main entertainment stage at the corner of Spanish and Themis streets...

An open-air pavilion, which was approved in a master plan for downtown Cape Girardeau a decade ago, could become a reality over the next two months. "Construction of the new pavilion should take about 60 days," said John Boardman, a Cape Girardeau architect who provided plans for the 72-by-20-foot structure, which will straddle the center island of the downtown parking lot on South Main Street. "We'd like to see it completed in time for use this summer."...

A dream comes true this year for Riverfest organizers. For the first time, the celebration of Cape Girardeau's river heritage will feature a riverboat. More than 50,000 people are expected to stroll through downtown Cape Girardeau during the 13th annual Riverfest this Friday and Saturday. Activities begin at 4 p.m. Friday and continue until 11 p.m. Riverfest resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday. The final activity, a concert by John Hartford, will follow the fireworks display Saturday night...

The renaissance of downtown Cape Girardeau continues as more businesses start up or relocate to the area. Evelyn Boardman of the Downtown Merchants Association says many elements attract businesses to the downtown, including its historic roots, mix of shops and offices, low overhead costs, good restaurants, and ambiance...

SCOTT CITY -- Just four months after Scott City voters defeated a half-cent sales tax increase to fund street repairs, they will again be asked to endorse it. City Council members Wednesday unanimously agreed to hold a special election Aug. 6 on the tax measure. In April, the tax increase failed by 33 votes...

Students in Cape Girardeau Public Schools scored at or above the state average in each of 34 sections of the Missouri Mastery and Achievement Test. Each student's MMAT results will be sent home along with end-of-the-year report cards, said Richard Bollwerk, director of elementary education for the school district...

When the excursion riverboat, Spirit of St. Charles, docks at Cape Girardeau this evening, there will be a familiar face at the helm of the paddlewheel boat. Veteran river Capt. Woodrow "Woody" Rushing of Cape Girardeau has made a lot of trips steering towboats up and down the Mississippi River. But bringing the Spirit of St. Charles to Cape Girardeau is something new for him...

Two university presidents Wednesday praised the $385 million state education tax measure that's on the November ballot. "It is a very good proposal," said C. Peter Magrath, president of the University of Missouri system. "It is built around accountability."...

Susan Smith marked the 10th anniversary of the first diagnosis of AIDS Wednesday by talking of a young Cape Girardeau mother of three who had become very special to her before dying of the disease. The woman is one of eight people Smith has seen die in the two years she has worked as the state of Missouri's only HIV care coordinator in Southeast Missouri...

A meeting last week between Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport representatives and Trans World Express officials yielded little to resolve problems with unreliable service and slipping airport boardings. Cape Girardeau Public Works Director Doug Leslie told the Airport Advisory Board Wednesday that TWE, the airport's only commercial carrier, considers Cape Girardeau a low priority and has little interest in expanding service here...

Wednesday as part of the Southeast Missouri District Fair's fix-up plan for the park. Pete Poe, president of fair board, explained, "What we're doing right now is replacing some concrete dividers in the grandstand area that had deteriorated and become dangerous...

The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents will consider a proposed operating budget for fiscal year 1992 and a faculty merit pay plan when it meets today. The board will convene at 8:30 a.m. in the University Center Ballroom. Other items on the agenda include the university's capital appropriation request for fiscal year 1993, bids for replacing the Show Me Center/Student Recreation Center roof, and the scope of audit work to be performed this year by the university's external auditors.. ...

Cape Girardeau and Riverfest officials are urging Riverfest visitors this weekend to use off-site parking facilities and utilize the free shuttle bus services to the downtown area. The downtown area is the site of the annual two-day Riverfest celebration that this year is expected to attract as many as 50,000 people...

BENTON -- Entries are now being accepted for the Miss Neighbor Day Queen contest to be held Aug. 30 in Benton. The contest is held each year in conjunction with Neighbor Days. Contestants must be either a junior or senior in high school. They must also live in Scott County and never been married. Previous Neighbor Day winners are not eligible...

