Out of the past 11/26/07

25 years ago: Nov. 26, 1982

Police say they intend to step up efforts to slow down traffic on Route K from Kingshighway to Interstate 55 because of an increasing number of serious accidents; Patrolman Randy Roddy says speeding traffic is sometimes a contributing factor in the accidents.

Becky Sides, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim sides, Route 1, will participate this weekend in competition for the Miss Missouri Pageant at Lake Ozark, Mo.; she is a freshman student at the University of Missouri in Columbia, majoring in nursing.

50 years ago: Nov. 26, 1957

Five Turkey Day games are on tap as the 1957 high school football season in Southeast Missouri comes to an end; the Central Tigers will host the Poplar Bluff Mules; Sikeston Bulldogs will play Charleston Bluejays; Portageville Bulldogs will take on the Hayti Indians; Kennett Indians will travel to Caruthersville to play the Tigers, and the Jackson Indians play at home against the Perryville Pirates.

Workers are installing ornamental Santa Clauses, sleighs, reindeer and candles on utility poles in the various business areas of Cape Girardeau.

75 years ago: Nov. 26, 1932

Nearly $2,000,000 is being spent by the federal government and about 5,000 men are being employed on 17 major construction projects along the Mississippi River within 70 miles of Cape Girardeau; more than 200 men from Cape Girardeau have found work on the river projects.

John T. McNeely, as agent or trustee for the Fruitland Camp of the M.W.A., recently sold the lot in Fruitland where the Woodmen Hall formerly stood to Charles Leimer; the building was formerly sold to Harry Brown, who used the lumber in it for the construction of a house.

100 years ago: Nov. 26, 1907

A merchant of Chaffee, Mo., who came in on the noon train, informs The Republican that smallpox has broken out in Chaffee and that the health conditions are very serious.

At last Cape Girardeau has recovered from its water famine, and the prospects of cooking Thanksgiving dinner with beer no longer agitates the mind of the housewife; the damaged intake pipe was repaired during the night.

-- Sharon K. Sanders