History

Although they recently asked the city of Cape Girardeau for $250,000, people hoping to buy St. Vincent's College now say the loan may not be necessary; for more than a year, the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation has been looking for a way to pay off a lease-purchase agreement with the Vincentian Fathers of St. ...

Russell E. Bucklew went out with the trash; Bucklew, 28, was in the Cape Girardeau County Jail awaiting his day in court on 15 criminal charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, forcible rape and armed criminal action; at about 8:15 p.m. Monday, with the help of a prisoner trusty, Bucklew, who weighs 90 pounds, slid into a trash bag and had it tied over his head; then, with Bucklew inside, the bag was placed into a 50-gallon trash can amidst other refuse bags; another trusty, who may or may not have known that Bucklew was inside, took the trash to a large trash container outside the jail and dumped it while an unsuspecting jailer watched; after waiting an undetermined amount of time, Bucklew disappeared into the night.. ...

Russell E. Bucklew is believed to have spent the last of his 64 hours of freedom seeking revenge; he was captured Wednesday at 4:26 p.m. on Highway 177 south of Egypt Mills in a stolen truck after allegedly assaulting Barbara Pruitt and her friend Ed Frenzel; he had escaped via the jail trash Monday with the aid of a jail trusty; although Bucklew reportedly attacked Pruitt and Frenzel with a hammer, neither was seriously injured; Pruitt is the mother of the woman Bucklew is accused of kidnapping on March 21 after he allegedly killed her ex-husband.. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is Garret Wright's final article for the Southeast Missourian. He has written a history column for this newspaper since 2018. The Missourian thanks him for his contributions and wishes him well in the future. Known as the Great River Road or Blues Highway because of its link to the musical genre, United States Highway 61 begins in Wyoming, Minnesota, and terminates in New Orleans. ...

Elizabeth Dole, wife of GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, will visit Cape Girardeau tomorrow as part of a Republican campaign rally; the Victory '96 rally will be held in the Holiday Inn Oak Room from 4 to 5:30 p.m.; it won't be Elizabeth Dole's first visit to Cape Girardeau: The former labor secretary campaigned for her husband in Cape Girardeau in March 1988 during his failed primary bid for president...

Organizers say this weekend's festival was one of the most successful Riverfests ever, coming to a rousing close Saturday night as thousands packed the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse for the annual fireworks show and the golden sounds of the country band Lonestar; festival chairwoman Laurel Adkisson says attendance at the concert was the largest she's ever seen at Riverfest; with hot days relieved by cool evenings, Riverfest 1996 easily eclipsed last year's turnout, which was marred by bad weather.. ...

WASHINGTON -- The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation. The House voted 415-14 Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law...

Yesterday's Riverfest crowd was light during the hot, muggy summer afternoon; but before the festival was over, Riverfest officials estimate more than 40,000 people crowded into the downtown streets Friday and Saturday to participate in the festivities and enjoy free entertainment; events were capped by a giant fireworks display and main-stage entertainment by Lonestar, a country band that hit the top with a number one single, "No News," and top-five hit, "Tequila Talking."...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The bill would lead to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday. It is expected to easily pass the House, which would send it to President Joe Biden for his signature...

Fourty years ago, Robert Kuck sifted through an old trading post in Ohio with a metal detector. After finding several artifacts, Kuck decided he wanted to know more about the man who could've put them there. Kuck put his findings into a book published this year titled "Blood and Honor: The Life and Times of Fur Trader Pierre-Louis de Lorimier."...

Friday's hot weather didn't stop people from swarming downtown for the opening of Riverfest '96; large crowds showed up early Friday afternoon despite the near-90-degree temperatures; visitors shuffled through the many arts and crafts exhibits, and most couldn't resist the food concessions, stopping for a Riverfest corn dog, funnel cake or ice-cold beverage to fight the heat; even parents had a special place to take their children this year: the Family Fun Village...

The former Cape Girardeau school superintendent, Dr. Neyland Clark, has accepted a job as superintendent of a southern Indiana school district; he starts July 1 at the South Harrison school district in Corydon, a town about 25 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky; Clark, who served as superintendent in Cape Girardeau for 4 1/2 years, was fired last December...

A trip to the Wehking Alumni Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus will allow a visitor the opportunity to step back in time. Inside Wehking are art reproductions more than a century old, donated to the university by railroad pioneer Louis Houck...

Thunderstorms moved across Cape Girardeau County yesterday dumping 2.75 inches of rain and pea-sized hail on Cape Girardeau; power lines and trees were knocked down and streets were flooded during a mid-afternoon storm; the rain forced the lagoon in Capaha Park out of its banks, and water flowed onto Broadway; Terry Brown, 13, was hit by a car as he tried to cross the street during a downpour; he was admitted to Southeast Missouri Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition...

Assistant fire chief Max Jauch will become acting fire chief of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department July 26; Jauch will take over the duties of outgoing fire chief Robert Ridgeway, who is leaving to take a similar position in Gastonia, North Carolina...

