LOOKING BACK AT JACKSON

25 years ago: 1973

City of Jackson's plans for annexation will face opposition from city of Cape Girardeau; Cape Girardeau's city council has approved resolution opposing "any attempt by the city of Jackson to annex territory beyond the halfway point between our two existing city limits"; vote on annexation could come by early fall.

Cape Girardeau County and its incorporated areas have received total of $183,305 in federal revenue-sharing funds for second quarter of 1973; city of Cape Girardeau's allocation was $106,811; Jackson, $13,072; Gordonville, $94; Oak Ridge, 143; Pocahontas, $162; Whitewater, $137; Delta, $777, and Appleton, $61.

Members of Cape Girardeau County Disaster Planning and Operations office and County Court plan to meet soon to discuss hiring of new director and secretary; disaster office has been without director and secretary since resignations July 1 of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Swann, who serviced in those capacities, respectively.

Construction of Jackson's new Chamber of Commerce building at Highways 61 and 25 should be under way in about a month, says chamber president Melvin Lichtenegger during chamber's monthly meeting Monday night at Wayside Inn.

Rising food prices coupled with expected decrease in government commodities forced Jackson R-2 Board of Education Tuesday night to raise all lunch prices five cents; parents sending their children to high school, however, will get some financial relief this school year; board voted to do away with $9 incidental fee for high school pupils and $7 fee for ninth graders.

50 years ago: 1948

Additional five persons arrived over weekend to join group of workers and office personnel of American Telegraph & Telephone Co. engaged in laying underground cables in this area; this brings personnel to approximately 45 now residing in Jackson, Fruitland, Cape Girardeau and farm homes; work is to be completed in four weeks.

Workers of Penzel Construction Co. with power hammers have begun tearing away concrete step at First Baptist Church; steps have crumbled away necessitating rebuilding; hammer made rapid progress.

Ordinance levying annual city tax for general revenue, cemetery fund, public library, sewer fund, band, and park for year ending May 1949 was fixed Monday night at City Council meeting; Jackson taxpayers will pay $1.25 on each $100 valuation this year; in other action, City Council agreed to provide one worker to assist committee of Chamber of Commerce in spraying streets and alleys with DDT.

Concrete floor of Public Library Building will be poured this week and afterwards roof will be made; it is expected that library can be moved into basement structure within four weeks.

Contract has been let to Landgraf Construction Co. for construction of new school building at Zion Lutheran Church at Pocahontas; building won't be completed by beginning of school year, but present building will be in use.

Large barn of Ernest Wallis, 1 1/2 miles south of Millersville, burned with total loss Thursday at noon; during small electric storm when little rain fell and there were only few bolts of lightning, barn was struck; Bill Mouser, neighbor, was first to see flames and in 30 minutes approximately 50 autos gathered with nothing to be done; lost in fire were 30 loads of fine hay, 500 bushels of freshly threshed wheat, harness, new hammer mill, cut-off timber saw, cultivators and other farm machinery.

75 years ago: 1923

J.H. Whitehirst, experienced hotel man of Osceola, Ark., was in Jackson recently investigating proposition of taking over Central Hotel, which is being remodeled and made modern.

About this time each year those who contemplate move from farm to city begin their preparations for change; this year all former records will be smashed; number of those who figure that city offers better opportunities is surprisingly large this year; notices of sale of farm machinery and livestock are posted everywhere; as result, dwelling houses in town are at premium; not many are being built, because of outrageous price of building material.

Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Macom have returned from near Sullivan, where they camped out 10 days and held reunion of Denney family; they report a great time and plenty of rain.

Tuesday was hottest day so far experienced in Jackson this year; government thermometer mounted to 103 1/2 degrees during hours immediately following noon; every day since July 3, temperature in Jackson has been more than 90, and there has been no rain to speak of since June 28.

Four boys Tuesday took competitive examination prescribed by State Fair Board for young farmers who wish to represent their county in Boy's School at State Fair in Sedalia; those taking exam were Oscar Kies, Tom Lewis, Ozro Browning and Roy Welch.

City Marshal Robert Reed has bought brick house on East Main, formerly Evangelical Church parsonage, and will move into it soon.