Out of the past 8/24/06

25 years ago: Aug. 24, 1981

It's back to the books in the morning for pupils and faculty in the Cape Girardeau Public School System; according to superintendent Dr. Arthur Turner, everything goes smoothly on the first day of classes of the fall term.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A 25-year-old Cape Girardeau burglary suspect escapes from the Perry County jail here in the morning; authorities say he escaped sometime between 1:55 and 7 a.m. by picking a cell lock and fleeing through a side door.

50 years ago: Aug. 24, 1956

Mayors from Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois towns and a delegation from the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce are guests at the next to last day of Cape Girardeau's week-long celebration of its 150th birthday; a feature of the day's sesquicentennial activities is an afternoon tour of historical and industrial landmarks and other places of interest in the city.

A revised traffic plan providing for designated one-way streets in the area bounded by Broadway, Pacific and Good Hope streets is approved by the Cape Girardeau City Council.

75 years ago: Aug. 24, 1931

Shipping of Cape Girardeau County's peach crop has practically been completed, with the exception of trucking out small lots of the remainder of the crop; this county shipped out six railroad car loads of the fruit, or 2,400 bushels of fruit, in car lots alone.

The big Ringling Bros.-Barnum and Bailey Circus will show in Cape Girardeau on Sept. 8, according to G.W. Tallent, who has assisted Al Butler, advance agent, in making arrangements for the circus; it will be here only one day and night.

100 years ago: Aug. 24, 1906

Joseph Kaminer of East St. Louis, Ill., has signed a long lease for the business house formerly occupied by Caldwell Bros. in Cape Girardeau; with his brother, Kaminer intends to open a men's and boys' clothing and furnishing goods house about Sept. 15.

The grand jury, meeting at Jackson, is dismissed early in the afternoon after returning 61 indictments; it is probable that the sheriff and his deputies will have the majority of those indicted in court Monday and Tuesday.

-- Sharon K. Sanders