High bids could delay the New Madrid-Henderson intersection project for a year, officials say; the Cape Girardeau City Council authorized Southeast Missouri State University to proceed with the realignment project last month; but that was contingent on bids for the joint university-city project coming in at or below the engineer's estimate; two bids were received and opened Monday; both came in well over the engineer's $590,000 estimate...

A late 19th century-era home in Jackson is one of three winners of the 2021 McReynolds Award, announced Tuesday by the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation (MAHP) in a virtual ceremony. The other two McReynolds awards were given to properties in Carthage and Kansas City, Missouri. Oldenhoener, a German immigrant mason, constructed the brick home — the William Oldenhoener House at 402 E. Adams St. — around 1893 and it is currently owned by Sara Appel...

If all goes according to plan, by the end of next year most of Cape Girardeau County's official paperwork will be shredded; there's no cover-up, corruption or scandal; the official documents and other county paperwork are simply being transferred to computer disk in order to save space; in some cases up to 5,000 pages a day are finding their way to various rooms in the county courthouse and administration building, where they've been stacking up for years...

Lynn Crader, a native of Marble Hill, Missouri, recently graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, receiving a doctor of ministry degree; he is senior pastor of Macon United Methodist Church at Macon, Missouri; his wife Kathleen is a reading and drama teacher at Macon Middle School...

One of two B-17 Flying Fortresses owned by Confederate Air Force is on display at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport today and tomorrow; for Melvin Kasten, the visit brings back memories of World War II, when he was a 19-year-old bombardier, dropping bombs on Nazi Germany from a B-17...

Cape Girardeau Fire Chief Robert Ridgeway has accepted a position in Gastonia, North Carolina, and will begin his new job July 8; Ridgeway, who came to Cape Girardeau in March 1993, will oversee seven fire stations and 130 employees in Gastonia; it is a step up from his current job, where he oversees 57 employees and four stations...

Cross Trails Medical Center and six other rural clinics around Missouri are forming a network to help meet the demands of managed care for increased efficiency in health-care services; Cross Trails, which operates clinics in Cape Girardeau and Marble Hill, has joined with clinics in Ellington, Hamilton, Richland, Kirksville, Mound City and New Madrid to form the Rural Health Development Corp...

Growing up I loved the poem by Longfellow, "The Village Blacksmith." I recall the lines, "Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands. The smith a mighty man was he, with large and sinewy hands." During the 1840s when the poem was written, there were a lot more blacksmiths in Cape than chestnut trees. ...

They filed onto the bus, one city official at a time, preparing for a marathon tour of Cape Girardeau; their schedule didn't include the Mississippi River, the Show Me Center or any of the city's more popular attractions; instead, councilmen spent yesterday looking at roads, unfinished buildings and even junk cars; Councilman Melvin Gateley suggested the group outings in 1992, the first year he was elected; he says some on the City Council questioned the tour's value at first, but now willingly participate.. ...

A half-cent use tax will go before Cape Girardeau County voters and a 1.75-cent use tax will be put before Cape Girardeau city voters Aug. 6; the Cape Girardeau County Commission and Cape Girardeau City Council decided Monday to submit the proposals to voters; the city tax would apply to purchases made by Cape Girardeau individuals and businesses who bought merchandise outside the state; because of an exemption on the tax, most individuals wouldn't be affected...

Circus performers, in town to perform at The Missourian Anniversary Show in Houck Stadium June 7, 1954, stopped in to visit with several polio victims at Saint Francis Hospital during the early afternoon. Here, Bill O’Dell shakes hands with Jerry Branch, 12, of Hornersville, Mo. Looking on, from left, are Slim Collins, Jack Harrison, Toto and his dog, Herman. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)...

When Christian Faith Academy in Cape Girardeau held its commencement last week, it likely had one of the shortest ceremonies in the area -- that's because Robert Collier and Matthew Margrabe were the only students enrolled in the Class of 1996; both students were members of the charter class at the school; they enrolled in a 4-year-old kindergarten program when the school first opened its doors in 1982 in Scott City; it is the third high school in Cape Girardeau...

The City of Cape Girardeau has announced the $12.5 million City Hall project at 44 N. Lorimier St., scheduled for substantial completion Oct. 1, now has been delayed with no new finish date set. "The delay in building materials experienced by so many people building a new home or working on home improvements has finally caught up with the City Hall project," according to a news release issued Tuesday, which praised the efforts of the design-build contractor, Penzel Construction Co...

The Board of Christian Education of Evangelical United Church of Christ awards its first scholarship and honors Sunday school teachers with a breakfast; receiving the scholarship is Adam Click of Jackson High School; he was in the top 10% of his graduating class and is a member of the National Honor Society...

The late entertainment impresario Dick Clark, longtime host of TV's "American Bandstand," used to say music "is the soundtrack of our lives." Some might argue with Clark's characterization, but few people familiar with the history of the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will challenge how important music has been historically to Missouri's 16th-largest city. ...

After talking to a suicidal man perched 60 feet above the railing of the Mississippi River bridge here early yesterday morning for more than an hour, reserve police officer Debi Oliver was able to persuade him to come down; police officer Bridget Huff and firefighter Brad Dillow went up in the fire department's aerial truck to bring him down...

