Out of the past: Oct. 7

1999

Southeast Missouri State University yesterday dedicated its waterfall fountain in front of Kent Library, celebrating what school President Dr. Ken Dobbins called the “front door to our university”; about 125 persons attended the dedication of the Kala M. Stroup Fountain on the Plaza; it’s named for Missouri’s commissioner of higher education and the university’s 14th president; the fountain cost $72,000 to construct; Stroup, who suggested the project, and her husband, Joe, donated $38,000 for the water feature.

Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. has become the second two-time winner of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce’s Commitment to Excellence award; P&G, the chamber’s third Industry of the Year recipient in 1990, received the Industry of the Year trophy again yesterday at the chamber’s Industrial Appreciation Dinner at the Show Me Center.

1974

WARE, Ill. – Schools in the Shawnee Unit School District are open, but neither teachers, cooks, custodians, school nurses nor bus drivers report for work; the Shawnee Education Association makes good its threat to strike this morning, if the Board of Education didn’t meet the group’s demand for a restructuring of the pay scale; both certified and non-certified personnel are united in the work boycott.

Everyone’s heard of mudslinging in a political campaign; Cape Girardeau County Democrats this morning don’t get mud, but they do get plenty of tar; the party’s county headquarters in the 400 block of Broadway falls victim to the city street overlay program, when a nozzle on an oil-spraying truck breaks; the black, sticky liquid is sprayed all over the front of the building; crews cover the sidewalks with sand and then begin scraping up the mess, but the Democrats are wondering how to get the oil off the windows and doors; across the street at Republican headquarters, the office workers are gleeful.

1949

Engineer E.E. Talley, 63, of Chaffee was killed, but three crew members riding in the cab with him were able to jump, escaping with minor injuries, when two Frisco freight trains crashed near Memphis, Tennessee, yesterday afternoon; the collision occurred inside the confines of the Memphis terminal of the Frisco about a mile from the Mississippi River bridge; injured were head end brakeman Ralph Lake and fireman W.G. Hall, both of Chaffee, and third brakeman, H.T. Wilburn of Hayti.

The new citadel of the Salvation Army at 215 Broadway will be dedicated at ceremonies Saturday and Sunday, announces Maj. Leonard Burridge, Corps officer; to be here for the services will be Col. and Mrs. Edwin Clayton of Chicago, Col A.E. Ramsdale, division commander of St. Louis, Mrs. Ramsdale; Maj. Clyde Cox, division secretary of St. Louis, and the Tower Grove Citadel Band.

1924

With spirited bidding in evidence, the dispersal sale of the Egypt Mills Guernsey Club gets underway under a large tent at Fairground Park; more than 500 spectators are present to see around 200 of the county’s finest dairy cattle auctioned off in a two-day sale.

Ray Webb and Lee James, proprietors of the North Main Street Garage, announce they have been made distributors for Overland and Willy-Knight automobiles in Cape Girardeau, having assumed the agency this morning; Walt and James succeed O.G. Edwards and Al Dittlinger, who have held that agency for the past few years.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a weekend column called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper.