Out of the past 1/19/06

25 years ago: Jan. 19, 1981

The $3 million Southeast Missouri Hospital Regional Oncology Center begins receiving patients on a limited basis; the medical oncology floor is the first to receive patients, with the radiation oncology floor scheduled to be fully operational later this month.

Cape Girardeau County government will operate this year on a $4.8 million total operating budget; the county court approves the 1981 budget, which represents a substantial increase over last year's $3.4 million budget.

50 years ago: Jan. 19, 1956

Winter dumped a 7-inch snow blanket on Cape Girardeau and a wide area overnight, leaving highways and streets slippery, causing numerous traffic accidents, slowing travel to a crawl and closing almost all schools the area, including those in Cape Girardeau.

BENTON, Mo. -- Voters of the R-4 school district will go to the polls Jan. 31 to consider a bond issue of $371,000 which would permit construction of a high school, if approved; the location of the new school would be on what is known as the Crumpecker place, about 5 1/2 miles southeast of Benton on Highway 55.

75 years ago: Jan. 19, 1931

County Agent E.T. Mallinckrodt announces a committee of three men to investigate applications for farm loans in Cape Girardeau County as soon as instructions have been received from regional headquarters in St. Louis; the county committee will be composed of A.A. Boss and W.A. Sander of Jackson and Louis Matthews of Randles.

Richard C. Mabrey, 63, is instantly killed at Ancell, when he is struck by a northbound Missouri Pacific as he is crossing the Cotton Belt tracks one-fourth mile west of the Highway 61 viaduct over the railroad; Mabrey farmed near Ancell; he is survived by his widow and a daughter.

100 years ago: Jan. 19, 1906

The night switchmen at the Frisco Railroad yards are out on strike; last night, enough men couldn't be mustered to perform the work that is necessary to get the trains out of the yards; officers in the city took their places as far as possible, and cars started moving, if a little late.

Nearly half of the population of Tent Town has acted upon evacuation orders handed them by the Frisco Railroad; some are moving to other parts of the city, some across the river, and some to other towns.

-- Sharon K. Sanders