As Riverfest nears and the floodgates keep opening and closing with the ups and downs of the Mississippi River, Laurel Adkisson tries to be philosophical; after all, she says, you can't expect the river not to be a factor in an event called Riverfest, and this year's theme is "Mississippi Magic"; the annual event is scheduled for June 14 and 15...

Among the mysteries of Cape Girardeau history is the naming of Sprigg Street. The assumption is the name comes from Jenifer T. Sprigg, an early resident, but the reason is unclear. A Maryland native, Sprigg was to follow the surveying profession for much of his lifetime. ...

Selecting a commencement speaker for Notre Dame and Cape Girardeau Central high schools was almost as easy as tuning in a radio station; both schools invited a radio personality to be commencement speakers Friday; the Rev. Harry Schlitt, a California radio-show host, will speak to the 1996 graduating class at Notre Dame High School; conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh III will address students at Cape Girardeau Central High School...

Memorial Day. Rain leads to the cancellation of several outdoor Memorial Day events; among them is the Joint Veterans Council's annual ceremony at North Cape County Park; chairman Ron MacCubbin says the event has been conducted in light rain before, but today's downpour, coupled with tornado warnings, makes the ceremony inadvisable...

A Memorial Day service is held in the morning at First Church of the Nazarene, 2601 Independence; the worship service features special music by Dan Keeton of Louisville, Kentucky; an all-church family picnic follows the service. Over 600 people from area churches participated in the March for Jesus in Cape Girardeau yesterday morning; the march started in Arena Park and went down Broadway to the Common Pleas Courthouse...

The days of free medical treatment are over at the Cape Girardeau County Jail; after the jail exceeded last year's $40,000 budget for medical expenses, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan decided to implement a program in which county prisoners are charged $10 for every visit they take to the doctor's office; so far, the plan has paid off with the sheriff's department already claiming a savings of more than $15,000 over last year...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston will receive more than $18,000 in state funds for its Weed & Seed program, Gov. Mel Carnahan announced during a visit yesterday; Operation Weed & Seed, conducted through the U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis, was introduced in Sikeston about a year ago in an effort to control the city's drug problem and the resulting violence; the Department of Social Services will issue an $18,000 grant to pay a Weed & Seed director's salary for one year; the Department of Public Safety will give money to the city's community-oriented policing program.. ...

Like a valued pearl, Black education developed slowly with layered persistence. Law once denied the enslaved individual education. That shameful irritant, in time, layered into a gem. In 1865, Missouri legislators reorganized the state with a new Constitution which abolished slavery and instituted public school education. ...

With less than a week remaining before the Olympic flame arrives in Cape Girardeau, the city seems ready, but the 40 runners aren't; most of the Olympic torch-runners in Southeast Missouri aren't certain about their spot in the relay route; some don't even have an official uniform yet; the information should arrive today, says Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way, which is coordinating the event locally...

Cape Girardeau attorney and former president of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents Donald L. Dickerson, whose vision led to creation of the university's River Campus, died at his home early Thursday following a lengthy illness...

The elderly and disabled don't have to worry about cuts in Cape Girardeau's taxi coupon program; despite a rate increase by Kelley Transportation Co., elderly and disabled program participants still may buy 16 rides a month for $1 each; the cost is $2 each to the general public; the City Council resolved the issue, along with others, at its regular meeting last night...

The new City Hall project is running right on time, according to the City of Cape Girardeau's project manager Anna Kangas. Construction began in June to renovate the former Carnegie Library and 165-year old Common Pleas Courthouse on North Lorimier Street into a new City Hall. A brand new structure will connect the two buildings...

Norman Brooks has been teaching art students at L.J. Schultz since the building opened as a seventh-grade attendance center 31 years ago, but this year will be his last in the classroom; Brooks and his wife, Peggy, are just two of the 23 teachers, principals and staff members of the Cape Girardeau School District who accepted a retirement incentive from the school board; in all, 27 district employees are retiring later this month...

While patriotic music played, "Team Emerson" introduced itself in Cape Girardeau yesterday to over 300 people in a room filled with red, white and blue, kicking off the congressional campaign of U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson; and for the first time since February when he began treatment for lung cancer, Emerson returned to his district to say he is doing well and looking forward to being elected to a ninth term in the U.S. House...

Missouri’s been through a lot: five wars, 57 governors, countless earthquakes and the revolutionary invention of gooey butter cake. This year marks 200 years of history Missouri has made since it became a state in 1821. To celebrate, the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) has planned several events and projects people around the state may get involved in...

A Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Advisory Board member has resigned, citing what he called a lack of an aggressive airport marketing plan and inept leadership; board member William H. Walker said this week in a letter of resignation to the City Council that "the airport is a liability, not an asset."...

The older I get, the less enthusiastic I become about my birthdays. However, should I live long enough to see my 80th, 90th or perhaps even the 100th anniversary of my birth, then yes, those birthdays will be notable and worth celebrating. There's apparently a 100th birthday coming up this week for an area organization that's also worth noting...