AUTHOR & PROSECUTOR RECOGNIZED WITH 2005 GOVERNOR’S HUMANITIES AWARD FOR THE GOLD OF CAPE GIRARDEAU

Morley Swingle has been selected to receive a 2005 Governor’s Humanities Book Award, conferred by the Missouri Humanities Council. This award recognizes an individual or group whose publication has increased our understanding and appreciation of Missouri’s history and culture, regardless of the publisher’s or author’s place of residence.

Juxtaposing a modern Missouri courtroom with historical flashbacks to the era of Mississippi River steamboaters of the 1850s and the Civil War in the 1860s, The Gold of Cape Girardeau weaves what author and Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle calls “sugar-coated” history into a story told with suspense and high drama.

Swingle’s novel (now in its third printing) has sold more than 6,000 copies, and along with his lectures and presentations has sparked renewed interest in Missouri and Cape Girardeau history.

Through the eyes of a 16-year-old orphan the reader experiences being part of a steamboat crew based in Cape engaged in the St. Louis--New Orleans trade. As a young man he is thrust into the Civil War in Missouri, climaxing with the Battle of Cape Girardeau in April, 1863. “I wanted to write a book that is both a page-turner and a history lesson,” Swingle said. “It has everything from a love story to steamboating to the Civil War to dueling to Mark Twain.”

Swingle, 51, was born in Cape Girardeau. His family later moved to Crystal City, where he graduated from Crystal City High School in 1973. He received both an undergraduate degree in English and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia before moving back to Cape Girardeau. He is currently serving his fifth four-year term as the elected prosecuting attorney of Cape Girardeau County. He has tried more than 125 jury trials and has prosecuted 64 murder defendants. He has published more than twenty articles in law journals, but The Gold of Cape Girardeau is his first novel. He lives in Cape Girardeau with his wife and two daughters.

Since 1971, the Missouri Humanities Council has provided thousands of programs to help Missourians enjoy a rich cultural life and develop community citizenship. Our mission is to enable families and communities to broaden their appreciation of history, literature, and the ideas that shape our democracy. Our programs include: READ from the START, family reading initiative; Chautauqua, community celebration of history: Charettes, consulting for local museums & cultural institutions; Museum on Main Street rural initiative of the Smithsonian Institution; as well as Grants and Initiatives to fund locally generated programs.

To learn more about the Governor’s Humanities Awards, this year’s honorees, or to nominate someone for the 2006 Public Involvement, Community Heritage, Excellence in Secondary Education, or Book Awards, please visit our website, www.mohumanities.org.

MHC is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Federal agency.