Out of the past 1/29/06

25 years ago: Jan. 29, 1981

The founder of Superior Electric Co., Edmund L. Haas of Camarillo, Calif., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Jan. 27 in Camarillo at age 88; Haas established the Superior Electric Co. in St. Louis in 1922 and moved the facility to Cape Girardeau in 1938; in addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Edmond Haas of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Former Iranian hostage Gunnery Sergeant Michael Moeller will be visiting the Caruthersville, Mo., home of Grace Ridgeley Nasci, Moeller's mother-in-law, around Valentine's Day; Nasci is making preparations for a family celebration in honor of Moeller and his wife Lisa's homecoming.

50 years ago: Jan. 29, 1956

About 15 members of the American Legion Post at Benton, Mo., many of them new members who a short time before had been inducted in formal ceremonies, were overcome yesterday afternoon by fumes from what may have been a defective gas heater.

The Missourian reduces the width of its newspaper, going from 34 1/2 inches to 33 inches; the change is made possible by a reduction in the margin space and by a pre-shrinkage process; there is no loss in news or advertising space because of the change.

75 years ago: Jan. 29, 1931

Girardeans don't need to go to Florida this winter; the last few days have been unusually warm, with temperatures generally hovering in the 40s and going as high as 65; today's high is 51 degrees, compared to 10 degrees a year ago; the warm weather has caused peach buds to swell, and it is a matter of argument whether the peach crop will survive.

The Ranney house, 501 N. Main St., one of the most beautiful homes in the city, is offered for sale in the Southeast Missourian real estate listings; the stone house, constructed with slave labor, consists of 18 rooms and sits on a lot measuring 105 by 220 feet.

100 years ago: Jan. 29, 1906

General manager W.M. Harley arrives on the early morning train with a number of skilled mechanics, and they prepare to install machinery that was shipped from St. Louis several days ago for the new shoe factory; Harley expects to have everything in running order by the end of the week.

Mrs. Mary Steele, who was formerly Miss Mary Block of Cape Girardeau, died in Brooklyn, N.Y., yesterday; she was a sister of Mrs. Robert Whitelaw and Mrs. M.E. Shelton of this city.

-- Sharon K. Sanders