MORLEY -- Lessie Klingel, 88, of Morley, died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at her home. She was born Feb. 22, 1903, at Blodgett, daughter of William and Mamie Bonifield Tippy. She married David L. Klingel March 11, 1925, who died in December 1971. Klingel was a member of Morley Baptist Church and taught the women's Sunday School class many years...

Funeral service for Anna Mae Lufcy, 101, of Cape Girardeau, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Chapel. The Rev. Neil Stein will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery. She died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at Fountainbleau Lodge...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Vancil B. Bogle, 69, of Cairo, died Wednesday, June 5, 1991, at Daystar Care Center. He was born Dec. 13, 1921, at Cairo, son of James D. and Vona Collins Bogle. He married the former Mary Elizabeth McLellan. Bogle was a retired ironworker and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II...

MORLEY -- George Nearns, 102, of Morley, died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at Cape Girardeau Nursing Center. He was born Feb. 26, 1889, at Vienna. He married Annie Conrad, who died Feb. 26, 1991. Nearns was a retired carpenter and farmer, and served in the U.S. Army during World War I...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Walter W. Woods, 78, of Coffeen, formerly of Mound City, died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at Hillsboro Hospital in Hillsboro. He was born Aug. 5, 1912, at Bellville, son of Harvey and Bell Woods. He married the former Violet Buckles. Woods was a retired construction worker...

PERRYVILLE -- Leonida Lintner, 79, of Perryville, died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at her home. She was born April 25, 1912, in Perry County, daughter of Albert F. and Emma Ochs Hoehn. She married Gilbert J. Lintner, who died July 15, 1985. Lintner was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church...

SIKESTON -- Mary G. Stevens, 89, of Sikeston, died Tuesday, June 4, 1991, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Oct. 31, 1903 in Farmington, daughter, of Francis Delaney Hudson and Dora McHenry Hudson. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church at Sikeston, the Sikeston Chapter of Order of Eastern Star, and the Sikeston American Legion Ladies Auxiliary...

Rose Mae Abernathy, 81, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, June 5, 1991, at LaCroix Nursing Center. She was born May 28, 1910, at Commerce, daughter of Ira and Rosa Butler Wright. She married Charles Leo Abernathy June 16, 1932. He died April 19, 1960...

SCOTT CITY -- Voters in Scott City, Kelso and Commerce may decide in November if they want to fund a 911 emergency system in their cities. Officials from Scott City and Commerce discussed the possibility Wednesday with representatives from Southwestern Bell. As a result of the meeting, a committee will be formed to determine what type of system the cities need and how much it will cost...

A cable television company, which serves 13 Missouri cities including Cape Girardeau and Jackson, is changing its marketing strategy for a movie channel amid legal challenges and consumer complaints. A spokesman for the Denver-based company announced the change Wednesday...

Christy Brueckner, a seventh grade student at L.J. Schultz Middle School, won a state honor for her work with The Paw school newspaper. She won third place in the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association contest in the news story category. Her name was omitted from a list of students winning awards that was given to the Southeast Missourian...

Former Cardinal manager Whitey Herzog says he's ready to get back into action so he can make winners out of losers. Maybe Missouri Democrats have finally found a senatorial candidate. --- After riverboat gambling, dog races and electronic video games, about all that's left for Missouri in raising additional revenue is a Saturday night crap game in the governor's office...

Our community lost one of the finest of our good guys this past week, when longtime Cape Girardeau merchant Bill Shivelbine died. Bill combined with his brother Freck and other family members to establish one of Cape's venerable retail stores which, now in its fifth decade, continues to enjoy the excellent reputation the Shivelbines have earned...

Missourians are 14 months away from a primary election that will narrow the state's gubernatorial field. While it seems a good distance away and perhaps we would prefer to keep it so in our own minds strategies are being formed and positions taken that will set the tone for the coming campaign. ...

(Editor's note: K.J.H. Cochran thanked the reader for the additional information on the Popeye comic strip. However, she explained her information for the article came from an encyclopedia and several books on comic strips.) I WOULD LIKE to thank the person who found my purse at Schnucks. I thank God there are still good and honest people in this world. Thank you...