Recapping a century in Cape Girardeau

Year by year look at the headlines from the last century:

1904

• The Naeter brothers resurrected a failed newspaper, The Daily Republican
• Voters approved a plan to install sewers in the city.
• Passenger service began on the new Houck railroad from Cape Girardeau to Oak Ridge.
• Louis Houck donated a wealth of items from the Missouri Building of the St. Louis World's Fair to the Normal School, now Southeast Missouri State University. Included in the purchase were 58 reproductions of ancient and medieval statuary by August Gerber of Cologne, Germany.

1905

• Girardeans were jolted awake by a strong earthquake that cracked chimneys and walls in older buildings.
• Yellow fever broke out in Louisiana, eventually leading to a quarantine on incoming trains and boats.
• Jefferson School opened.

1906

• Twenty-four hour electrical service was initiated in Cape Girardeau, thanks to the innovation of The Daily Republican.
• Cape Girardeau celebrated its centennial during fair week.
• Little River Drainage District was established.
• Academic Hall was completed by contractor Edward F. Regenhardt.

1907

• The Christian Church congregation bought the Methodist Church building at the corner of Themis and Sprigg.
• The Cape Girardeau Elks Club marched from its old club house at Broadway and Spanish to its new, fireproof building at Broadway and Spanish Street.
• Carrie A. Nation, sans ax, brought her temperance campaign to Cape Girardeau, lecturing here two days.
• Centenary Methodist Church congregation began construction of a new church edifice at the northeast corner of Ellis and Bellevue streets.

1908

• The city purchased a chemical wagon and a team of two horses for the fire department.
• Cape Girardeau Countians celebrated the dedication of their new courthouse at Jackson at the first ever Homecomers.
• Instigated by the Wednesday Club, the Civic Improvement Association was formed.

1909

• President William Howard Taft, on an inspection tour of the Mississippi River, arrived in Cape Girardeau with a flotilla of 17 steamboats.
• The mayor signed a contract for the paving of Cape Girardeau's streets, beginning with Main.
• A new municipal building was constructed at the northeast corner of Frederick and Independent streets, housing the fire department, police department and police court.

1910

• The new federal building and post office at the southeast corner of Broadway and Fountain was dedicated.
• Eagle Packet Co. lost the steamer Cape Girardeau, when it struck a snag near Turkey Island. The company later shuffled its other boats, renaming the Spread Eagle as the Cape Girardeau.

1911

• Through the efforts of the Women's Relief Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fountain topped by the statue of a Civil War soldier was unveiled in Common Pleas Courthouse Park.
• The first concrete street-paving was done in Cape Girardeau, on Independence between Spanish and Frederick streets.
• Frisco Railroad began to improve the levee.

1912

• Robert S. Douglass published his "History of Southeast Missouri."
• Lightning struck the steeple of St. Vincent's Church, while parishioners enjoyed a lawn social. A number of intrepid young men doused the flames, confining the damage to the interior of the tower.
• Lorimier School graduated its first high school class, consisting of one boy and three girls.

1913

• Thomas Beckwith, a prominent landholder of Mississippi County, donated his collection of "Mound Builder" relics to the Normal School.
• The Sisters of St. Francis purchased land at Good Hope and Pacific streets from Joe Haas for construction of a new hospital. The old facility was at William and Sprigg.
• Youngsters celebrated the first municipal Christmas tree in Cape Girardeau, a gift of Frank Kimmel.

1914

• Stein and Lance Mill, also known as the Cape City Mill and the Cape City Plansifter Mill, mysteriously burned. The mill was located on Broadway near Middle.
• Cape Girardeau's public library was established. The reading room was in the Elligood Building at the corner of Themis and Spanish streets.
• Centenary Methodist Church burned.
• The new Saint Francis Hospital was dedicated.

1915

• Capt. George E. Alt, a resident of Cape Girardeau for many years, became the first Girardean to die in World War I. A subject of England, Alt died in battle on April 18.
• Girardeans voted a bond issue which provided funds to purchase the fairgrounds (now Capaha Park).
• Central High School (later named Schultz School) opened its doors.

1916

• Salvation Army established its presence in Cape Girardeau.
• The Frisco Railroad sea wall was completed.
• The first automobile funeral was held in Cape Girardeau.
• Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance was formed.
• The Dr. William Brown mansion, on an impressive site bounded Frederick, Middle, Good Hope and Morgan Oak streets, was razed. Brown had been auditor and lieutenant governor of Missouri.
• Fire destroyed several buildings on Water Street, including the Riverview Hotel, the Terminal Hotel and the Houck building, which housed Buckner-Ragsdale store.

1917

• "Aunt Ellen" Wright, whose home at 433 Themis St. was the site of the first territorial courts in the district, died at age 89.
• Police officer Albert Demortiers was slain.
• Answering Uncle Sam's call, the members of Dr. C.E. Schuchert's band enlisted en mass in the Army, becoming the official band of the Sixth Missouri Regiment.

