Out of the past 12/29/09

25 years ago: Dec. 29, 1984

Cape Girardeans are enjoying a late Christmas present; unseasonably warm temperatures here the last few days have made it seem more like spring than the end of winter's first month; today's high is 69.

More than $3,400 in cash for travel expenses for an upcoming Southeast Missouri State University Otahkian basketball road trip was stolen from the locker of head coach Ed Arnzen during a basketball practice at Houck Field House Friday.

50 years ago: Dec. 29, 1959

Once co-eds move into the new Dearmont Quadrangle, their old home, Albert Hall, will be razed to make way for a larger and more modern building to house women students on the State College campus; Albert Hall opened on March 7, 1905.

A bid of $27,244.40 for lighting of the new taxiway system at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport has been accepted by the city council; John Hill, Cape Girardeau electrician, submitted the only bid.

75 years ago: Dec. 29, 1934

Eight people were injured, four seriously, when a Mohawk Lines motor bus nearing the end of its journey from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau crashed into a steel banister on the Illinois end of the Mississippi River traffic bridge at midnight and overturned; the driver was blinded by a dense fog and misjudged his position on the span.

Louis Doerr, at 96 the oldest resident of Perryville, Mo., dies at a Cape Girardeau hospital.

100 years ago: Dec. 29, 1909

The annual ball of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was held last night in the Elks Hall, and as usual proved to be one of the most pleasant events of the season; about 60 couples were present, including a number from other towns.

Last night was cold; some thermometers in Cape Girardeau registered as low as 1 degree below zero and several others registered at or near the zero mark.

-- Sharon K. Sanders