Out of the past 3/14/06

25 years ago: March 14, 1981

A proposal to create a riverfront park at Cape Girardeau got strong moral support yesterday; 10th District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson met with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce riverfront development committee and pledged his support to the project.

State Rep. Jerry Ford, who last week voted in favor of a House bill that would permit longer and heavier trucks on Missouri highways, says he did so because of simple economics.

50 years ago: March 14, 1956

Cape Girardeau County can not only vote bonds for acquisition of a park, but it can turn the property over to the Missouri Park Board for operation as a state park, the Missouri attorney general has ruled; the decision removes the last barrier in the path of a committee of county residents which has been seeking for months to acquire a 3,000-acre tract of rolling Mississippi River hill country between Iona School and Moccasin Springs.

LUTESVILLE, Mo. -- A committee looking into getting an adequate school for the Marble Hill-Lutesville C-1 School District has recommended construction of a school on a site on Highway 34, west of Lutesville.

75 years ago: March 14, 1931

Two prominent Southeast Missourians have been appointed by Gov. H.S. Caulfield as members of the board of regents of the Cape Girardeau Teachers College; they are Julien Friant of Cape Girardeau and Eugene L. McGee of Poplar Bluff.

A group of residents met last night to discuss the future of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce; one speaker opined that the people have lost confidence in the organization, and the best way to regain it is to place several representatives from each city ward on the chamber's board of directors.

100 years ago: March 14, 1906

The rains of the past few days have again put Cape Girardeau's streets in terrible condition; Main Street and Broadway are nearly impassable, and Good Hope Street in Haarig is nearly as bad; this morning, president Leon J. Albert of the Sturdivant Bank has his janitor clean the street crossings by the bank, at Main and Themis streets, and he has received praise from numerous pedestrians.

Chairman L.S. Joseph of the building committee of the Elks Club has under consideration the plans for several fraternal buildings.

-- Sharon K. Sanders