1918

• Cape Girardeau changed its form of government from aldermanic to commission after years of admonishment by leading members of the community.
• Harry Naeter, who with brothers George and Fred Naeter operated The Daily Republican newspaper, died Feb. 22.
• The Daily Republican changed its name to The Southeast Missourian.
• Spanish influenza made its appearance in Cape Girardeau in October and didn't leave until December, with the health officer recording 1,428 cases of the dreaded disease.
• The old frame house of Andrew Giboney, built in 1835 at Elmwood, was destroyed by fire.

1919

• Through the efforts of the Commercial Club, the Cape Rock Park Association was formed to purchase St. Vincent's College property near Cape Rock.
• The name of the Normal School was changed to Teachers College.

1920

• Cape Girardeau Commercial Club changed its name to the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.
• Construction began for May Greene School and an addition to Central High School on Pacific Street, which would house the manual arts department.

1921

• Cape Girardeau Country Club was organized.
• Willis Martin, the Good Hope Street night policeman, was shot to death in the rear of Segal Shoe Store. He apparently interrupted a burglary in progress.
• Joseph A. Serena became the president of Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, succeeding Dr. Washington S. Dearmont.
• May Greene School was dedicated.

1922

• Less than eight months after the slaying of police officer Willis Martin, police chief Jeff Hutson was killed by an escaped convict, whom he was attempting to recapture.
• Reorganized following the First World War, the old Sixth Missouri Infantry became the 140th Infantry, Missouri National Guard.
• Lions began to roar in Cape Girardeau, when a charter was granted the new Lions Club, composed of 26 men.
• Culminating years of work by the Women's Council of Women, the $30,000 Carnegie Library opened its doors.

1923

• Radio Station WSAB at the Teachers College began broadcasting.
• Responding to public pressure, the county court constructed a new County Home building on the Cape Girardeau County poor farm, located on Highway 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

1924

• A new steamer is christened The Cape Girardeau at the riverfront here, before a crowd of 5,000.
• Miss-Cape-Scott Area Boy Scout Council was chartered.
• An early-morning fire on Oct. 17 destroyed the American Legion building on Broadway.

1925

• Louis Houck -- railroad builder, historian, lawyer, newspaperman, entrepreneur -- died Feb. 17 at age 84.
• Citizens voted to extend Cape Girardeau's city limits, annexing 6 1/2 square miles to the north, south and west.
• The Missourian moved into its new newspaper building.

1926

• As a tribute to Louis Houck, longtime supporter and former regent of the Teachers College, the new athletic field being built in an abandoned quarry was named Houck Field.
• Billy Sunday brought his energetic evangelical crusade to Cape Girardeau for five weeks in the spring.
• Preparations began for the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River on Morgan Oak Street. Stock worth $388,000 was sold in five-day drive to fund Cape Girardeau's share of the building costs.
• Cape Girardeau's last ferry -- the A.C. Jaynes -- replaced the Gladys.

1927

• Employees of practically every industry in town donated one day's wages to a fund to guarantee the right of way for construction of a Missouri-Pacific railway between Cape Girardeau and Ancell.
• The Mississippi River crested April 20 at 40.4 feet, the highest since 1844. Flood refugees from throughout the area were brought to Cape Girardeau.
• Stock worth $100,000 was subscribed for the construction of the Marquette Hotel.

1928

• The traffic bridge across the Mississippi River was dedicated.
• Marquette Hotel, at the northeast corner of Broadway and Fountain, opened its doors.
• Completing work that began the year previous, Southeast Missouri Hospital was dedicated.

1929

• John Philip Sousa and his band visited Cape Girardeau, giving two concerts.
• Tribute is paid May Greene for her 50 years of service as a teacher in Cape Girardeau.
• The Alvarado service station, featuring a striking Spanish architecture, was built on Highway 61.

1930

• An ice storm isolated Cape Girardeau on Jan. 9, breaking telephone lines and generally disrupting communications and transportation. On Jan. 16, the town was hit with a blizzard, and the mercury fell to 12 degrees below zero.
• In a record-breaking turnout for a municipal election, three candidates tied in the mayoral race, while 11 tied for the two commissioners' posts.

1931

• Girardeans marked the death of Dr. C.E. Schuchert, former director of the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, with the dedication of a bonze tablet at the bandstand in Common Pleas Courthouse Park.
• Cape Girardeau County's first farm-to-market road -- between Dutchtown and Whitewater, received its final inspection.
• Cape Girardeau United Daughters of the Confederacy unveiled a monument to the memory of Southeast Missouri solders who served the Southern cause in the Civil War. The monument was erected on the plaza on Morgan Oak Street, just west of the traffic bridge.

1932

• Girardeans and the rest of Southeast Missouri watched the exploits of St. Louis leather-manufacturer Denver Wright, as he staged the area's first lion hunt on an island in the Mississippi River near Commerce. The hunt ended prematurely, when a Scott County law enforcement officer and another man executed the former circus lions before Wright could track the animals down.
• Sturdivant Bank failed after more than 50 years of business.
• The traffic bridge over the Mississippi River was bought at a foreclosure sale by the Stranahan interests of Toledo, Ohio, which later sold to Sarjem Corp. of Chicago.
• A new water plant was constructed and put into use at Cape Rock Drive.

