Jack's Journal: June 14
CBS News producer Jack Halsbond is behind the wheel of one of two Early Show Winnebagos traveling the country in June and July as part of the "Great American Vacation" giveaway. Read his Web-exclusive road diary.
Cape Girardeau, Mo., is the largest city and biggest port on the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn. The city is known as the only inland cape in the world, although the actual cape was destroyed when it was blasted by dynamite to make way for the railroads in the early 19th century.
Rich in history, Cape Girardeau was set up as a trading post by Jean Baptiste Girardot, from whom it takes its name. However it was another Frenchman, Don Louis Lorimer, who arrived after Girardot had moved on, who became know as the "Father of Cape Girardeau." By the time Lorimer came to the area, the name Girardeau had stuck.
In 1803, Lewis and Clark visited Cape Girardeau on their historic expedition to discover if there was a "Northwest Passage." While stationed in Cape Girardeau during the Civil War, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant received a letter from President Lincoln naming him commander of all Union troops.
The building that now houses Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant, where the Winnebago was parked during our June14 broadcast, briefly served as the office for Grant's headquarters during his stay. Prior to that, it was a chandlery, supplying goods to riverboat workers making their way up and down the mighty Mississippi.
After Grant's brief stay in 1861, the three-story building served as a hotel, a brothel a furniture store and a warehouse for bootleg whiskey during prohibition. It is one of the oldest standing structures west of the Mississippi with a well-weathered face and storied past.
Cape Girardeau's flood wall was built in 1964; it protected the city from the great flood of 1993, when the river rose more than 17 feet.
In 1999 after decades of neglect, the River Heritage Mural Association took on the task of converting the flood wall from a drab structure into a concrete grey canvas. The association commissioned Chicago mural artist Tom Melvin to depict 24 important river stories. The murals are windows of the Cape's past.
A modern symbol of Cape Girardeau's progress is the four lane cable-stay Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. Built in 2003, it is prominent and powerful. From miles away, the structure looks as if each white cable is painted on Cape Girardeau's skyline. It is showcased at night by dramatic lighting.
The Common Pleas Courthouse and the Main Street clock are two symbols of the historic riverfront district of Cape Girardeau, where antique shops, boutiques and restaurants are flourishing.
As the sun rose over the Mississippi, the townsfolk of Cape Girardeau gathered along Water and Themis streets in anticipation of Dave Price and The Early Show's vacation giveaway.
The local band played on as the Boy Scouts proudly held aloft 17 period American flags in celebration of Flag Day.
Accompanied by a color guard of retired Marine Corps veterans, the festivities began and the citizens of the Cape took part in a fun-filled morning of live television, which left everyone with broad smiles on their faces and glad tidings in their hearts.
Cape Girardeau is a river city that is old enough to have a storied history. It's a city that is fun to live in, big enough to have nice places to shop and eat and small enough that you see friends almost everywhere you go.