Out of the past 6/6/05

25 years ago: June 6, 1980

Demonstration displays of the county's new punch-card voting system have been set up at a number of banks and savings and loan offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson; County Clerk Rodney Miller says the displays offer voters the opportunity to use the system before the Aug. 6 primary election.

The ordinance adopted by the Cape Girardeau City Council prohibiting the sale of package liquor in the city on Sundays has irritated the owners of at least one local restaurant which had previously been allowed to retail alcoholic beverages on Sundays.

50 years ago: June 6, 1955

Excavation for the basement of the new faculty house for the School Sisters of Notre Dame is started by Elfrink Construction Co. at a site on the Cape Girardeau Catholic High School grounds, which was blessed in ceremonies yesterday.

A change in zoning to allow a State College fraternity to occupy a dwelling at 418 N. Sprigg St., and another to permit the IOOF Lodge to occupy a building at the northwest corner of Ellis and Elm streets are included in the business of the city council; members of Delta Zeta chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon will use the residence as their off-campus fraternity house.

75 years ago: June 6, 1930

Awards totaling $51,170.18 have been assessed by commissioners, appointed by federal judge Charles B. Faris to fix damages for the government's setback levee in Mississippi County in 18 additional condemnation suits filed here; these assessments on land taken by the federal government in constructing the Birds Point-New Madrid setback levee give an average of slightly over $144 per acre for all of the land affected by the project and not that alone for the seized right of way.

Filing time for those seeking nomination to county offices closes today.

100 years ago: June 6, 1905

Main Street is at last to be paved with vitrified brick; Alderman A.R. Ponder last night presented to the city council a resolution calling for the street to be paved from Broadway to Themis Street; paving will begin as soon as the sewer pipes are placed; the only fault to be found with the resolution is that it doesn't call for paving Broadway and Themis streets from Main Street to the river.

Capt. J.B. Nesmith has been appointed city engineer of Cape Girardeau at a salary of $100 a month; the appointing of an engineer means the active beginning of work on the sewer system.

-- Sharon K. Sanders