The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-08-27
FARMERS SPEND
TWO DAYS ON
COUNTY ROADS
Highway Engineer Says Sew
eral Miles of Highways
Were Improved.
KINK TAKEN OUT OF
GORDONVILLE ROAD
Ladies Prepare Food for Work.
ers-Men Treated to
Cider.

Scores of farmers and farm workers
in Cape County yesterday left their
fields and worked upon the highways
1t was the last of the Cape Girar-
deau County "Good Roads Days" and
the farmers worked hard on their
highways to finish the improvement
that they had started on Tuesday, the
initial day devoted by order of the Cir
cult Court at Jackson to the better
ment of the roads.
All over the county where the land
was not inundated by flood waters, the
farmers got out with teams, scrapers,
drags, plows, pick-axes and spades to
level up their roadways.
At the close of the days work, it is
estimated that several miles of high
way improvement was completed. The
work was organized in all parts of the
county by Dennis Scivally, county
highway engineer, in charge of the en-
tire good roads movement.
The State Good Roads Days in Mis-
souri,, ordered by the Governors proc
lamation last June, were not observed
in Cape County because the farmers
at the time were busy taking care of
their crops.
The County Court, however, recog-
nizing the value of the movement,
postponed the work upon the highways
till this fall and about three weeks ago
issued the edict for the concentrated
work on the roads.
Each of the district road overseers
under Scivally's direction proceeded to
enlist crew leaders for each commu-
nifty in their districts. Such crew lead
ers were to plan the work on specific
parts Of the roads in their cOmmuni
ties They were to act as straw bosses
and get the men around them to CO.
operate with the movement in an in
telligent fashion. They planned out
days in advance what kind of work
would be necessary for each strip of
the highway.
AS consequence when the first day
arrived, the farmers deserted their
farms and each man knew what he
was going to do.
The women in many communities
co-operated with the men in improving
the roads by having an abundant sup
ply of sandwiches and good work-mak-
ing "eats" on hand.
The spirit with which the men went
after their work, aided by the women,
accounts for part of the increased eff
ficiency of every hand.
Along the roads as the farmers were
grading, dragging, digging bitches,
filling in holes or rocking the high
ways, they often paused to greet pass
ersby with cheer.
Mr.. and Mrs. Grambling, of the
St. Charles, yesterday afternoon were
motoring in the vicinity of Gordon
vile, when they came upon a large
gang of "workmen," road laborers. As
they continued along their way, they
recognized faces they knew did not be-
long under ordinary circumstances,
upon the road with a shovel in hand.
The merchants of Gordonville as
we'll as business men in many other
walks of life, were out on the roads in
overalls along with the farm hands,
fixing the highway.
1t had been determined to change
the highway leading from Gordonville
to jackson, a strip about 6 miles in
length. AS the road nears Jackson, it
makes bend around hill. The road
has not been in first class condition,
so the road makers decided to run a
new line and straighten the old high
way out.
They did. They took the new high
way directly over small hill and now
at the close of two days work, the for
mer road between Jackson and Cor
donville partly is abandoned.
In the Grambling party was Capt.
Bridges of the Cape. Their car con-
tinued along the road little further
till presently near the outskirts of
Gordonville, they came upon a festival
group around cider mill on the farm
of Joe Siemers.
The Siemers stopped the machine
and took all the members of the party
up to the cider mill, where everyone
was treated to a glass of the fresh