Out of the past 5/9/02

10 years ago: May 9, 1992

Crowds estimated between 30,000 and 35,000 attend Aviation Days at Municipal Airport, majority coming for Blue Angels performance in mid-afternoon; festivities continue Sunday with hot-air balloon races, aerobatics by Peterson-Krier Airshow, parachute jumps and another performance by Blue Angels.

Marble Hill - Anonymous phone call led authorities to recently unearthed, unmarked century-old grave and 20 marijuana plants growing in old cemetery in south Bollinger County; county officials tracked down open grave and marijuana last week.

25 years ago: May 9, 1977

Cache, Ill. - Survey teams from Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard are checking area for any hazardous wreckage from oil barge explosion on Mississippi River Saturday night near here; two empty barges, which had been carrying crude oil, exploded in midstream from unknown cause.

Southeast Missouri Hospital has joined long list of hospitals which are expressing opposition to federal legislation which would place ceiling at 9 percent on rising hospital costs; in letter to Sen. John Danforth, James Wente, assistant hospital administrator, outlined reasons for opposing proposed ceiling contained in Hospital Cost Containment Act of 1977 which has been submitted to Congress.

50 years ago: May 9, 1952

Two bids for construction of box culvert at projected William Street entrance to Kingshighway have been received by State Highway Department, but no official word as to letting of contract has been announced; culvert, similar to that at Independence and Highway 61, will bridge same roadside ditch.

Perryville - Total of 543 votes were cast in yesterday's special election on proposal to bond Perryville School District for $80,000 to increase school facilities; issue easily passed; money will be used for cafeteria at grade school and new building adjacent to high school, which will house cafeteria, classroom for individual arts and band and music room.

75 years ago: May 9, 1927

J.W. Gerhardt, contractor, starts work on new Hecht Building on Main Street; within few days, two old buildings that have stood on site for many years - perhaps more than 50 years - will be down; Gerhardt's crews will then begin excavation for basement under entire building.

At least one person is injured and property damage estimated at $10,000 results from severe wind and rain storm which strikes portions of rural district west of Cape Girardeau late in day; wind demolishes at least one farm house and wrecks number of barns; William Wildes is pinned beneath timbers when farm house of his father, James Wildes on Hopper Road, four miles west of town, is demolished by wind.

- Sharon K. Sanders