Frank Nickell

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Holy Family Catholic Church was dedicated. The building, which still stands on South Sprigg Street was dedicated on Sunday October 6, 1940 as a mission of St. Vincent’s Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that residents in the northern area of Cape Girardeau County established a new school which would bring together the students from six one-room country schools in the area. The country schools were crowded and located in wood-frame buildings that dated back to the 1800’s.

It seems like almost yesterday that the Mississippi River was solidly frozen over. It was the winter of 1918 and 1919 when a cold December with extended low temperatures closed the river to all north - south river traffic.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Sarah Althea Hill of Cape Girardeau, Missouri became one of the most controversial and mysterious women in the United States.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that residents of southeast Missouri became keenly interested in the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12.

It seems like almost yesterday that a teacher told me when I was very young, that the Milky Way was the very end of our universe. Like many youngsters I was curious about the end of the universe and what was beyond the Milky Way.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that Union troops under General William Tecumseh Sherman were moving south against Atlanta. General Kirby Smith, Commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, saw Missouri as a place to strike a blow at the Union by making a direct threat upon St. Louis.

It seems like Almost Yesterday that the most destructive fire in the history of Cape Girardeau destroyed much of the town's downtown district. The fire began in the early morning of March 15, 1916, apparently in the basement of the Houck Building on the corner of Main and Broadway.

It seems like almost yesterday that “the Father of American Physical culture” was born. He was the predecessor of Charles Atlas and a number of individuals who emphasized body building and nutrition as the keys to long and healthy life.

It seems like almost yesterday that Denver Wright sought to bring a bit of Africa to the veldt of Southeast Missouri.