Out of the past

25 years ago: Feb. 14, 1984

U.S. District Judge H. Kenneth Wangelin has denied a motion by the city of Cape Girardeau and West Park Mall developers seeking to recover $151,689.03 in attorney fees as a result of the $30 million Westborough Mall lawsuit.

Cape Girardeau expects to receive an $11,000 grant from the state Office of Historic Preservation to help finance a survey of Cape Girardeau's historic structures.

50 years ago: Feb. 14, 1959

BENTON, Mo. -- Some of the 25 people to be employed by the new Star Chair Co. in its plant here will be called in for training and work next week; the company makes 14 types of chairs and also turns out living room furniture.

President Mark F. Scully of State College announces the receipt of a check in the amount of $14,032 as the school's share of student loan funds under the National Defense Education Act; the sum will be supplemented by $1,559.11 from college funds.

75 years ago: Feb. 14, 1934

While no definite plans have been announced for the development of the northwest corner of the Main Street-Broadway intersection -- occupied by the old Rodney-Whitelaw building, which was badly damaged in a fire Friday -- several suggestions have been made; those include a service station or a parking lot.

Glenn Jones and Mildred Hawn, teachers of Hog Creek School, have solved the mystery of how the district got its name; the school in the Bollinger County hills, four miles east of Marble Hill, Mo., was named for a small stream that runs through the district; its title came from an early settler, Hogg, who built a log cabin near the source of the creek.

100 years ago: Feb. 14, 1909

It being Sunday, with no mail delivery by the carriers, a large crowd appears at the post office to receive St. Valentine's Day missives; for two solid hours, people wait in line to receive their cards; while the new post card valentines are most in evidence, they come in all sizes and forms, from the penny comic to the box of cut flowers.

The ferry steamer Warsaw returns to Cape Girardeau in the evening, ready for its regular work; the boat has been away for several weeks, undergoing a general overhauling.

-- Sharon K. Sanders