1933

• Succeeding Dr. Joseph A. Serena, Dr. Walter W. Parker became president of Southeast Missouri State Teachers College.

1934

• The era of the trolley car ended Aug. 10, when the last street car was driven into the big car barns in the 600 block of North Main St.
• Robert B. Oliver, longtime attorney and former senator and representative from Cape Girardeau County, died Oct. 16 at age 84.

1935

• Ten thousand microscopic fossil specimens, collected by A.S. Duckworth over a lifetime, were given to the Teachers College museum.
• Old Lorimier School, the first public school built in the city, was razed.
• Prominent Girardeans joined forces to protest newly elected Gov. Guy B. Parks' proposal to consolidate the governing boards of the various institutions of higher learning.

1936

• The children of L.L. Lewallen gave the Southeast Missouri Area Council of Boy Scouts the gift of 250 acres of land on St. Francis River in Wayne County, which became Camp Lewallen.
• The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus built and dedicated a new club house in the 300 block of South Spanish.

1937

• The Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA) were especially active in 1937, putting hundreds of men and women to work as new streets, parks and a new school -- New Lorimier -- were constructed.
• Using detailed plans supplied by the War Department, the site of former Civil War Fort D was restored, and a stone meeting structure was built to replace the original powder magazine.
• Overriding nay-sayers, voters approved the issuance of $55,000 in municipal bonds to purchase land and develop Arena Park.

1938

• St. Vincent's Young Ladies Academy, founded in 1838 by the Sisters of Loretto, was razed.
• An autumn tradition was founded, when The Missourian initiated its annual art exhibition.

1939

• Sadie Kent's long-held dream came true with the completion of a new library for the Teachers College. The facility had no formal name until 1943, when it became Kent Library.
• More than 1,000 Southeast Missouri sharecroppers, protesting an unfair farming system, moved to the roadsides of highways 60 and 61 in Scott, New Madrid, Mississippi and Pemiscot counties.

1940

• The WPA-built Arena Building was used for the first time, when a Golden Gloves boxing tournament was staged there in January. Later in the year, the building was dedicated, with Salvation Army General Evangeline Booth speaking to a crowd of 1,500.
• After a lapse of 11 years, the county fair opened at Arena Park.
• Local aviation received a major boost with the establishment of Consolidated School of Aviation on the Barrett Cotner farm on Highway 74.

1941

• A special election approved a proposal to furnish a site in Common Pleas Courthouse Park for a new federal building.
• Cape Transit Corp. buses were put into operation.
• The Assembly of God dedicated its church building at Sprigg and Hickory streets.
• New building of Maple Avenue Methodist Church was formally opened.
• Lloyd Dale Clippard, a sailor, became the first Girardean to lose his life in World War II. He was killed in the bombing of Pearl harbor on Dec. 7. Another sailor killed from the county was Noble B. Harris of Fruitland.

1942

• A fire in December destroyed a hangar, 24 airplanes and other equipment at Consolidated School of Aviation on Highway 74, interrupting the training of Army and Navy pilots.
• The first cadets to be trained at Harris Field on Highway 61, south of Cape Girardeau, arrived Dec. 28, and flight training began Dec. 31.

1943

• Two large metal eagles were placed atop the brick columns of the Cape Girardeau County war honor service board at the southeast corner of Capaha Park. They were a gift of Eagle Packet Co.
• Through the purchase of war bonds, Cape Girardeau residents paid for two big four-motor Flying Fortresses, two pursuit or fighter planes, and a Liberty ship.

1944

• The St. Louis Browns, who conducted spring training in Cape Girardeau, won the American League pennant, before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
• By the end of 1944, there were 3,717 Cape Girardeau County men and women in the armed services.

1945

• At midnight on Jan. 31, Cape Girardeau participated in a mandatory "brownout" ordered by the War Production Board. The order, applied to every town in the country, was designed to save coal.
• Aug. 14 brought an end to World War II and prompted spontaneous celebrations in the city. The following day, a special parade and program was attended by about 15,000 people.
• The city began renting certain facilities at Harris Field on a month-to-month basis, the first step that led to the development of Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

1946

• Southeast Missouri State Teachers College became Southeast Missouri State College.
• The dumping of trash in the Happy Hollow area off South Frederick Street was banned. The new city dump was located in a portion of Arena Park.
• Cape Special Road District purchased the traffic bridge over the Mississippi River, paying $2.37 million.
• Southeast Missouri State College received the Charles L. Harrison collection of rare books.
• The United States officially vacated Harris Field, turning it over to the Cape Girardeau Airport Board.

1947

• Two murals cast in tile were unveiled by The Missourian. The murals depicted "The Art of Printing" and "Gathering and Disseminating the News."
• In a special election, Cape Girardeau voters approved the issuance of $115,000 in bonds for the development of Harris Field into a municipal airport.
• Voters authorized the annexation of approximately three square miles on the west side of the city.

