Out of the past 7/31/08

25 years ago: July 31, 1983

Despite the tax limitations of the Hancock Amendment, the Cape Girardeau City Council has the power to levy an 85-cent property tax and raise business fees by as much as 50 percent in a proposed downtown special business district here, says city attorney Fred Boeckmann; his legal opinion clears the way for establishment of the district.

Cheatham's, a Sikeston, Mo., furniture firm, is stocking its new location in Cape Girardeau, the former Montgomery Ward building on Main Street, with merchandise preparatory to opening about the middle of August.

50 years ago: July 31, 1958

Five complete bicycles, all constructed of parts from numerous makes, were recovered yesterday by Cape Girardeau police as they moved ahead with efforts to break what is believed to be a bicycle theft ring; the bikes were found in several sheds in the Good Hope area.

Plans for the September opening of a new furniture store in the Bartels Building, 430 Broadway, by Rust & Martin Co., are announced by Wayne Rust; the store will be operated by the Rust & Martin Co., with Gary Rust in charge.

75 years ago: July 31, 1933

For the most part, Cape Girardeau stores tomorrow will begin business under the voluntary blanket code of the national recovery administration, which includes a 40-hour work week and increased pay based on a minimum weekly check of $14.

While in Cape Girardeau, R.L. Furry, Scott County extension agent, says farmers are busy plowing up corn; 100 percent of the farmers of the county likely will have permission to destroy the leased cotton by tonight.

100 years ago: July 31, 1908

Defying the current hard times, the proprietors of the wheelbarrow plant in South Cape Girardeau have a number of carpenters hammering and tearing away floors and partitions and placing new ones; the plan is to shift the machinery around so that the efficiency of the plant can be doubled.

A broken bolt last night knocked the big ditching machine out of commission, and it will stay out of commission until a new part can be received from the factory in Iowa; the machine is being used to dig the deep trenches necessary for Cape Girardeau's new sewer system.

— Sharon K. Sanders