Out of the past 6/30/06

25 years ago: June 30, 1981

The first proposed plan for realigning Missouri's 34 senatorial districts has been advanced by Republican members of a commission charged with getting the job done, and it is headed for a collision with Southeast Missouri Democrats.

One of Cape Girardeau County's oldest bridges is scheduled to be replaced this year because it is in deteriorating condition; the old truss bridge, spanning Crooked Creek, is about two miles southwest of Crump on County Road 287; it was built in 1890.

50 years ago: June 30, 1956

Sales tax reports from the state office in Jefferson City show Cape Girardeau County merchants had a substantial increase in the amount of business done in the first quarter of this year over the same three months of 1955; figures supplied by Rep. A.C. Magill reveal retail sales tax was paid to the state on business having a dollar value of $6,156,441 this year, compared to $5,672,826 for 1955.

A small corner of the exterior wall of the Common Pleas Courthouse has been sandblasted and the red bricks thus exposed have been tuckpointed to gain an idea of what the building would look like if the work were done over the entire structure.

75 years ago: June 30, 1931

Seeking to find relief from the 90-plus-degree heat, growing crowds are daily flocking to the Cape Girardeau Municipal Swimming Pool at Fairground Park; complaints have been made that the crowds are too large and that a larger pool should be provided for more freedom to swim.

The electric sign business is growing here; 10 Cape Girardeau firms are installing electric neon tube-lighting signs; the approximate value of the signs, being installed by Keller Sign Co. of St. Louis, is nearly $5,000.

100 years ago: June 30, 1906

Beginning tomorrow, the Wells-Fargo Express Co. will take over the mileage of the C. & E.I. Railroad and will have charge of the business originating thereon and leading into Cape Girardeau; F.L. King, the office manager here, says the new acquisition permits the company to send and receive express to and from Eastern points 36 hours faster than heretofore.

The Rev. E. Pruente at St. Mary's Catholic Church is contemplating holding services for the opening of Cape Girardeau's upcoming centennial celebration; Pruente has always been an enthusiast for a big Cape Girardeau.

-- Sharon K. Sanders