1948

• Houck Field House burned the morning of Feb. 17, the anniversary of the death of Louis Houck, in whose honor the field house was named.
• State College, in need of a basketball court, purchased the flooring from the old prisoner of war camp at Weingarten, Mo., and installed it and goals in the Arena Building.
• After 10 years of pushing by merchants, the city council agreed to install parking meters on its major thoroughfares on a sixth-month trial basis.

1949

• A tornado struck Cape Girardeau on May 21, killing 22 people, sending 72 more to the hospital and injuring hundreds more to a lesser degree. Two hundred and two houses were leveled, 231 others damaged, 19 businesses destroyed and 14 others damaged.
• City workers razed the 38-year-old grandstand in Capaha Park, paving the way for a modern facility to be erected by the Kiwanis Club, which was in the process of providing the city with its first lighted baseball diamond.
• Martin Morrison was selected as one of a 12-member jury on April 11, marking the first time an African-American sat on a jury in Federal Court here.

1950

• The worst ice storm in 23 years struck Southeast Missouri on Jan. 30, paralyzing the district before the thaw came Feb. 3. Hundreds of families spent dark, shivering days and nights as electric power was cut by frozen lines, and thousands of telephones were out of service.
• The United States' intervention in the Korean War started in June, and by the end of the year four Cape Girardeau County men had been killed in action: Richard Wilson, Bill Monroe, John A. Lynch and William E. Woods.
• The Golden Troopers, the drum and bugle corps of Louis K. Juden Post of the American Legion, strutted their stuff on the streets of Kansas City, winning the state Legion drum and bugle corps championship in the closest decision in history. The Troopers placed fifth in national competition.

1951

• Promptly at midnight, liquor began to flow again in Cape Girardeau, legalized by the town's population growth past 20,000. Nine places were licensed for liquor-by-the-drink sales and were open on New Year's Day. Prohibition had put the cork in legalized drinking on June 30, 1919.
• The new Houck Physical Education Building was put into use for the first time.
• The Rotary Club began a program to mark historical locations in town with bronze tablets.
• Fire Station No. 2, in the 1600 block of Independence Street, went into operation.

1952

• Basketball fever enveloped Cape Girardeau and the area in March, when Puxico's unbeaten Indians won over Shelbyville High Pirates to take the state Class B hoop championship for the second year in a row.
• Bethel Assembly of God was organized.

1953

• Triumph and tragedy were mixed for supporters and pupils of John S. Cobb School. On March 14, the school's basketball team won the championship of the Negro state basketball tournament. Three days later, the hard-won trophy fell victim to a fire that swept through the school at 731 Merriwether St., leaving only the gymnasium wing untouched.
• Classes began in the new Central High School on Caruthers Avenue.

1954

• Cape Girardeau Catholic High School, later renamed Notre Dame High School, was formally dedicated by Bishop Joseph E. Ritter, archbishop of St. Louis.
• Cape Girardeau's public schools were integrated for the first time when classes began Sept. 7.
• Bonnie Huffman, a Delta schoolteacher, was murdered.
• The United Fund was established in Cape Girardeau to aid six agencies: Red Cross, Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Heart Association and Teen Town.
• The city council approved the fluoridation of the town's drinking water.

1955

• The Very Rev. Marion F. Forst, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, was invested as a monsignor.
• Three years of construction ended with the formal dedication Oct. 23 of Red Star Baptist Church.

1956

• Cape Girardeau celebrated its 150th birthday, with a whiskers-growing contest, a parade, a pageant, and the crowning of Gail Finch as the Queen of the Sesquicentennial.
• Missourian co-founder George Naeter died on Nov. 10.
• The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau was erected, taking in the southern part of the state. Bishop Charles Helmsing took possession of his throne at St. Mary's Cathedral on Dec. 5.

1957

• The traffic bridge over the Mississippi River was freed in elaborate ceremonies on June 29.
• The first annual Regional Science Fair was held at Houck Field House.
• Dr. Mark F. Scully became the president of the State College, succeeding W.W. Parker.
• With the transfer of deeds, an 18-year controversy ended, and Cape Girardeau took over ownership of Common Pleas Courthouse and park. In return, the federal government received ownership of the post office property at Broadway and Fountain.
• The residents of Cape Girardeau County gave the state a 3,000-acre tract north of Cape Girardeau, which was developed as the Trail of Tears State Park.
• Construction began on the floodwall, the first section being at a midway point between Merriwether and William streets.
• Ground was broken for the construction of a new Cape Girardeau Osteopathic Hospital on Minnesota Avenue.
• Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, spoke at the closing session of the Southeast Missouri Teachers Association's 83rd annual meeting.

1958

• The Ellis-Wathen-Ranney home, one of Cape Girardeau's oldest and most beautiful residences, was razed in December.
• A 10-month lease for use of Common Pleas Courthouse was signed by the city and county, marking the first time that the county, which occupied more than half of the historic building, had paid a rental fee.
• Members of St. Andrew Lutheran Chapel dedicated their church edifice.

