Out of the past 4/30/11

25 years ago: April 30, 1986

A four-year legal battle over custody of a 7-year-old girl is being blamed for yesterday's car chase in which shots were fired after the child's mother took her from a first-grade classroom at McClure, Ill.; the chase began shortly before 11 a.m. at Shawnee Elementary School and ended six minutes later at the back door of the Cape Girardeau police station.

Police protection will double in both Marble Hill and Lutesville, Mo., as of 3 p.m. May 5, when the marshals from each town are provided jurisdiction in the other community.

50 years ago: April 30, 1961

Speaking at services at Foursquare Church is 6-year-old James R. Reineke of Indiana; the child began preaching at the age of 3 1/2, and has since talked to more than 100,000 people in the South and Midwest; he spoke here last year.

After two other contestants failed to correctly spell the word "vulnerable," Reid Carron, 14, of the junior high school at Jackson, spelled it correctly and thus became the champion of the Missourian's ninth annual Regional Spelling Bee held yesterday.

75 years ago: April 30, 1936

Friends say that former Mayor Edward L. Drum is being urged to file as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for prosecuting attorney of Cape Girardeau County.

Two new officers are appointed to the Cape Girardeau Police Department to succeed two who were released at a special meeting of the City Council; appointed are Leo Hill, formerly a truck driver, and Lee Slagle, health officer during the immediate past administration.

100 years ago: April 30, 1911

The fifth anniversary of the institution of the St. Vincent's Council No. 1111 of the Knights of Columbus is celebrated at the Catholic church in the morning; a solemn High Mass is sung by the Rev. F.J. Walsh, and the Rev. Thomas F. Levan, pastor, delivers the sermon.

Probably the biggest group of fans ever gathered would have seen today's opening baseball game between the Stars and Blytheville, Ark., but heavy rains stop it all.

-- Sharon K. Sanders