History

Cape Girardeau faced an economic disadvantage in the early 1900s. People coming from Jackson or Scott County had to travel on toll roads, a costly impediment for local business. The Cape Girardeau McAdamized and Plank Road Company was chartered in 1851 to operate a road connecting Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Bollinger Mill. Another firm, the Cape Girardeau and Scott County McAdamized Road Company, was created in 1853 to build a road to the south...

More than 150 years' worth of Cape Girardeau County deeds, and military records going back more than a century, will be digitized and microfilmed over the next few months as part of the county's document preservation efforts. The county commissioners voted at their meeting Thursday to allocate $212,336 for the project which will involve digitization of approximately 330,000 pages of deeds and military service records...

Bumper crops and lower prices might be in prospect for corn and soybean farmers this year; about the only redeeming effect of last year's flooding was the highest prices farmers in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois got for the little corn and soybeans they were able to harvest; as commodities markets go, this year the situation is reversed...

"Seeds on the Wind," Jean Bell Mosley's latest book, will go on sale this month; the book comprises 80 of Mosley's newspaper columns, magazine stories and articles, dating as far back as 1960. Arguments over property standards overshadow the Cape Girardeau City Council's approval of Air Evac EMS Inc. ...

The Rev. Neal O. Zeilinger is installed as pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church in the afternoon; the installation ceremony is conducted by the Rev. Dennis Hallemeyer, assistant to Bishop Charles H. Maahs. It's clean-up day for about 50 volunteers at Arena Park, after the eight-day run of the SEMO District Fair brought out about 97,000 fun seekers; fair board member Pete Poe said it was the best attendance since the fair's format was changed about 15 years ago...

Attendance for the 139th SEMO District Fair continues its record-setting pace, drawing an estimated 59,000 heading into Friday's events; rains, which fell at the fairgrounds Friday afternoon, had little effect on attendance; this evening, Aaron Tippin will take the stage...

New to this year's SEMO District Fair is the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, owned by Lee LeCaptain of Orlando, Florida; the show features LeCaptain as emcee and includes three lumberjacks who blend humor with athleticism into various demonstrations of logrolling, wood chopping, ax throwing and pole climbing; this evening's grandstand entertainer is country singer Janie Fricke...

Joe Kirchdoerfer was 14 when he started showing jersey cattle at the SEMO District Fair, but that was 70 years ago. The dairy farmer now boasts seven decades as a jersey cattle exhibitor at the annual fair. In 1949, he and sister, Marie James, showed their jersey cattle for the first time. Kirchdoerfer continued into his adult life and said he hasn't missed a year at the fair since...

The 139th annual SEMO District Fair continues with the Big Bull Chute-Out by Wild Horse Rodeo Productions scheduled for this evening; Bob Rosenquist's band entertains in the afternoon in the R&R tent. Groundwork is underway in Cape West Business Park for a new 97,000-square-foot Target store; under construction in the same general area are a McDonald's restaurant and a Hampton Inn; future plans call for a Sam's Club near the Wal-Mart Supercenter...

Gregory Williams of Cape Girardeau has been named executive director of Regional Commerce and Growth Association; he replaces Walter Wildman, who resigned Sept. 8. Entertainment at the SEMO District Fair this evening will be country music act Restless Heart; attendance at the 1994 edition of the fair is at a record pace; after three days, more than 31,000 have attended the exposition, an increase of 10% over last year's three-day total; fair board member Pete Poe says total attendance could exceed 90,000 if the pace continues.. ...

It was a perfect spot ... under a spreading canopy of giant oaks and poplars, near a bubbling spring. They came with horses, buggies and wagons filled with baskets of fried chicken and cured ham from their smokehouses. These early Methodists of the territory came to camp meetings from 1806-1819 to lift their voices to the Heavens, singing hymns such as Charles Wesley's "O for a Thousand Tongues."...

Around 3,500 fans filled the grandstand at Arena Park last night for the demolition derby at the 139th SEMO District Fair; today's activities include the arrival of livestock and the beginning of livestock judging, and a Baby Girl Beauty Contest in the afternoon; the day's events will be topped off with a tractor pull in the evening...

The 139th SEMO District Fair is officially opened with a parade from Capaha Park to the fairgrounds at Arena Park; the sixth annual horse show actually started things off yesterday, with around 330 entrants in the six-hour event; before the grandstand tonight will be the demolition derby...

A dedication service and open house are held in the afternoon at First Baptist Church in Jackson, in celebration of the completion of the church's new education building; construction of the 15,675-square-foot building began in the spring of 1993; John Dudley of Jackson was project architect; Brockmiller Construction of Farmington, Missouri, built the $800,000 structure...