1959

• Cape Girardeau Civic Center was founded.
• The Cape Girardeau Police Department moved into the former Grace United Methodist Church building at Sprigg and Independence streets.
• Dr. A.J. Rasche, a retired Cape Girardeau dentist, became the first recipient of the Cape Girardeau Exchange Club's Golden Deeds Award.

1960

• The 103-year-old Ben Horrell Mill building fell victim to the wrecking ball. The brick structure was razed to make way for a parking lot.
• Marion F. Forst, D.D., was consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Dodge City, Kan.
• Doyle's Hat Shoppe, founded in 1859, closed.

1961

• The Clyde Vandivort family formally presented the Bollinger Mill at Burfordville, Mo., to the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society for preservation and development.
• Police officers Donald Crittendon and Herbert Goss were killed in a gun battle with two fugitives on U.S. 61, not far from the entrance to Arena Park.

1962

• Former President Harry S. Truman made his last official visit to Cape Girardeau in October, when he was keynote speaker at the Tenth Congressional District Democratic rally at the Arena Building. He visited Fred Naeter at The Missourian Building, leaving the impression of this heel in the wet cement of the sidewalk on the east side of the building.

1963

• African-Americans presented the city council with a civil rights petition, asking for better employment opportunities, representation on the police department, and desegregation of public facilities, such as bus and train depots.
• The postal service chose a site at Frederick and Bellevue streets for construction of its new post office.
• Kingshighway through Cape Girardeau was widened to four lanes.
• Construction of Lake Girardeau at Crump began.

1964

• The floodwall was dedicated on Oct. 22.
• Louis Houck's stone railroad depot on Independence Street, near Middle Street, was demolished, completing the work a fire had started several years before. The depot was built in 1905. Stones salvaged from the structure were turned over to the city park department for use in the construction of the State Conservation Commission building in Arena Park.
• The General Services Administration announced plans to raze the old post office building at Broadway and Fountain Street, and to purchase two strips of land to the south, including the May Greene property, with plans to build a new federal building on the site.

1965

• Voters approved a switch from the commission form of government to a city manager government.
• Elizabeth Ann "Betsy" Gill, 2 1/2-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gill, disappeared from her home at 324 S. Lorimier St. Despite the efforts of hundreds of volunteer searchers, the child was never found.
• First Presbyterian Church was razed, and plans were made for construction of a new church edifice on the same site.
• Construction began on the Towers dormitories on the State College campus.
• Fred Naeter, one of the founders of The Missourian, died.

1966

• Hawthorn School opened.
• Kage School closed after 112 years of service to the area west of Cape Girardeau.
• A bolt of lightning started a fire, which destroyed a hangar at the municipal airport and eight planes.
• Philip O. Clark murdered Mrs. Zola Clifton in her Cape Girardeau home and held five others hostage, before being captured by police.

1967

• Several prominent buildings were razed during the year, including the St. Charles Hotel on Main Street and the old post office on Broadway.
• The restaurant boat the River Queen, formerly the Cape Girardeau, sank at St. Louis.
• The former Alt home on Pacific Street, built in 1903, was razed to make way for the expansion of Trinity Lutheran School.

1968

• Robert W. Erlbacher donated the David Glenn property on South Spanish Street to the city's historical society for use as a museum.
• Spc. Robert L. Taylor, 20, was killed in action in Vietnam on March 8.
• A storm of controversy erupted over the dismissal of eight State College faculty members.
• Robert F. Kennedy, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, spoke to a crowd of 5,000 at the Town Plaza.

1969

• City transit system ended bus service after 28 years.
• State College set up a rudimentary police crime laboratory to aid area law enforcement agencies.
• New Hanover Lutheran Church was dedicated.
• Cape Osteopathic Hospital ended its service in Cape Girardeau. Patients and equipment were moved to the new Chaffee General Hospital.

1970

• Main Street Levee Improvement District and the Army Corps of Engineers joined forces to renovate Cape Girardeau's long-neglected wharf.
• Arsonists destroyed the mill operation of M.E. Leming Lumber Company and equipment of City Sanitation.

1971

• The State College Golden Eagles marching band performed at halftime of the Orange Bowl game in Miami, Fla.
• A raging storm caused damage throughout the area. It ripped the roof off the century-old Burfordville covered bridge and caused a fire that destroyed the main hangar at the municipal airport.
• A tornado struck Scott City, killing Michael Raines, injuring several others and destroying many homes.

1972

• Saint Francis Hospital received federal approval to proceed with construction of a $13,040,350 complex on Mount Auburn Road at Gordonville Road.
• Board of regents officially changed the name of the State College to Southeast Missouri State University.
• Final Interstate 55 link between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau opened with gala ceremonies at Perryville, Mo.

