If you needed any evidence that Cape Girardeau's shopping district was moving west and away from the Main Street / Downtown area, look at Fred Lynch's F/8 and Be There Blog with Frony's picture of Santa arriving by helicopter at the Town Plaza.
I took these pictures of a circus elephant at the shopping center give or take a few months from Frony's Santa visit.
The elephant hose-down pictures were taken at the Standard station at the southwest corner of the parking lot.
These are the kinds of events that would have taken place downtown a decade earlier. Little did we know then that the Town Plaza would suffer much the same fate as downtown a few decades later as the center shifted even more westward.
Dad, I have always thought that "F/8 and Be There" was your invention. Now, I'm confused.
When I was named director of photography, someone on the photo staff gave me a name placard that said, "The F Stops Here." I passed it on to Pete Cross when he moved into the slot.