Out of the past 8/31/11

25 years ago: Aug. 31, 1986

By the end of September, the Cape Girardeau County Nutrition Center will be in a new home; the center is being moved from Cape County Park to the Cape Girardeau Civic Center building at 232 Broadway.

Linda L. Minner, office manager for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, has been promoted to administrative assistant.

50 years ago: Aug. 31, 1961

Preliminary investigations that might place Cape Girardeau in contention for a $60 million Manned Space Flight Center are underway; the proposed facility would employ 3,000 people and handle the program for landing a man on the moon.

Salary raises for municipal employees costing approximately $90,000 annually, payable from an increase in the gross receipts tax paid by Missouri Utilities Co. and Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., are ordered by the Cape Girardeau City Council.

75 years ago: Aug. 31, 1936

Nora Naeter has returned from a vacation trip to Germany; having studied music in Germany and visited there many times, Naeter found people who had always been strong supporters of the monarchy now intensely loyal to Adolf Hitler, whom they credit with keeping out Russian communism and with restoring Germany to the Germanic people.

About 500 more fish are added to the finny tribe in the lagoon at Fairground Park by Sam Garner, farmer on the Bend Road, who has a large pond rapidly drying up because of the drought.

100 years ago: Aug. 31, 1911

When the public schools open for business next Tuesday, there will be a new one included in the list as the school on the north end of Cape Girardeau will open for pupils of the first three grades with two teachers in charge; it will occupy a building purchased some time ago by the school board that has been arranged for school purposes; it occupies nearly an entire block, bounded by Pearl, Fountain, Mill and Middle streets.

Contractors Durnell & Hawley are rushing the paving work on North Pacific Street and will soon be ready to begin the concrete base for the macadam.

-- Sharon K. Sanders