Out of the past 2/24/09

25 years ago: Feb. 24, 1984

The Delta School Board, in a special closed meeting last night, reaffirmed its earlier decision to fire high school principal Jack McIntosh when his present contract expires June 30.

Southeast Missouri State University history professor Charles Bonwell, saying he is "morally outraged" by the recent vandalism at Old Lorimier Cemetery, plans to talk with officials of the university's Regional History Center in an effort to restore the tombstones and protect the historic burial ground.

50 years ago: Feb. 24, 1959

Men of St. Mary's Catholic Church, under the direction of Joe Kirchdoerfer, have been cleaning underbrush from an unused section of St. Mary's Cemetery; the tract, at the south end of the property, was purchased in 1941.

CAIRO, Ill. — A Cairo firm will build a 111-foot cross atop Bald Knob Mountain for $54,267, the Bald Knob Christian Foundation has announced; Stevens Construction Co. received the contract for the structure.

75 years ago: Feb. 24, 1934

The heaviest snow of the season falls in Cape Girardeau; about 3 inches of snow had fallen by 3 p.m., and the flakes continue to fall; with the coasting excellent, Lorimier Street between Themis and Merriwether streets, and Independence Street, between Fountain and Spanish streets, are closed to automobile traffic so youngsters may have their fun.

Mrs. Jerome "Dizzy" Dean, stopping for lunch with Mrs. Ray Doan at the Colonial Tavern, predicts her husband will lose no more than five baseball games hurling for the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

100 years ago: Feb. 24, 1909

In a deal brokered by the Bowman Brothers' real estate agency, Louis Schlueter sold a tract of land in the West End near the fairgrounds, known as the Schlueter Addition, to the Southeast Missouri Trust Co.; the 10-acre section has been platted into city lots and will be transformed immediately into a residential neighborhood with broad macadamized streets, granitoid walks and gutters.

Steve Hunter has sold 685 acres north of Sikeston, Mo., to Green Greer at $100 per acre.

— Sharon K. Sanders