Out of the past 7/16/03

10 years ago: July 16, 1993

Olive Branch, Ill. -- Earthen levee along Mississippi River south of Miller City broke yesterday afternoon, flooding farm land and forcing area residents to flee to higher ground.

Missouri Highway and Transportation Department says it will close Highway 25 at Dutchtown at 2 p.m. to facilitate closing of gap in sandbag levee built last week to protect the town; highway will remain closed until water drops to safe level.

Fire destroyed building materials storage facility and its contents owned by Michael L. Annis Inc. Wednesday night; fire department was delayed in arriving at blaze because Highway 74 has been closed by backwater from Diversion Channel.

25 years ago: July 16, 1978

The Rev. Allen Ladage is new associate minister at Grace United Methodist Church; he plans to be active in youth ministry and evangelism at church; Ladage, who grew up in St. Louis, comes to Grace Church from Wesley Memorial-Plattin Circuit near Festus.

First General Baptist Church has announced arrival of new youth director, the Rev. Dennis Foust; Foust was born in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and received his bachelor of science degree in Christian education from Oakland City College in Indiana; he previously was pastor of Spurgeon General Baptist Church in Indiana.

50 years ago: July 16, 1953

School officials are working to determine how much Cape Girardeau teachers' salaries will be affected by action Wednesday of Gov. Phil M. Donnelly in vetoing $9,250,000 in school appropriatons; there seems to be no doubt that veto will have effect of reducing salaries, but it isn't known by how much.

Cape Girardeau County firms which collect 2 percent Missouri sales tax did thumping $5,360,843 worth of business in first quarter of year to place county ninth in amount of sales among 114 in the state; report shows that 757 outlets in county paid sales tax.

75 years ago: July 16, 1928

Tomorrow Cape Girardeau loses P.V. Pennybacker, resident engineer for Cape Girardeau Bridge Co., who has supervised construction of traffic bridge across Mississippi River; "Penny" will go to Vicksburg, Miss., where he will be engaged on another Mississippi River bridge of even greater proportions than that at Cape Girardeau.

Mrs. Jane Renfro, 90, who was born in slavery and was freed prior to Civil War, dies at Briarwood, C.G. Juden country home on Bloomfield road; from birth until freed, she was property of St. Vincent's College and was born at the college; she lived for number of years with Burns family and later with Houck and Juden families; she is survived by two sons and two daughters.

-- Sharon K. Sanders