1973

• Lt. Cmdr. Earl G. Lewis Jr., Navy flier, was released by the North Vietnamese. He had been a prisoner of war since Oct. 24, 1967.
• Flooding Mississippi River set a new record, reaching 45.55 feet at Cape Girardeau.
• More than 1,000 people attended the dedication of the mural by Jake Wells at Kent Library, which marked the kickoff of Southeast Missouri State University's centennial celebration.
• Plans for the construction of a $13.6 million shopping center, to be called Westborough Mall, were revealed.

1974

• The independent truckers' strike moved into Cape Girardeau. Forty truckers shut down their rigs in front of fuel pumps at Rhodes City Truck Plaza on Nash Road to protest high fuel prices.
• A circuit court ruling that a new county law complex could be built on the County Farm, just inside Cape Girardeau's city limits, revived talk of moving the county seat from Jackson to Cape Girardeau.
• General Baptists dedicated their new church at 1812 Cape LaCroix Road.
• Dr. Robert E. Leestamper was named the 11th president of the 101-year-old Southeast Missouri State University, succeeding Dr. Mark F. Scully, who was set to retire in 1975.

1975

• The county court overturned its earlier decision to build the new law enforcement center at the County Farm.
• Silt build-up postponed the opening of Wescoat Marina at Trail of Tears State Park.
• The city council agreed to purchase closed Lorimier School from the board of education for $200,000, with plans to offer the building to the Public Library board of trustees as the site for a new library.

1976

• Jackson petitioned for annexation of a total of 1,525 acres of land eastward along Highway 61 to Interstate 55 to include part of the industrial land Cape Girardeau had taken steps to annex.
• The Cape Girardeau Police Department moved from the former Grace United Methodist Church building to its new headquarters at the northeast corner of Sprigg and Merriwether Streets.
• The new $17 million Saint Francis Medical Center was dedicated.
• Broadway was made a one-way street, eastbound -- from Main to Pacific streets -- in an effort to cut down on accidents and improve traffic flow.
• The new St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was dedicated.

1977

• A wrecking ball demolished the former Grace United Methodist Church at the southwest corner of Sprigg and Independence to make way for the new Fire Station No. 1.
• Two-way traffic was restored to the section of Broadway from Main to Lorimier streets, but it remained one-way from Lorimier to Pacific streets.
• Mrs. Mary Parsh and her daughter, Brenda Parsh, were found bound and shot in the family home on Koch Avenue.
• Historic Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church won a reprieve from the wrecking ball. It was designated a Chapel of Ease and placed under the jurisdiction of St. Mary's Cathedral Parish.

1978

• Trinity Lutheran Church, deemed unsafe, was torn down.
• City employees moved their offices from historic Common Pleas Courthouse to the new city hall, formerly Lorimier School.
• The first Riverfest was held in Downtown Cape Girardeau.

1979

• Approximately 120 city employees, including all of the Cape Girardeau firefighters and members of the Public Works Department, walked from Cape Girardeau to Jackson along Highway 61 in defiance of a back-to-work order issued by Circuit Court Judge Stanley A. Grimm.
• St. Vincent's College on Morgan Oak Street closed its doors.
• A blizzard brought a record two-foot showfall, blown into 10-foot drifts, to Cape Girardeau and the vicinity.
• Rep. Bill D. Burlison spoke at the dedication of the new Cape Girardeau County Jail in Jackson.
• Dr. Bill Stacy, dean of the graduate school, was selected interim president of Southeast Missouri State University, replacing Dr. Robert E. Leestamper.
• Police determined that the death of Deborah Martin in her Mother Earth plant store on Broadway was homicide.

1980

• Dr. Harold O. Grauel placed the first book -- a Bible -- on a shelf of the new Cape Girardeau Public Library.
• Dr. Bill W. Stacy was named permanent president of Southeast Missouri State University.
• New city-and-school-owned swimming pool at Central High School was opened.
• Police investigated the disappearance of Southeast Missouri State University instructor Margaret Smith.

1981

• The body of Margaret Smith was found Feb. 24 off Highway 177. A 16-year-old boy was charged with the murder.
• Cape Girardeau Fire Department moved into its new facility at Sprigg and Independence streets.
• The old fire station at Independence and Frederick streets became the home of the Cape River Heritage Museum.
• Cape Girardeau voters said yes to a charter government.

1982

• Mrs. Margie Call was found murdered in her home on Brink Ave.
• The Reynolds House on North Main was donated to the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau.
• The new Trinity Lutheran Church was dedicated.
• Seven-year-old Dejan Kocevski was found locked in the basement of his burning home.
• Brian Andrew Abbott was convicted of the murder of Margaret Smith.
• The slain body of Mildred Wallace was found in her home on William Street.

1983

• Traffic once more flowed in both directions on Broadway, after the city council lifted the one-way restriction from Lorimier to Pacific.
• In heavy balloting, Cape Girardeau voters approved the construction of a multipurpose building.
• The body of Deborah Manning was found 2 1/2 miles north of Chaffee on County Road 249, the victim of multiple stab wounds.
• Kenneth Wood, 61, a Wisconsin truck driver, was found, bullet-riddled, along Interstate 55.
• A natural gas leak caused the explosion and fire at 233 North Clark Ave., killing Bertha L. Buchheit immediately and fatally injuring her husband, Walter A. Buchheit.

