Out of the past 7/5/06

25 years ago: July 5, 1981

Lt. Rick Kermmoade is the new director of the Cape Girardeau Salvation Army; his wife, Lt. Char Kermmoade, has full responsibility for the Women's Home League.

Bishop Bernard F. Law of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau has appointed the Rev. Lewis Hejna associate pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral, succeeding the Rev. Roger Leveillee, who has been transferred to a church at Glennonville, Mo.; in addition, the Rev. Richard Janson, C.M., will assume the position of associate pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish July 17.

50 years ago: July 5, 1956

A windstorm that swept over the Randles area in southwest Cape Girardeau County late yesterday afternoon flattened much of the corn crop, blew the roofs off of a number of buildings and did scattered damage to a section extending from Delta southeastward to Oran, Mo.

There's a feeling of cautious optimism among those who work with infantile paralysis at Saint Francis Hospital's treatment center that the Salk polio vaccine has done all it is supposed to do; so far there have been only two polio cases brought to the hospital this summer; a year ago at this time, there had been 25 cases.

75 years ago: July 5, 1931

The Rev. Golden Welker, a minister of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, has opened a three-week revival meeting at the Fairview filling station on Highway 61, two miles northwest of Millersville.

The Rev. C. Jankowsky, pastor of the Evangelical church in Jackson for the past five years, tenders his resignation to the congregation, and it is accepted; Jankowsky has accepted a call to a congregation in the Iowa District.

100 years ago: July 5, 1906

Cape Girardeau's Fourth of July was a tame affair, considering some of the Independence Days it has experienced; there were no special fireworks in the evening, no picnic in the afternoon, no entertainment at the fairgrounds heavily advertised; the only thing to break the monotony were the loud explosions along the streetcar route, caused by the scattering of certain chemicals along the rails and ignited by the traveling cars; during certain times, the continuous reports resembled the Boer war.

An Army recruiting station has been opened in Cape Girardeau, as Uncle Sam is anxious to sign up young men from this section of the state for three-year enlistments; manning the station is Sgt. R.D. Graham.

-- Sharon K. Sanders