Island No. 10

By Ed Piper

Island No. 10, so-called, sits in the middle of the Mississippi River at the edge of southern Missouri. My wife was born in St. Louis, so our travels have taken us to visit her favorite Uncle Rudy and Aunt Evelyn, who we used to stay several days with and have a delightful time with. Evelyn's specialty is sandwiches made on hot dog buns (she doesn't waste or throw away anything), which I remember eating on our visit to Meramec Cavern on one trip.

Anyway, back to Island No. 10, we didn't know a thing about its existence until we made our way to New Madrid, a town on the Mississippi River in southeastern Missouri. There, we took in the information at a tiny tourist center which told us about the earthquakes that changed the direction of the river.

Also, mention was made of the island, which by its strategic location was coveted by both North and South forces to help hold control of the upper Mississippi. (I hadn't caught the Civil War fever--that came a few days later on a walk in Nashville.)

What was memorable--and scared the pants off Dianna--was a miniature simulation of the earthquake activity at New Madrid. It consisted of a small box or container, filled with sand. A pump sent water flowing into the sand, with the result that it quickly sank and left a big hole. My wife watched all this with rapt attention, turned to me and said, "Ed, we have to get out of here!"

Despite her decades of living in earthquake territory in California, she was alarmed. Being the kinesthetic person that she is, she internalized the demo and figured a similar event was going to repeat itself right then--for our benefit or harm.

We did take time to purchase a picture frame that we still have, the first of many picture frames that we bought. It has a beautiful bird or two in the design. When one of the "feet" on the frame broke a few years ago, our good friend David Soderlund repaired it. It's a keepsake for us.

North and South forces exchanged control of Island No. 10, just outside New Madrid, during the Civil War. It was vital to blocking (by the South) or opening (by the North) passage by Union forces down the Mississippi River.