Out of the past 10/5/06

25 years ago: Oct. 5, 1981

Cape Girardeau city manager Gary A. Eide has been appointed by Missouri Gov. Kit Bond to serve on a statewide committee designed to set ground rules for distribution of urban redevelopment funds in the state.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen agrees to relocate a sewer line in connection with the planned expansion of the Lee-Rowan manufacturing plant; company president E. Desmond Lee says plans call for construction of a 47,640-square-foot, metal building addition to the Jackson facility at a cost of $631,000.

50 years ago: Oct. 5, 1956

Reflecting the increase in wages given the miners, the price of coal in Cape Girardeau goes up 30 cents per ton; for most retail dealers, this means the high-grade coal commands a price of $11.25 per ton and the middle grade $9.75.

The Cape Girardeau City Council has signed a contract with the Magee-Hale Park-O-Meter Co. for 159 parking meters, 155 of which will be installed on Main Street and the other four near Courthouse Park; the 155 meters will be installed in the area on South Main Street from Independence Street to William Street, with some of them going to the new parking area to be built between Independence and Merriwether streets.

75 years ago: Oct. 5, 1931

Fire believed to have been caused by defective wiring severely damages the one-story stucco dwelling of Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Wilson, 815 N. Fountain St.; the roof is burned off and the interior gutted by the flames at 2:24 a.m.

Brickwork has been practically completed on the new residence for Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Reynolds in Rockwood Place on Normal Avenue; the two-story structure is another step in the development of the area in which three new structures have been built in recent weeks.

100 years ago: Oct. 5, 1906

The Cape Girardeau Commercial Club has formed a committee to examine freight rate conditions on the Frisco Railroad; according to reports, freight rates on forest products have been raised more than 150 percent and have been going up gradually since Frisco officials started the Chaffee, Mo., town-lot scheme; local manufacturers say they will be ruined by the high rates.

Thompson Reed of Jackson, the house mover, recently moved a large house on the Ranney farm, a half-mile southwest of the city, and the family was never disturbed; the work was done in four days and included a trip across an incline.

-- Sharon K. Sanders