Out of the past 10/17/08

25 years ago: Oct. 17, 1983

Scott City Mayor William Dickey resigned his office last night; the Rev. Dickey said he felt compelled to step down for health reasons; he had been mayor since 1980.

Jim Johannes, owner of a salvage yard along U.S. 61 South at the Jackson city limits, has requested annexation of the property on the opposite side of the highway; Johannes plans to expand his business onto the new property, and he wants the annexation to make the new property eligible of city public utilities.

50 years ago: Oct. 17, 1958

Presidency of the Southeast Missouri Teachers Association next year will pass to Warren Black, superintendent at Herculaneum, Mo., and the following year to John Lawrence, superintendent at Bloomfield, Mo., through action taken by the House of Delegates at their annual meeting yesterday.

Application blanks for a hula hoop contest sponsored by the Coffee Drinkers Club are being distributed to all schools in the Cape Girardeau district; the contest will be held in two parts -- the preliminaries Oct. 28, and the finals Nov. 1 -- at the Arena Building.

75 years ago: Oct. 17, 1933

A special election on the utilities franchise, originally set for Friday, is reset for Nov. 14 by the Cape Girardeau City Council; it will determine whether the Missouri Utilities Co. will be given another 20-year franchise to operate its light and water plants in the city.

Cape Girardeau County has been allotted 2,100 pounds of government cured pork for relief distribution during October; about half will be distributed under the supervision of county welfare officer George Seibert of Jackson, and the remainder in Cape Girardeau by the Central Relief Organization.

100 years ago: Oct. 17, 1908

Democratic Sen. William J. Stone spoke at the Common Pleas Courthouse last night to a large crowd; he held his audience for more than two hours, although many were compelled to stand throughout; he handled his subject in a masterful manner, discussing national issues as only a man of like experience can.

R.W. Beall, night clerk of the Terminal Hotel, says he has failed to find a suitable location for an athletic club; 20 men had signaled their desire to join such a club.

-- Sharon K. Sanders