1984

• Riverfront Park was dedicated.
• After two years of discussion, the old Southeast Missouri State University farm site near Sprigg and New Madrid streets was chosen as the location for the new $13 million mulitipurpose building. The choice sparked more controversy.
• Timothy Ruopp, a native of Cape Girardeau and a San Diego, Calif., police officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty.
• Douglas Wayne Thompson, on trial for the third time for the killing of Cape Girardeau auxiliary police officer Herbert Goss in 1961, was again convicted.
• Rickie Dean Burton was shot and killed by an auxiliary police officer, after Burton advanced on the officer with a knife at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

1985

• Highway patrolman James M. Froemsdorf, a resident of Cape Girardeau before joining the force in 1975, was shot and killed March 2 near Brewer, Mo., by a motorist he stopped on suspicion of speeding. Jerome Mallet was charged with his murder.
• Ground was broken for new $13.2 million multipurpose building on Southeast Missouri State University campus.
• What was to have been a celebration of the culmination of 11 years of work on an airplane built by Dr. John T. Crowe, ended in tragedy as the small, rear-prop aircraft plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff, killing the test pilot.

1986

• The State of Missouri accepted Cape Girardeau County's offer of land adjacent to Memorial Park near the Interstate 55-U.S. 61 intersection for the site of a new veterans home.
• The intersection of Main and Themis streets was redesigned, and an old-fashioned, $25,000 street clock was installed in the center of the intersection.
• A night of severe weather ravaged Cape Girardeau and Scott County on May 15 with tornadoes, hail, unrelenting rains and flash flooding. Two people were killed in Cape Girardeau and one each in Vanduser, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo. Cape Girardeau's Town Plaza and West End area was deluged.
• More than 42,000 people made up a human chain through Cape Girardeau County, as locals took part in the nationwide Hands Across America.

1987

• A committee called for an 8,000-acre lake to be built in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties. The plan prompted immediate support and opposition.
• Southeast Missouri State University discontinued its laboratory school.
• Gary Smith of Jackson was charged with the murder of Donna C. Younts.
• Comedian Bob Hope closed grand opening week of the Show Me Center.
• Fire destroyed Southside Baptist Church, 805 Hackberry St.

1988

• Trail of Tears State Park's new visitor and interpretive center was dedicated.
• The remains of Lt. Col. Robert Gregory, a native of Cape Girardeau, and four others were identified among bodies of 17 servicemen returned to the United States from Hanoi, Vietnam. Gregory's remains were brought back to Cape Girardeau for burial at Memorial Park.
• A new newspaper -- the Cape Girardeau News Guardian -- hit the streets. Primary investor was Jim Drury.
• On Sept. 14, Ronald Reagan became only the second sitting president to visit Cape Girardeau. He spoke at the Show Me Center.
• Three people were killed when the Saint Francis Medical Center's Air Evac helicopter, transporting a youth who had been injured in an automobile accident, crashed and burned in a fog-shrouded field southwest of Cape Girardeau.

1989

• Annexation dispute between Cape Girardeau and Jackson was resolved. The Jackson Board of Aldermen voted to drop from its annexation plan two areas in conflict with Cape Girardeau's plan.
• The Provincial Administration of Vincentian Fathers offered historic St. Vincent's College for sale.
• Dr. Bill W. Stacy was chosen to become the first president of California State University at San Marcos. Dr. Robert W. Foster became interim president of Southeast Missouri State University.

1990

• Dr. Kala Stroup was named president of Southeast Missouri State University.
• Fire swept through the 1868 Old Opera House building at the northwest corner of Broadway and Lorimier Street.
• Iben Browning scared the district by predicting an increased chance of a massive earthquake on Dec. 3, which didn't materialize.

1991

• Astronaut Linda Godwin, a native of Oak Ridge, orbited the earth in the space shuttle Discovery.
• The question of building a 7,700-acre recreation lake in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties ended, when Bollinger Countians chose not to vote on the issue.
• The new Department of Conservation facility in County North Park was dedicated.

1992

• Stephen Limbaugh Jr. was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
• Sherry Scheper and her two sons, Curtis and Randy, were slain in their home at 31 N. Henderson Ave.
• Evelyn Sparks, her daughter Bridgett Harris, and grandson Dontay Harris were the victims of the second triple homicide in Cape Girardeau in just over a month.

1993

• The flood of 1993 bested the flood of 1973, setting a new record of 48.49 feet on Aug. 8. The previous record was 45.6 feet.
• Contractors began knocking down buildings for the new Mississippi River bridge route.
• Historic Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church burned to the ground.

1994

• Michael Davis, 25, of St. Louis died as the result of injuries he received during a hazing ritual. Several members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity were charged with involuntary manslaughter in his death.

