Out of the past 7/18/05

25 years ago: July 18, 1980

Temperatures that dropped into the 80s and 90s yesterday have brought at least temporary relief from a stifling heat wave that has assaulted the city for the past week; the official high yesterday at the municipal airport was 98 degrees.

Testing on the city's still unfinished disaster warning system will continue into at least next week despite a vote by the Cape Girardeau City Council to take steps to recover the city's investment in the siren system.

50 years ago: July 18, 1955

Teams of 4-H Club youngsters from Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Scott counties will soon make calls on business firms in the area urging them to purchase booster admission tickets for the centennial year of the Southeast Missouri District Fair for distribution to their customers; for their part in selling tickets, the clubs will receive a 10 percent commission, which most intend to apply toward their quota for the 4-H Club camp at Lake Wappapello.

A Latin cross, which mysteriously appeared at the site where the body of murdered Bonnie Huffman was found more than a year ago, is removed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, but not until after hundreds of persons had jammed Route N north of Delta to view it yesterday.

75 years ago: July 18, 1930

Paving operations on Highway 61 between Ancell and Benton, Mo., have been started; a short distance of the pavement was laid four miles north of Benton during the past two days, and operations are proceeding south toward the Scott County seat.

Another miniature golf course was opened yesterday in Cape Girardeau; this one is in the 700 block of North Henderson Avenue and was opened by two youngsters, Rush Limbaugh Jr. and Curtis Ballard.

100 years ago: July 18, 1905

E.L. Walker, the quiet owner and manager of the veneer factory down below Mill Town, has induced a large egg-case factory to consider Cape Girardeau for a location; John Cahill, the owner, will visit the city some time this week and look over available sites; it is possible he will locate his concern on the tract of land next to Walker's big plant.

Farmers are taking advantage of the sunshine, and every threshing outfit is working from sunup to sundown; as the continued rains have greatly delayed threshing and caused some little wheat to sprout, no chances are being taken on continued nice weather, so all the machines were used last Sunday.

-- Sharon K. Sanders