Out of the past 10/23/06

25 years ago: Oct. 23, 1981

The finishing touches are going on the new Trinity Lutheran Church, including giving back to the Cape Girardeau skyline something that has been missing since the old church was demolished; a new steeple was lifted onto the church tower Thursday; the 43-foot steeple was built of lead-coated copper by a firm in Campbellsville, Ky.

Despite talk that a state cash flow problem may delay December aid payments to Missouri's public schools, colleges and universities, that cash flow will have only a minimum affect on Southeast Missouri State University, says university president Dr. Bill Stacy; he dispels rumors that faculty and staff at the school won't be paid in December.

50 years ago: Oct. 23, 1956

Thieves in the morning burglarize the front display window of Pind's Jewelry Store, 3 N. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau, relieving it of about $1,400 worth of watches, rings, cigarette lighters and automatic pencils; operator of the store is Lester E. Pind.

A bid submitted by A.G. Edwards & Sons of St. Louis offering the lowest net interest charge from among 10 competing firms for Cape Girardeau's $149,000 swimming pool bonds was accepted yesterday by the city council.

75 years ago: Oct. 23, 1931

A movement has been started to have the body of Lt. Gov. Wilson Brown removed from a little cemetery between Cape Girardeau and Ancell to the plaza in front of Academic Hall at Teachers College.

A steeplejack gives the flag pole in the county courthouse yard at Jackson a coat of aluminum paint, while passersby gasp and crane their necks; he has several ropes stretched from the top of the pole to trees and other solid fastenings in the ground to keep the pole from swaying too much.

100 years ago: Oct. 23, 1906

An old frame house just north of Broadway on North Main Street, just emptied, was destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon; the house was a long one and was built on the rocks at the foot of the bluff of Old Fort A; the dry wood made a blaze that lit up the entire city.

Delegates arriving for the big Baptist convention find that the hotels are filled to the roofs with Baptists and no rooms are available; Dr. M.A. Grissom, one of the most faithful Baptists of the city, takes about a dozen of the roomless travelers to his office, where he makes them as comfortable as possible.

-- Sharon K. Sanders