NEW YORK -- Robert Frank, a giant of 20th-century photography whose seminal book "The Americans" captured singular, candid moments of the 1950s and helped free picture-taking from the boundaries of clean lighting and linear composition, has died. He was 94...

Carson Kelley, assistant director of public safety at Southeast Missouri State University, is the new commander of the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County Major Case Squad; he will take over the squad Sept. 19. The SEMO District Fair gets underway with a parade; along with the early opening of carnival rides, a 4-H and youth horse show is held in front of the grandstand at noon; tomorrow is the traditional Sneak Peek day and will include a second horse show...

The U. S. federal census began in 1790 and has been conducted every 10 years since. Its primary purpose is to apportion seats in the House of Representatives, but the Constitution directs the enumeration be conducted "in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct." The framework of the census has allowed collecting of other information under this authority...

Final preparations are being made before the start of the 139th annual SEMO District Fair Saturday at Arena Park; kicking off the fair this year will be the 4-H and Youth Horse Show at noon Saturday at the grandstand; the carnival midway will also open Saturday afternoon...

Labor Day. Morning rains aren't enough to ruin everyone's holiday activities; for most people, the rains just delay the barbecue, fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, slaw and dessert until the afternoon. KFVS-TV 12 hosts the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon at the Show Me Center, collecting pledges totaling $305,247, $6,790 more than last year; hosts for the local event were Terry Turner, KFVS-TV weekend anchor, and Pam Land, KFVS meteorologist...

Mark Quay speaks at the morning service at Christ Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau; he is a graduate of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in zoology from Southeast Missouri State University; he is attending Covenant Seminary in St. Louis...

A Laotian street-gang member is in a local hospital with a gunshot wound and two others are in Cape Girardeau County Jail following a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle yesterday afternoon; a routine traffic stop by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 55 resulted in the chase off the interstate and ended at the intersection of Donna Lane and U.S. ...

Air Evac Lifeteam Corp. is in the process of purchasing the assets of Cape Central Airways to become the next fixed base operator at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport; the purchase will dissolve, if the city council doesn't approve Air Evac becoming the next fixed base operator...

Cape Girardeau Area United Way volunteers were told at a kick-off luncheon yesterday their dedication and enthusiasm are the most important factors for a successful fund-raising drive; that message was delivered by William Shores, regional manager of Union Electric Co.; this year's campaign goal is $520,000...

February 1865, a month after slavery was abolished in Missouri, the State Legislature approved annual appropriations of $25 for the education of Union soldier's orphans from Cape Girardeau County. Ten of the 22 children were of African descent, including three children of James and Harriet Ivers. ...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Ten weeks of waiting ended last night for Republican Kenny Hulshof, who became his party's official 9th District congressional candidate; as an assistant attorney general, Hulshof, 36, is known for prosecuting high-profile murder cases...

The state's Certificate of Need staff recommends Saint Francis Medical Center replace its cardiac catherization lab rather than add a second lab; the lab is on the agenda for a Sept. 14 meeting of the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee, and that committee will make a final decision on whether the medical center will install a second lab at a cost of $1.76 million...

Using a $4,700 grant from the Library Services and Construction Act, Tasha Saecker, coordinator for youth services at Cape Girardeau Public Library, has developed a new Teen Center at the library; the center will be open 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in Hirsch Community Room; the room will offer games, board games, role-playing games, paperback novels and a place where teenagers can go and talk...

The Rev. David P. Johnson is installed as administrative pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson; the evening service is followed by a reception in the fellowship hall; Johnson, a native of Nebraska, is married with four children. A group placing newspaper and radio advertisements around the state opposing a $250 million bond issue approved Aug. ...

Following in the footsteps of her father, Missouri State Trooper James Froemsdorf, who was killed making a routine traffic stop in 1985, Teri Froemsdorf yesterday was sworn in with seven other candidates as a reserve officer with the Cape Girardeau Police Department...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission has acquired 25 acres of land adjacent to the county's South Park that will be used for park development; the land was purchased from Ralph and Frances Fuhrmann for $160,000 and was paid for from the county's capital trust account; the Fuhrmanns will be allowed to live in a house on the property and use three acres around the house for as long as they want...

Although people tend to think of disposable diapers as a relatively recent innovation dating back to the 1960s and first worn by "baby boomers" born in the 1960s, their history can be traced to the late 1800s. Between the 1880s and 1930s, the US Patent Office recorded applications for dozens of diaper innovations including fitted diaper designs, innovative fastening systems, absorbent inserts and moisture-proof covers...

