Out of the past 10-4-06

25 years ago: Oct. 4, 1981

Fire investigators believe arson was the cause of two fires over the weekend that severely damaged a tavern on Big Bend Road and a residence on North Park Avenue in Cape Girardeau; firefighters were called to Kinder's Country Jamboree Tavern and dance hall Sunday morning; a newer addition to the building sustained severe smoke and heat damage, and the older section was a total loss.

One Cape Girardeau County department has already spent more than it was budgeted and several others are expected to top their 1981 budgets by the end of the year; the County Nursing Service has spent 134 percent of its $27,433 budget.

50 years ago: Oct. 4, 1956

A permanent fire-prevention bureau set up within the fire department to provide year-round inspections in Cape Girardeau will be inaugurated during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 7 through 14.

Librarians, some 250 of them from throughout the state, attend the first sessions of the three-day State Librarians Association Convention, which begins at State College; in the evening, Dr. Charles VanRavenswaay, director of the Missouri Historical Society, will address the gathering on "What Makes History?"

75 years ago: Oct. 4, 1931

A number of Girardeans participate in a pilgrimage sponsored by the DeAndries Council of the Knights of Columbus of St. Louis to the tomb of the Rev. Felix DeAndreis at St. Mary's Seminary in Perryville, Mo.; the Rev. Thomas Coyne of Cape Girardeau delivers the sermon, and the Rev. Bart Keaney, chaplain of the St. Louis council, celebrates Mass; the occasion is the 100th anniversary of the birth of DeAndreis.

The Right Rev. James A. Greeg of Kansas City, Kan., bishop of the Fifth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Church, speaks at the morning services at St. James A.M.E. Church.

100 years ago: Oct. 4, 1906

The Daily Republican, under the management of George, Fred and Harry Naeter, celebrates its second birthday; the daily newspaper is delivered to more than 1,200 homes in Cape Girardeau, is sent to more than 300 people on the rural routes and to more than 100 people living in other parts of the county.

The electric signs and other decorations for the Cape Girardeau Centennial celebration around the courthouse were lighted up last night for a test; the effect is fine and lights the neighborhood brilliantly.

-- Sharon K. Sanders