Out of the past 7/20/06

25 years ago: July 20, 1981

Should the two major postal unions -- the American Postal Workers Union and the Letter Carriers Association -- walk off the job at midnight tonight, there is a possibility that National Guard units throughout Missouri and the nation would be called on to keep the mail moving.

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Two dozen angry farmers block the driveway of the Ristine Elevator, ignoring federal marshals who advise them their blockade is illegal.

50 years ago: July 20, 1956

The county board of equalization, following an opinion rendered by the State Tax Commission, has ordered the gas-distribution property of the Missouri Utilities Co. in Cape Girardeau placed in a real estate classification; the company, when it made its tax return, placed most of the gas system in the personal property category; a small building used as a reducing station was classified as real estate, but a value of $419,665 on the distribution system was listed as personal property.

Invitations to return to Cape Girardeau for its 150th birthday celebration Aug. 19 to 25 are being sent to 800 former residents by A.C. Brase, chairman of the sesquicentennial program.

75 years ago: July 20, 1931

It is announced that bids will be received July 31 by the state highway department for the construction of the new bridge on Highway 25 over Apple Creek between Cape Girardeau and Perry counties.

Final passage of an ordinance appointing members of the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps to the position of "special patrolmen" and appropriating $50 per month for the corps is deferred when called up at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau City Council; Commissioner Louis Wittmor opposes the measure, saying emergency police action has never been required here.

100 years ago: July 20, 1906

Sadie Kent, head of Leming Hall at the Normal School during the summer, has been given a splendid gift by the occupants of the hall, many of whom have finished their college studies and are departing for their homes.

Snyder & Autry, proprietors of the Eclipse Marble and Granite Works of Humboldt, Tenn., have just erected a handsome granite monument at the grave of Col. Robert Sturdivant; the color of the granite is a rich, dark gray; the contrast between the polished parts and the hammered parts is fine.

-- Sharon K. Sanders