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Almost Yesterday is a glimpse into the rich history of our region. Dr. Frank Nickell takes listeners on a journey to specific moments in time, such as the first radio broadcast on KFVS, the history of Farmington’s Carleton College, and the short-lived safari on a Mississippi River island. A gifted storyteller and local historian, Dr. Nickell’s wit and love for the past are combined with sounds and music that augment his narrative.On Saturday, June 7, 2008, Almost Yesterday received First Place in the "Special Programs" category at the Missouri Broadcasters Association Awards Banquet in Kansas City, Missouri.Almost Yesterday airs every Wednesday at 5:42 and 7:42 a.m. and 5:18 p.m.

Almost Yesterday: Streaking Through Cape Girardeau

Southeast Missouri State University

It seems like Almost Yesterday that a growing national fad streaked through Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The craze was simply called "streaking."

In March of 1974, Southeast Missouri State University students jumped out of their clothes and onto the bandwagon as streaking debuted on the campus. The Towers dormitory complex was the most popular center of Cape's naked runners and on one warm Wednesday night in March of 1974, 75 guys and two girls gathered for the largest Cape Girardeau streak. Someone gave the signal and the students shed their clothing and set out on a breezy jog through dorms, over terraces, and across the campus. Hundreds of students and townspeople stopped to watch, many cheering, encouraging the group of streakers.

When the streaking fad hit campus in 1974, campus police and university officials were unable to curb the activity. Administrators avoided the issue and simply hoped that the nearing spring break would bring an end to streaking. When it finally did die away, helped along by the nationally televised Watergate hearings, only five students received any sort of disiplinary action, and two of those were males who had streaked through Dearmont Women's Residence Hall late one evening.

The streaking fad was brief in Cape Girardeau as it was across the rest of the nation, with only a handfull of incidents in a couple of weeks. Still, many people saw more of the student body in 1974 than they had ever imagined, or perhaps wanted to.

To those who remember it, it seems like Almost Yesterday.

Frank Nickell is a retired history professor at Southeast Missouri State University.
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