History

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri lawmaker has asked Gov. Mike Parson to prevent the state from reinstalling a statue of a Roman goddess on the dome of the state Capitol, saying a statue of Jesus could be disputed so a pagan idol should not be allowed...

ROCKVIEW, Mo. -- A two-story home went up in flames yesterday in Rockview, and firefighters and residents blame the destruction on the small town's lack of fire hydrants; firefighters from Chaffee, Missouri, Scott City and the New Hamburg-Benton-Commerce Fire Protection District battled the blaze at Ed and Barb Payne's home until mid-afternoon...

Cape Girardeau attorney Albert C. Lowes, described by friends and colleagues as a tenacious, cigar-smoking jurist whose gruff exterior cloaked a heart of gold, died Monday night at a long-term care facility in Cape Girardeau. A resident of Jackson, Lowes had recently been hospitalized in St. Louis before transferring to the Cape Girardeau nursing facility last week for rehabilitation. He was 87 years old...

The third annual German Christmas service is held in the evening at Old Hanover Lutheran Church on Perryville Road; guest preacher is the Rev. Adam Mueller; his sermon theme is "The Meaning of Christ's Birth"; the liturgy and sermon are in English, with familiar Christmas carols sung in both German and English...

ATLANTA -- After a bomb exploded in a downtown Atlanta park midway through the 1996 Olympics, a security guard initially cast as a hero was recast as a villain virtually overnight. More than 20 years later, a movie to be released later this week, "Richard Jewell," explores the roles played by law enforcement and the media in the guard's ordeal...

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the fatal crash of a Cape Central Airways cargo plane at Kansas City International Airport; the investigation involves the pilot's concern about ice buildup on the plane and other possible reasons for Thursday night's crash; the pilot, Bonita Connors, 36, of Sedalia, Missouri, died Friday night...

Paul Volcker, who as Federal Reserve chairman in the early 1980s elevated interest rates to historic highs and triggered a recession as the price of quashing double-digit inflation, has died, according to his office. He was 92. Volcker took charge of the Fed in August 1979, when the U.S. economy was in the grip of runaway inflation. Consumer prices skyrocketed 13% in 1979 and then by the same pace again in 1980...

Unemployment in Cape Girardeau County is a scant 3.2%, but the number of area residents qualifying for food stamps has increased in the past year; 217 more households in the county have qualified for food stamps since July 1993; of the county population of approximately 60,000, 5,457 people receive food stamps...

7:55 a.m., Dec. 7, 1941. A sleepy Hawaii had awakened to another beautiful Sunday morning. U.S. military personnel were going through their morning routines, with countless sailors, Marines, and Army personnel at attention, bugles sounding the daily raising of the Stars and Stripes...

The Area Wide United Way is $90,000 short of its campaign goal with just a week to go; this year's campaign is $50,000 behind the campaign last year, and the goal for 1994 of $20,000 higher. Jackson and Cape Girardeau firefighters battled a blaze last night at McDonald's Restaurant in Jackson; a lack of water pressure and wind hampered their efforts, and the building was destroyed; officials say the fire started after a gasoline can and leaf blower were placed in a room with a gas water heater; it is believed gas fumes were ignited by the water heater's pilot flame.. ...

On Aug. 29, 1916, the United States Congress assigned a committee of three -- Adm. Frank F. Fletcher, Cmdr. Frank Clark and Naval Engineer R.E. Bakenhus -- to select a location for a new U.S. Navy armory plant to produce steel for their vessels. Several Missouri cities submitted bids for the location including Hannibal, Louisiana and Cape Girardeau. Numerous other cities in the surrounding states also submitted bids, including Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee...

Cotton production had become so lucrative in the early 1920s farmers could theoretically buy an acre of land and pay for it with only one year's harvest. Local farmers didn't want to miss out. They were particularly enthralled by the rags-to-riches story of cotton magnate Robert E. Lee Wilson who was so successful that he owned an entire town: Wilson, Arkansas, population 1,800...

