Out of the past 9/22/05

25 years ago: Sept. 22, 1980

While local supporters of Ronald Reagan and John Anderson are pleased with their candidate's performance, spokesmen for both groups agree the Sunday debates didn't produce much that was new; they assess the debate not so much as a win for Reagan or Anderson, but as a loss for President Jimmy Carter, who withdrew at the last minute protesting Anderson's participation.

More than 500 people visited the new Cape Girardeau Public Library yesterday afternoon, following dedication of the new facility at 711 N. Clark.

50 years ago: Sept. 22, 1955

Despite extreme caution by pilots, and lighter loads than normal, towboat traffic up and down the Mississippi River is having difficulty navigating during the present record summertime low stages of the river.

The projected Cape Girardeau armory, to house regimental headquarters of the 140th Infantry, and the two local units, Headquarters Co. and Service Co., apparently has been held up in the Bureau of the Budget in Washington; in a move to balance the budget for the current year, an effort is being made to reduce military expenditures, including $85 million which Congress has appropriated for National Guard purposes.

75 years ago: Sept. 22, 1930

An increased force of men is put to work at Houck Field in an effort to get the athletic plant in readiness for dedication on Oct. 3; paving of a ramp leading to the entrance of the stadium is begun, and surfacing of the area beneath the stadium structure is being rushed.

The Rev. W.O. Schulze, for five and a half years pastor of Grace Methodist Church, announces he is being transferred from Cape Girardeau to the Missouri Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he will be pastor of a church at Hamilton, near St. Joseph, Mo.

100 years ago: Sept. 22, 1905

For the purpose of making arrangements for the first term of the federal court, U.S. Marshal William L. Morsey and Chief Clerk James L. Gray come down to Cape Girardeau from St. Louis by train; they are here less than an hour, but in that time they choose 23 possible grand jurymen and also make arrangements for the reception of the court the second Monday in October.

W.E. McGarry, an employee in the engineering department of the Frisco Railroad, leaves for his home in Cincinnati, being ill with malaria; his colleague, T.B. McKernan, accompanies him.

-- Sharon K. Sanders