Out of the past 5/30/09

A crowd of spectators lines up at Southeast Missouri State University to view a solar eclipse through specially set up telescopes.

Mayor Howard C. Tooke, reviewing the four sites which have been offered for the multipurpose building, says two have some drawbacks; a downtown location has been suggested, but no specific cost figures have been provided for acquiring the land; the tract offered by the Cape Girardeau public school system at Bertling and Sprigg streets is likely too small for the building planned.

50 years ago: May 30, 1959

Two public Memorial Day services are held in Cape Girardeau; the first is at Cape Rock; it is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and features a talk by Rush H. Limbaugh; a wreath is dropped into the Mississippi River from a low-flying airplane; a second service is conducted at the bell tower at Memorial Park on U.S. 61.

A six-foot-long black snake causes a short circuit of a Missouri Utilities Co. high-line on U.S. 61 in the evening, throwing the southwest part of Cape Girardeau into temporary darkness.

75 years ago: May 30, 1934

In memory of the sailors and Marines of the United States who have perished in service, a ceremony is held on the Cape Girardeau river bridge in the afternoon; a wreath is dropped on the waters of the Mississippi by the Sons of Union Veterans; the Rev. J.C. McDaniel, pastor of Maple Avenue Methodist Church, delivers a short address, and Jean Rudert blows taps.

The Cape Girardeau Board of Adjustments, unable to reach a decision yesterday on an application of Joe E. Moore to erect a dance pavilion on West Broadway, just inside the city limits, will meet again tomorrow in an attempt to dispose of the matter.

100 years ago: May 30, 1909

The feast of Pentecost is observed at Trinity Lutheran Church; the pastor, the Rev. A. Wilder, preaches on "The Outpouring of the Holy Ghost."

Although the Mississippi River doesn't have a deep-water channel yet, a fleet of Uncle Sam's Navy tied up at Cape Gir­ardeau last night; the fleet was composed of three war ships of rather diminutive sizes: the Koehler, the Smith and the Neary.

-- Sharon K. Sanders