Out of the past 7/8/05

25 years ago: July 8, 1980

Cleanup operations are underway following a massive fire yesterday at the Ceramo Co. plant in Jackson; the blaze, the third major fire at the plant in the past 11 years, caused extensive damage to a 50-by-200-foot storage area on the west side of the building.

Damage to homes and businesses and the cost of repairing downed power lines as a result of last week's severe storm has been estimated at $500,000 in the Jackson area.

50 years ago: July 8, 1955

A mid-November target date on which bids will be received has been set by the Army Engineers for the start of work preliminary to the construction of the levee and floodwall along the Mississippi River; the date, however, is contingent upon the two affected levee districts meeting two requirements: That the districts deposit $255,000 in cash as stipulated in the agreement, and that all right of way be acquired for construction purposes.

LUTESVILLE, Mo. -- Lyman T. Kinder, 81, the Bollinger County representative in the Missouri Legislature, died at his home here; Kinder, who lived alone, is thought to have died Tuesday night or early Wednesday, and his body was found in bed by neighbors when they saw two unopened newspapers in front of his house late yesterday afternoon.

75 years ago: July 8, 1930

The drought and the extreme heat which has this district in its grip is conducive to typhoid fever, and every precaution should be taken to prevent it, a Cape Girardeau physician warns; those who are using water other than from the city system should boil it before drinking it or using it in cooking.

Luther Little, one of three men convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the slaying of night patrolman Willis Martin in a Good Hope Street shoe store 10 years ago, has applied for a parole from prison and will be given a hearing July 21.

100 years ago: July 8, 1905

C.D. Mitchell of St. Louis, who formerly lived here and is a well-known lumber man, arrives in the morning on the steamer Cape Girardeau; he will try to get an option on a large piece of land in the north part of the city adjoining the railroad, upon which he can establish a large planing mill.

At 7:50 a.m., the special train bearing Company K of Cape Girardeau and Company I of Jackson pulls out of town for the state encampment amid the cheers of a big crowd of friends and well-wishers.

-- Sharon K. Sanders