Out of the past 4/1/07

25 years ago: April 1, 1982

Park development on the Mississippi River wharf at Cape Girardeau could begin as early as this summer, pending approval by various agencies and the acquisition of funding for the project; final plans for the riverfront face-lift will probably be presented to the city council in May or June.

A ground-breaking ceremony, using a jackhammer to crack the concrete covering the site, is held at Saint Francis Medical Center for the new Critical Care and Support Services Tower.

50 years ago: April 1, 1957

Hazel Arnoldi, wife of Col. Louis Arnoldi of Cape Girardeau, was aboard the U.S. military transport plane which went down March 22 off the Japanese coast, taking also the life of Capt. Joe B. Hensley, son of Mrs. Thelma Hensley of Cape Girardeau.

A rezoning recommendation for a 12-square-block area of Cape Girardeau comes before the city council; a letter asks that the area be rezoned from business and light industry to commercial use; the area is bounded on the north by Independence and on the south by Morgan Oak, on the east by an alley east of Frederick and on the west by an alley west of Ellis.

75 years ago: April 1, 1932

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Eagerness to find a reported buried treasure -- either a pot of gold or a strong box filled with money -- has led searchers to dig a hole 20 feet deep and about 10 feet wide in a field about four miles south of here; it is claimed a pioneer member of the Halter family buried the treasure.

Seven hundred feet of new hose is received by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department; the hose -- measuring 2 1/2-inch and 1 1/2-inch -- cost the city $590.

100 years ago: April 1, 1907

The Arcade Nickelodeon opens for business in the evening; Bob Litterer, who has been running a pool room there, has moved out his tables and, with associates, has installed a fine moving picture machine; the Arcade's first offerings are "How an Office Boy Saw the Game of Ball" and "Who's Who."

Alfred Nothdurft, a prominent young farmer living on the Jackson road, leaves for Milwaukee, were he has accepted a position with the International Harvester Co.

-- Sharon K. Sanders