In the olden days, and I do mean olden days, our family lived in the southern part of Cape Girardeau named Smelter Ville. Now I am not sure if it was spelled as two words or if it was one word, but my spell check has it as two, so for now I will agree.
I do remember some things about living there, even though I was a young child at the time. The streets were gravel, that is except for Sprigg Street, which was a main road in Cape Girardeau. From Sprigg Street one could go north and south through Cape past the Blue Hole BBQ through the cement plant on down to highway 31. Anyone who lived there remembers the Blue Hole BBQ!
We lived on Pine Street. I believe Pine Street was only one block long, although it may have been longer as there was houses on the other side of the rail Road tracks. I have a photo that is only about 69 years old, so it isn’t the best, but one can still see some of the area. The young lad in the photo is me!
This photo was taken in our back yard and behind me in the photo was another back yard and that is where Uncle Jake Ford and his wife Taleda lived (I have no idea how to spell he name, but is sounds like “Ta Lee Da”). If you click on the photo you may be able to see the gravel street that ran parallel to the railroad tracks. There is a path from the street up to the railroad tracks. I was told that before my time people would walk up and down the tracks looking for pieces of coal that had fell off the coal train as they went through. Any coal they found was used in their stoves.
On the other side of the tracks there were houses. I remember one street that actually crossed the railroad tracks.
Something odd, if the photo isn’t odd enough, the people that lived about two houses away from us on Pine Street had the same name as us.
My dad was George A. Ford, my mom was Ethyl Ford, and I am Donald Ford.
The father was George E. Ford, the mother was Estelle Ford and a son named Donnie Ford. I believe Donnie became a preacher or minister, maybe both.
Is that a big coincidence, or what!
Another memory and then I will shut up. At uncle Jake’s house there was this old lady name Granny Hogg. She smoked a pipe, and when I would go over there I would set on her lap with a box of matches. If the pipe went out, I would get to light the pipe. Yes, I was older than what the photo shows when I would light the pipe.
Memories, better than reality!
Don Ford
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