Out of the past 9/18/06

25 years ago: Sept. 18, 1981

CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo Board of Education last night ratified a two-year contract with school district teachers; the contract will cost the district an additional $294,000 over the two-year period.

Hoods and caps are the order of the day at the SEMO District Fair, but the unseasonably cool temperatures don't keep fairgoers away from Arena Park; yesterday's Ray Stevens Show drew a large crowd, and the Johnny Cash Show, on tap for tonight in front of the grandstand, is expected to be a sellout.

50 years ago: Sept. 18, 1956

Bids submitted yesterday by contractors in four divisions of construction for a new elementary school in Cape Girardeau's public school system, all higher than anticipated, were taken under advisement by the school board.

A petition for one-way streets in the Main Street shopping district was presented to the Cape Girardeau City Council last night; 39 merchants and property owners in the district are requesting that Main and Spanish streets be made one-way between Broadway and Merriwether streets.

75 years ago: Sept. 18, 1931

H.F. Wickham, former Cape Girardeau police chief and veteran of two American wars, dies at a local hospital after an illness of several weeks; Wickham was chief of the department until last spring and had served as a member of the force since 1922.

Work is expected to be completed within the next week of the remodeling of the Riverside Ice & Cold Storage Co. building, which was damaged by fire 10 months ago; new flooring has been laid and general repairing of the pipes for the room has been done; Henry Vogelsang is the owner, and Leo Vogelsang, his son, will have charge of the building upon its completion.

100 years ago: Sept. 18, 1906

D.A. Glenn in the morning receives a telephone message from the Roberts, Johnson and Rand Shoe Co. of St. Louis, stating that J.C. Roberts, J. Johnson and Frank Rand will be in Cape Girardeau tomorrow to confer with local residents regarding the location of a shoe factory here; the Roberts, Johnson and Rand company is one of the greatest shoe concerns in the world, and a branch factory here would give employment to hundreds of people.

Fred Kain announces he will receive 100 barrels of apples on the steamer Chester on Friday, which he will sell at $1 a barrel.

-- Sharon K. Sanders