Out of the past 6/17/13

1988

The 10th annual Cape Girardeau Riverfest kicks off in the evening with Little Bit O' Texas, a blend of county and folk music, on the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn stage; the Bud Light Airshow follows, as does the 6th annual Kohlfeld Riverfest Run.

Recognizing a decreasing need for services, the United Cerebral Palsy Center of Cape Girardeau has closed its doors and returned funds to the community; $3,018 was given to the Area Wide United Way, and supplies and equipment valued at $3,300 went to Parkview State School for the Handicapped.

1963

The Supreme Court rules 8-1 that it is unconstitutional for a state to require Bible readings and the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools; Charles House, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools, says the ruling will have little effect in Cape Girardeau, as the local school board doesn't officially require or promote the reading of the Bible or the use of prayer or other religious exercises in the classroom.

With the advent of good weather, construction of the new junior high school building has made rapid progress; the gymnasium floor slabs have been poured, and the steel bridge structure connecting the gym with the academic wing has been erected.

1938

More than five years after he was shot to death in a gunbattle with police in a Water Street flat, a man then known only as "John Huff" is tentatively identified by Illinois relatives who hadn't heard from him in seven years; they say his name was Earnest Hanlin.

A WPA project for street improvement, calling for grading and graveling on a citywide basis, has been approved in Washington; property owners will be required to pay part of the costs.

1913

F.W. Jones, a section laborer of the Cape Girardeau Northern Railroad, is instantly killed when he falls about 20 feet to the ground from the Happy Hollow bridge and strikes his head on a sharp rock; Jones had only worked in Cape Girardeau about a week.

Lincoln McConnell is in fine fiddle as he comes to the tabernacle platform to speak in the evening; in an effort to stave off the heat, McConnell took a dip in the Mississippi River earlier in the day; he is a strong swimmer.

-- Sharon K. Sanders