Out of the past 5/4/10

25 years ago: May 4, 1985

The $13.2 million Cape Girardeau multipurpose building project, faced with the loss of local funding because of a recent court ruling, could be financed entirely with state money, said Sen. Edwin L. Dirck, chairman of the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee; Dirck notes he favors such a move.

Construction has begun on a new building to house a Golden Corral Restaurant on U.S. 61 East in Jackson, just west of the Wal-Mart.

50 years ago: May 4, 1960

Construction of a second junior high school building is so urgent that the Cape Girardeau School Board should call a special bond election at the earliest possible time, the Citizens Advisory Committee agrees following a joint meeting of the two bodies last night; the 27-member group recommended to the board that a special election for $1,650,000 in bonds be resubmitted to voters as quickly as it can legally be called.

Three theoretical bomb flashes, two seen from Jackson and one from Cape Girardeau, formed Cape Girardeau's problem in yesterday's "Operation Alert," the 1960 nationwide Civil Defense test.

75 years ago: May 4, 1935

Barring rain, the first strawberries from the local crop should reach Cape Girardeau's markets Monday; some 50 acres locally are planted in strawberries; the largest acreage in the county is owned by Charles W. Weiss on the Perryville Road, who has 14 acres in berries.

O.E. Stotler has purchased the interest of T.J. Mulkey in the Red Hot Coal Co., with offices at 335 William St.; Stotler is now sole owner of the business.

100 years ago: May 4, 1910

During yesterday morning's electrical storm at Pocahontas, St. John Lutheran Church, a fine brick structure, was struck by lightning and was destroyed; the building was constructed in 1893 at a cost of $6,500, and only $1,500 insurance was carried on it.

Capt. G.E. Alt has sold the Alt estate lands to a syndicate and will soon turn over the control of his vast properties; Northrup Land Co. of St. Louis paid a small fortune as the first installment for the land; there are more than 15,000 acres in the sale, all in Cape Girardeau County.

-- Sharon K. Sanders