Gov. Mel Carnahan and Southeast Missouri State University officials turned shovels of dirt yesterday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the school's business building at the corner of Henderson Avenue and New Madrid Street; university Regent Don Dickerson likened the project to a "Field of Dreams," speaking to a crowd of several hundred area dignitaries, university staff and students...

Robert W. Parker of Cape Girardeau, executive director of Southeast Missouri State University Foundation and former university president, was recently elected vice chairman of the board of trustees of the Missouri Baptist Foundation; the foundation is the trust agency of the Missouri Baptist Convention...

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep has been tying up a lot of loose ends for the year's end, and the end of his 16-year tenure on the commission; in the past year, since announcing his retirement Dec. 31, Huckstep has helped with the acquisition of new park land for future commissions to develop, improvements to the county's computer system and reigning in county expenditures to ensure they align with the year's budget...

Merchants open their doors early and close them late to accommodate the busiest shopping day of the year; stores that opened long before the average 9 or 10 a.m. report shoppers standing at the doors, waiting to be let in. COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Unable to overcome two early Excelsior Springs, Missouri, touchdowns, the Jackson Indians fall 12-6 to the state champion Tigers in the Class 4A state championship game; a remarkable Indian season, which included the school's first appearance in a football state championship game, concludes at 12-2.. ...

For Cape Girardeau Police Chief Jefferson "Jeff" Hutson, Oct. 7, 1922, was like most mornings as he said goodbye to his wife and young children at their 343 N. Henderson St. home. As usual, he drove a few blocks to the police/fire station at 538 Independence St., present location of the Cape River Heritage Museum...

A contract between Little River Drainage District and Lady Luck Gaming Crop. that would allow a gambling boat to be moored in the district's Diversion Channel at Scott City appears assured; Larry Dowdy of Cape Girardeau, executive vice president of the district, expects the contract to be signed with Lady Luck within two to three weeks...

For 80 years, the Baptist Student Center on Southeast Missouri State University’s campus in Cape Girardeau has aimed to reach out to the community through education and fellowship. Tonight, it will celebrate that legacy with an event at The Courtyard by Mariott. The Rev. Bruce Gentry said he’s only the fourth director in the center’s 80-year history...

A Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputy escaped serious injury yesterday when a tree limb fell on his police cruiser as he drove in the 900 block of Broadway; deputy Mike Englemann suffered face and hand lacerations after the limb broke from a tree near First Baptist Church; the limb shattered the windshield and driver's side window and dented the hood, roof and back of the car...

Firefighters from around the area battled a three-alarm fire Saturday night that started at Lanter Co., 226 Linda St. in Cape Girardeau; the fire spread to Plaza Tire and burned until Sunday morning; about 10,000 square feet of the 40,000-square-foot complex was destroyed in the blaze; Cape Girardeau firefighter Randol Morris suffered a compound fracture in his upper leg and a fractured hip Saturday night when a burning wall collapsed on him...

Stac Underwood of Cape Girardeau, who recently signed a country music contract on the 21st Century label in Nashville, Tennessee, is the featured guest at a gospel concert at First General Baptist Church in the evening; she has two songs that recently have been on the country music charts...

Hours of hard work were spent unloading the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority's new locomotive Thursday; the General Motors locomotive, formerly Army property, was built in 1951 and overhauled in 1979; Dan Overbey, executive director of the port authority, oversaw its transportation from Fort Carson, Colorado, to Texas...

Nearly 500 people gathered to honor military veterans and the Stars and Stripes National Museum in Bloomfield, Missouri, at the inaugural Spirit of Democracy celebration Saturday at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. Proceeds from the event will benefit the museum, which is devoted to preserving the history of the Stars and Stripes military newspaper...

CAIRO, Ill. -- A teachers' strike in Cairo public schools enters its second day; 73 teachers in the district's four schools are on strike, wanting a 7% pay increase; the action forces the cancellation of classes for 1,048 students. Cape Girardeau's Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to cash in on the fame of native son Rush Limbaugh III; beginning early next year, excursion buses will travel by some of the locations of Limbaugh's youth; tourists will pass by Southeast Hospital where Limbaugh was born, his boyhood house at 412 Sunset, the local barbershop on Broadway near Houck Stadium where he shined shoes, and radio station KGMO, where the conservative broadcaster and author got his start.. ...

