Out of the past 8/12/06

25 years ago: Aug. 12, 1981

Tobacco is taboo; that is one of the points contained in a student conduct code, part of the high school administrative handbook which was approved by the Jackson Board of Education last night; in the past, student use of chewing tobacco in classrooms and on school property had been a problem.

Chester M. Brown, the Cape Girardeau native who became the president and chairman of the board of Allied Chemical Corp., dies at Southeast Missouri Hospital following a lengthy illness; he was 73 years old.

50 years ago: Aug. 12, 1956

A huge crowd is on hand at the train depot in Cape Girardeau to welcome back the National Guardsmen returning from their two-week encampment in Minnesota; hundreds of relatives and friends jam the passenger depot area as the 12-car train arrives at noon.

Having accepted the pastorate of the Baptist church at Anna, Ill., the Rev. S.S. Borum submits his resignation as pastor of Red Star Baptist Church during morning services; since Borum came to Red Star in 1950, an entirely new plant, including the main church and an educational structure, have been built at a cost of about $300,000; a new parsonage has also been constructed.

75 years ago: Aug. 12, 1931

Unusually cool weather has caused a decided slump in the watermelon market throughout the Midwest, and growers in Dunklin and Scott counties are faced with a big surplus unless weather conditions improve to again stimulate buying; in Dunklin County, 100 freight cars, loaded with from 800 to 1,000 melons each, are being held on railroad sidings awaiting action of buyers.

The new stage for Academic Hall on the State Teachers College is nearing completion; it will be large enough to accommodate the largest play, concert, or other entertainment that comes along.

100 years ago: Aug. 12, 1906

The Rev. S.A. McElroy of Cynthiana, Ky., a former pastor of the Cape Girardeau Presbyterian church, returns here for a visit and preaches in the morning at his former church; the current pastor, the Rev. A. Kistler, is preaching at Malden, Mo.

Filling the pulpit at Trinity Lutheran Church is the Rev. W.T. Vogel, pastor of the Lutheran church at New Wells, Mo.; Trinity's pastor, the Rev. Wilder, is in Poplar Bluff, Mo., presiding at worship services there.

-- Sharon K. Sanders