Out of the past 1/22/12

25 years ago: Jan. 22, 1987

Fire late yesterday afternoon heavily damaged the home of prominent Cape Girardeau lawyer Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., 846 Karau Lane; the entire structure and contents were lost.

Former Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Larry Ferrell has been hired by the county commission to fill a newly created post of county counselor; in that capacity, he will give the commission legal opinions and represent it on various civil matters that arise.

50 years ago: Jan. 22, 1962

The mercury bobbed up to mild levels yesterday before ducking below the freezing mark later in the day; the river remains frozen solid from bank to bank and for 26 miles upstream from Cairo, Ill.

The plat for a proposed 123-lot subdivision in the southwest part of Cape Girardeau is submitted for approval to the city council, which in turn transfers it to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration; the proposed subdivision, to be called Camelot Terrace, would lie between South West End Boulevard and Minnesota Avenue south of the extension of College Street.

75 years ago: Jan. 22, 1937

Warned that floodwater from the rampaging Ohio and Mississippi rivers may break over into the newly constructed Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway, about 500 families living between the new setback levee and the river side embankment are being evacuated from their homes in wagons, motor trucks and on foot.

A severe winter blizzard struck Cape Girardeau and district late yesterday and continued throughout the night and this morning, covering trees, communication and power lines and highways with ice and sleet.

100 years ago: Jan. 22, 1912

George Finney and Alva McLain are back in Cape Girardeau after seeing a good portion of the world; they have been in Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma and have had all sorts of experiences, including a railroad accident.

A.F. Dietrich, manager of the Blue Ribbon Coal Co., returns from the coal fields of Southern Illinois where he has been looking over the coal situation; he reports favorable conditions, with coal coming in steadily in the near future, although there has been much delay at the mines in getting shipments out during the severe weather.

-- Sharon K. Sanders