The approach to a new Mississippi River bridge, from Interstate 55 to Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau, will be finished in 1997, officials with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department say; Joe Mickens, chief engineer with the department, spoke last night at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Highway Dinner; he said, "Work is underway on the Missouri side of the river, and Illinois officials have allotted funds for core drilling on their side of the river."...

Don Louis Lorimier, as the representative of Spain, and later France, typically granted land to new settlers in the Cape Girardeau District based on age, gender and slave status in the individual household. An important exception to that rule involved a military action in 1802 to 1803...

Max Stovall, who lost a race for 2nd District associate county commissioner last week by a narrow margin, has asked Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller for a recount; Stovall lost to Republican Joe Gambill by 39 votes. School administrators are imposing a more restrictive dress code at Cape Girardeau Central High School in an effort to discourage gang and gang-like attire; the dress code will take effect once the students are notified, possibly as early as tomorrow...

The ties that link the Cape Girardeau city hall project and the county's justice center project are rooted in Jackson contractor Phil Penzel's German heritage. Penzel's firm is building the new courthouse in Jackson and his design-build team was recently hired to transform the Common Pleas Courthouse and Annex into a new city hall...

A design-build team plans to preserve the beauty of the historic Common Pleas Courthouse and Annex and construct an addition that will blend in with the existing architecture. Contractor Phil Penzel's design-build team was recently chosen by the Cape Girardeau City Council for the $12 million project to repurpose the old buildings as a new city hall...

Greg Chenoweth was picked from a list of 160 applicants as Cape Girardeau's new airport manager; he comes here from Hutchinson, Kansas, where he was in charge of the airport since 1986. John Jordan took the oath of office Monday, becoming sheriff of Cape Girardeau County; Jordan, who had worked as a lieutenant in charge of investigations during he administration of former sheriff Norman Copeland, will serve the remainder of Copeland's term, which expires Dec. 31, 1996...

Twelve tenants at 137 S. Spanish St. escaped injury yesterday morning when a fire gutted their six-unit apartment building; firefighters were on the scene for more than three hours battling the blaze. ORAN, Mo. -- Walt Madigan, a former member of the Oran Board of Aldermen, is seeking a state audit to find $11,893 reported missing in the most recent city audit; the audit for the fiscal year ending March 31 shows a cash shortage...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The Rev. Ellsworth B. Stone celebrates Mass for the last time as rector emeritus of the Church of the Redeemer in Cairo; immediately following the 10 a.m. Mass, a social gathering is held in Stone's honor at Cairo Elks Lodge; Stone, who is blind, will reside in a retirement center in Cape Girardeau...

Doris Ford, a teacher at Clippard Elementary School, completed her reign as president of the Missouri State Teachers Association earlier this month, having helped increase the group's membership 6.5%; other accomplishments she lists during her tenure are helping lead an aggressive campaign against Amendment 7 and forging a better retirement package for teachers...

Veterans Day. In observance of the holiday, parades are held in Jackson and Chaffee, Missouri; former state senator John Dennis is the honorary grand marshal of the Chaffee parade, which is sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3127; the Jackson parade is sponsored by VFW Post 10495 and American Legion Post 158; grand marshal is Edna Hopkins, a chartr member of the Jackson American Legion Auxiliary...

Profits from the 1994 SEMO District Fair were almost the same as last year, netting $46,945; the fair generated about $10,000 more in revenue this year, bringing in a total of $387,879 during its eight-day run in September; fair expenditures were almost $9,800 higher than last year, totaling $340,934...

John Oliver, with family and slaves, migrated to north Cape Girardeau County from North Carolina in 1819, "to better his condition." Uncompensated laborers made the farm very productive, providing generations of Oliver wealth and well-being. By 1860, son John Oliver Jr. enslaved 34 men, women and children, who worked 1,000 acres of land and livestock (horses, mules, oxen, cattle, sheep and swine)...

EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- Approximately 7 miles of highway from East Cape Girardeau to Gale and McClure, Illinois, will undergo improvements such as culvert extensions, stabilized shoulders and concrete resurfacing; a contract calling for flood repair work along Route 146 from the Mississippi River bridge east to the routes 146-3 intersection and Route 3 from north of Gale to north of McClure will be carried out over the next year...

Nancy Mattingly, Southeast Hospital cancer program coordinator, has received the American Cancer Society's Distinguished Service Award for Missouri, the highest award presented to an individual by the Missouri Division. Cape Girardeau's minimum property maintenance code, which is scheduled for final readings at tonight's City Council meeting, could hamper public safety officers from doing their jobs, fire chief Robert Ridgeway says; Ridgway wants the council to revise the code before giving final approval to the measure; he wants the code amended to allow police or fire officials to file complaints when they observe life- and property-threatening violations; he also wants the council to waive the five-workday waiting period to allow city inspection of properties when warranted.. ...

The Rev. Don Covington was recently certified as a rural chaplain in the United Methodist Church, a form of Christian ministry concerned with the needs of rural and small-town America; he is associate pastor of New McKendree United Methodist Church...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is wrestling with a modern-day dispute involving the pirate Blackbeard's ship that went down off North Carolina's coast more than 300 years ago. The justices on Tuesday heard arguments in a copyright case over photos and videos documenting the recovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge, discovered in 1996...

Plans to transform the historic Common Pleas Courthouse and Annex into Cape Girardeau’s new city hall will include construction of a two-level parking structure, city officials said Monday. It’s one of the reasons why the City Council approved an agreement Monday with Penzel Construction Co., in partnership with architecture firm TreanorHL, to renovate the 165-year-old Common Pleas Courthouse and the adjacent annex and construct a connecting addition at 44 N. Lorimier St...

Cape Girardeau City Council members rezoned the historic Reynolds House on Monday as a private foundation plows ahead with renovations to the brick structure. The goal is to complete work on the 162-year-old building by February, said Alyssa Phares, president of the board of directors of the James Reynolds House Foundation...

The Missouri Department of Conservation recently got 37.38 acres of natural area and named it Cape Woods; it is being placed in its Urban Wild Acres program; the land borders Hopper Road on the south and Mount Auburn Road on the west; it lies along Cape LaCroix Creek and adjoins Osage Park on the north and east; approximately 80% of the tract is young, bottom land forest and the rest grass...

The sign in front of the Pilot House restaurant says it was established in 1962 and the menus say it opened in 1961, but owner Jim Byrd says both those dates are wrong. Byrd has owned Pilot House since 1986 and, until recently, he also believed it opened in the early '60s. But a couple of weeks ago, he ran into a man who, as a teenager, worked at the Jaycee Golf Course just up the hill from the restaurant on Perryville Road north of the Cape Girardeau city limits...

The City of Cape Girardeau announced Friday afternoon a $12 million plan for Penzel Construction Co. Inc. and architecture firm TreanorHL to renovate the 165-year-old Common Pleas Courthouse and move City Hall back to its first home. Cape Girardeau City Hall — currently in the building that was once Old Lorimier School — sits at 401 Independence St...

Property owners would like the city to extend Silver Springs Road and make it a through street; a hilly stretch of land stands between the paved section ending on the south side of William Street and another ending south of Independence Street; the route would go through Saint Francis Medical Center land and the hospital doesn't want the street extended at this time...

The Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties Major Case Squad was activated yesterday evening to investigate the death of a 3-year-old boy in Cape Girardeau; Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd Jr. said Bobby J. Miller died shortly after he was taken to Southeast Hospital Wednesday morning...

Lula (Lulu) and Leona Belchamber were the daughters of James Albert Belchamber Sr. and Louvenna Elizabeth "Vinnie" Peterson. James's father, Daniel Belchamber, came from England, while his mother, Phoebe, was born in Canada. The family moved to Bollinger County, Missouri, in the 1890s. Lula Etta was born Aug. 6, 1889, in Bismark, Missouri, and Leona Alice on Nov. 23, 1896, in Glen Allen, Missouri...