Out of the past 11/11/14

1989

Two military officers urge people at separate Veterans Day ceremonies to take time to express their appreciation to members of the armed forces; they are urged to do so by Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Thomas C. Shoger of Cape Girardeau, who addresses a Cape Girardeau Joint Veterans Council ceremony at Cape County Park, and by Air Force Capt. Mary C. Hough of Cape Girardeau, who speaks at a Jackson American Legion Post 158 ceremony at Jackson Elementary School.

Members of West Germany's national basketball team, here to play the Southeast Missouri State University Indians, voice excitement and surprise at the firestorm of change sweeping East Germany; people are pouring across borders from East to West Germany; souvenir hunters are snatching up pieces of the Berlin Wall as Germany reunites.

1964

Following the annual Veterans Day parade down Broadway, State Sen. Albert M. Spradling Jr. of Cape Girardeau speaks at ceremonies in the State College auditorium.

Willis E. Baker, 87, is fatally injured early in the afternoon, when a tree falls on him while he is burning leaves in the back yard of his Cape Girardeau residence; a strong gust of wind apparently snaps the large tree off about 10 feet from the ground, falling directly on Baker.

1939

The flying of flags from the lamppost brackets along the city's business sections constitutes the only visible observance of Armistice Day in Cape Girardeau; with the exception of the two banks and the post office, local business takes no official notice of the ending of the World War 21 years ago.

So that a flag can be raised on Armistice Day, Commissioner Phillip H. Steck takes some members of the fire department to Trinity Lutheran School in the morning to replace a pulley at the top of the staff; the pole is 50 feet high.

1914

Mr. and Mrs. Emil Bahn will move into their beautiful new home at the corner of Themis and Middle streets in a few days; it is built in the colonial style.

Fred Groves, manager of the Southeast Missouri Motor Car Co., has landed the agency for the Ford automobile in Cape Girardeau and the territory; it is said that another agency that has enjoyed the sale of Ford cars for several years lost the contract for some reason and that Groves took it.

-- Sharon K. Sanders