Out of the past 7/12/06

25 years ago: July 12, 1981

COMMERCE, Mo. -- A microfilm copy of the Commerce Dispatch newspaper has been acquired through the efforts of the Scott County Historical Society; the microfilm covers the period from the newspaper's establishment on March 2, 1867, to the issue of March 23, 1872.

City finances will be the prime topic at Tuesday's Cape Girardeau City Council study session; the councilmen will review the suggested city budget for Fiscal Year 1982; the $10 million-plus budget for the new fiscal year is $120,000 higher than the budgeted amount for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

50 years ago: July 12, 1956

A suggestion that the South Main Street parkway, now torn up by sewer construction, not be restored as a parkway but be used for parking, is being studied by the Traffic Advisory Committee; the parkway was laid out when South Main was filled in 40 years ago, with one-way drives on either side.

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Company E, 140th Infantry Regiment of Jackson, Mo., is announced the winner of the Maj. Gen. John C. McLaughlin trophy, awarded annually to the best infantry company in the 35th Infantry Division; the Jackson company is under the command of Capt. Thomas K. O'Loughlin.

75 years ago: July 12, 1931

The Rev. W.E. Hicks, pastor of Red Star Baptist Church, has been re-elected to that post by the congregation; he is now finishing his fifth year in charge of the local church, and members of the congregation cast a unanimous vote to retain him.

The Rev. Fred Harper of Oak Ridge occupies the pulpit at the New McKendree Methodist Church in the absence of the Rev. F.L. Willshire, who is in Texas holding a revival.

100 years ago: July 12, 1906

The federal government is advertising in The Daily Republican newspaper for a piece of property in Cape Girardeau for the construction of a federal building; the contract calls for a corner lot approximately 120 by 130 feet, and it must be centrally located.

The stores in downtown Cape Girardeau and on Broadway are given special protection in addition to the service rendered by policeman William Blank Sr.; R.J. Price has circulated his petition among the businessmen and has been given assurance of a good monthly salary for making hourly rounds at night from early in the morning until daybreak.

-- Sharon K. Sanders