1995

• The Cape Girardeau Board of Education fired superintendent Dr. Neyland Clark and his assistant, ending months of controversy in the school district.
• Dr. Kala Stroup resigned as president of Southeast Missouri State University to become Missouri's commissioner of higher education.
• The Mississippi River is above flood level at Cape Girardeau for 54 days, reaching a crest on May 24 of 46.7 feet, the second highest level after the 1993 flood.
• Cape Girardeau voters approved a half-cent transportation sales tax.

1996

• Bill Emerson, an eight-term House member, died from lung cancer on June 22, just weeks after launching a re-election bid. His widow, Jo Ann, was elected to her husband's seat.
• President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, along with their wives, visited Cape Girardeau, taking part in a rally at Capaha Park that was attended by about 30,000 people.
• Leaving behind a cherished legacy, Rush Hudson Limbaugh, one of Cape Girardeau's favorite sons and the nation's oldest practicing lawyer, died April 8 at the age of 104.
• Construction began on the new Mississippi River traffic bridge.

1997

• State and local officials were on hand for the dedication of the new Highway 74 bridge route.
• City officials cut the ribbon, officially opening the $2.5 million Osage Community Centre.
• Dr. Dale F. Nitzschke became the 16th president of Southeast Missouri State University, succeeding Dr. Kala Stroup.

1998

• Southeast Missouri State University promised new life for the historic St. Vincent's College by turning the property into a visual and performing arts school. In November Cape Girardeau voters approved a measure to use motel-hotel and restaurant tax money to help pay for the project. But a companion measure that would have allowed the city to issue general obligation bonds to help fund the project failed to receive the necessary four-sevenths majority.
• Notre Dame Regional High School began classes in a new $6.7 million building along Route K.
• Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball program was placed on probation for three years and lost a scholarship for violating NCAA regulations under former coach Ron Shumate.

1999

• An altercation between a motorist and a Cape Girardeau police officer led to a melee in the 300 block of Good Hope as customers were leaving the Taste Restaurant and Lounge. Angry spectators threw rocks, bricks and cinder blocks at officers and patrol cars that converged on the scene.
• Ricky Joe Franks, 26, of Michigan was convicted of first degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Erica Lee Springer of Cape Girardeau.
• Cape Girardeau School District took formal control of its newest elementary school -- Blanchard.

2000

• County voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure to introduce planning and zoning in rural parts of Cape Girardeau County.
• On Aug. 30, Gary Roll of Cape Girardeau was executed for the 1992 murder of Sherry Scheper and her sons, Curtis and Randy.
• Cape Girardeau voters passed a $18 million bond issue to build a new high school. Likewise, Jackson voters approved a a $6 million bond proposal, after two failed attempts.
• Firefighters responded to a house fire in rural Cape Girardeau County to find a 57-year-old woman had been shot in the head and burned over the lower half of her body. Joshua Wolf, 16, confessed to killing his grandmother, Carolyn Lindley.

2001

• Cape Girardeau police officers Keith May and Bradley Moore were shot in a gun battle at the Super 8 Motel. The officers, investigating a tip from the SEMO Drug Task Force, returned fire, killing their assailant.
• Jerome Mallet, who was convicted of the 1985 shooting death of highway patrolman James Froemsdorf, was executed on July 11.
• Along with the rest of the nation, area residents mourned the deaths of those killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

2002

• In an attempt to offset major decreases in state funding during 2002, Southeast Missouri State University's board of regents gradually implemented several budget-saving moves involving $5.26 million in cutbacks that affected university employees and students.
• After 21 years of vacancy, the deteriorating Marquette Hotel at the corner of Broadway and Fountain Street was sold to Prost Builders after the Missouri Division of Facilities Management awarded the company a state contract for office space.
• The $17 million Central High School at 1000 S. Silver Springs Road officially opened its doors to students in September.
• Cape Girardeau neurologist Dr. Mohammad Shakil, his wife, Farida, and their four children were killed in a plane crash in central Arkansas after spending the weekend at a film festival in Hot Springs, Ark.

2003

• The new $100 million Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge was opened.
• An F3 tornado struck Jackson on May 6, ripping through the heart of the town and leaving a path of destruction a half-mile wide and 2 miles long.
• Fourteen people, most of them teenagers, were burned when someone tossed a gasoline can into a bonfire on a county road in rural Cape Girardeau County. The can exploded, causing drops of fire to rain down on the crowd.
• Cape Girardeau hotel entrepreneur Jim Drury reached a settlement with Cape Girardeau officials, ending more than five years of lawsuits that stalled the $36 million River Campus project.

2004

• Concerns over the structural integrity of the post office at 320 N. Frederick St., forced postal officials to move the post office to temporary quarters at Good Hope and Christine streets.
• Two Illinois brothers were charged in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Anton S. Miller at the Taste after-hours club. The operator of the club closed its doors permanently the following month.
• The first two implosions to rid Cape Girardeau of its antiquated Mississippi River bridge went off without a hitch. The third blasting, however, toppled not only the span nearest the Cape Girardeau shore as planned, but two other spans as well.