It was the summer of 1969. Neil Armstrong took a "small step for man," the "Woodstock Music & Art Fair" opened on a small dairy farm in New York, and the U.S. began withdrawing troops from Vietnam. And in late August of that year, the first Pampers disposable diapers rolled off the production line at the new Charmin Paper Products plant north of Cape Girardeau. At the time, Charmin Paper Products was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble...

The history of the Procter & Gamble plant in Cape Girardeau dates back more than a half century. A timeline of some of the significant activities in the plant's history: n November 1967 -- The Procter & Gamble Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, indicates an interest in Cape Girardeau as a possible site for a production facility...

Cape Girardeau's two hospitals are divided over the merits of merging; Southeast Missouri Hospital officials favor such a move, while those at Saint Francis Medical Center oppose it. Earl T. Shinhoster, newly-appointed interim executive director of the NAACP, will speak at St. ...

Prestige Air Services, a newly-formed company owned by Duane Beussink, will petition the Cape Girardeau City Council for the right to become a fixed-base operator at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport; Prestige is also seeking approval from the Federal Aviation Administration...

Weldon Albert Stein was born in Cape Girardeau on Nov. 29, 1911, a son of Arthur C. Stein and May Sheppard. He graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 1928 and Southeast Missouri State Teachers College with a bachelor of arts degree in 1933. ...

Astronaut Linda Godwin spoke yesterday at the first of a two-day teachers meeting at Jackson; she told teachers the training she received at Jackson public schools, especially math and science, prepared her for a career with NASA; classes start tomorrow in Jackson...

The Southeast Missouri State University Foundation has received a sizable donation earmarked for the Charles H. Daues Scholarship Fund; George and Placide Shriever of New York recently donated $50,000 to the fund; the fund is named for Placide Schriever's father, a graduate of the Third District Normal School...

The Rev. Mark H. Anderson is the new pastor of Lynwood Baptist Church; he comes here from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where he had been associate pastor at First Baptist Church since 1989; he is married with three children. Mark Pelts, a member of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents since 1991, is resigning; his six-year term doesn't expire until 1997; Pelts, 39, a lawyer in Kennett, Missouri, will continue to serve on the board until Gov. Mel Carnahan names his replacement...

Former Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft pounded on doors in Jackson yesterday morning in an effort to gain support for his U.S. Senate bid; Ashcroft walked door to door, dropping off literature in Jackson during his latest trip to Southeast Missouri; last week, he stumped at Cape Girardeau Public Library...

Four buildings with somewhat of an uncertain future are sitting empty on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. The vacancies represent close to 160,000 square feet of space that will be unavailable for use for an indefinite period of time...

Mary McBride surprised co-workers this week with notification that she will resign as executive director of the Private Industry Council; her departure will become effective Aug. 26; Ron Swift will become interim executive director of the PIC. Amanda Lomax of Benton, Missouri, was crowned 1994 Jackson Homecomers Queen last night; Jennifer Paulus of Perryville, Missouri, was first runner-up and Frannie Trum of Sikeston, Missouri, was second runner-up...

The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority Commission has authorized port executive director Dan Overbey to purchase a locomotive from government surplus property; the purchase hinges on whether it can be transported to the port from Fort Carson, Colorado, at a reasonable cost...

LOS ANGELES -- Actor Peter Fonda, the son of a Hollywood legend who became a movie star in his own right after both writing and starring in the counter-culture classic "Easy Rider," has died. His family said in a statement that Fonda died Friday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 79...

Sears, Roebuck & Co. once dominated the mail-order industry by offering a catalog full of nearly every product imaginable. Then the company hit on an idea: what if Sears could offer an entire home from a catalog? This was the beginning of Sears Modern Homes in 1908. ...

A federal $1 million flood-relief grant will pay for street repairs and other improvements in Scott City's Nash Road industrial area; sand boils from the flood caused significant damage last year to Nash Road and other roads in the industrial area such as Old Highway 61...

1994 A tome containing 1,400 pages of complex health care reform is more than U.S. Sens. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, and Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, can stomach; neither senator will endorse the Clinton-Mitchell health care reform package because, they say, it gives too much power to Washington while it takes decision-making away from the American public; Bond and Mitchell were in Cape Girardeau on Sunday for a press conference at Saint Francis Medical Center...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Scientists in New Zealand said Wednesday they've found fossilized bones from an extinct monster penguin that was about the size of an adult human and swam the oceans some 60 million years ago. They said the previously undiscovered species is believed to have stood about 5 feet and 2 inches tall and weighed up to 176 pounds. It's believed to have been one of several species of giant penguins that thrived soon after dinosaurs died out...