Out of the past 9/27/10

25 years ago: Sept. 27, 1985

Albert Lee Huckstep, 81, a pioneer in the automotive repair and body shop business here, dies following an illness of two years; Huckstep moved to Cape Girardeau from Whitewater in 1923 and in 1934 entered the auto repair business, pioneering the development of Huckstep Body and Paint.

Cape Girardeau County grain farmers, who have harvested about half of this year's corn and grain sorghum crops, say yields have been good, but they won't match those of last year.

50 years ago: Sept. 27, 1960

Oscar C. Kaiser, who worked his way up from a shoe counter to superintendent of one of the International Shoe Co.'s largest factories, will retire Oct. 1 and will be honored with a banquet tomorrow night; Kaiser joined International in St. Louis in 1912; in 1918 he returned to his native Cape Girardeau, becoming the local plant superintendent in 1949.

The Cape Girardeau City Council directs city clerk Verna Landis to begin checking names on initiative petitions filed by firemen to determine if there are sufficient signers to call a special election on a length-of-service pay increase.

75 years ago: Sept. 27, 1935

Rain, accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature, brings a real touch of autumn to Cape Girardeau and the district; the mercury sinks to 50 degrees in the morning, a drop of 19 degrees overnight.

The Board of Adjustment, meeting yesterday at Common Pleas Courthouse, rejected the application of the Martin Oil Co. to install a 20,000-gallon gasoline tank on its property at 10 S. West End Blvd.; the board made its decision after reviewing the city zoning ordinance and after several property owners in the area objected to the plan.

100 years ago: Sept. 27, 1910

Quite a number of delegates are in Cape Girardeau to attend the annual meeting of the St. Louis conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Bishop Collins Denny of Nashville, Tenn., who dedicated the new church at Jackson on Sunday, went to Illmo yesterday to dedicate the new edifice there, returning here today.

The towns down by the big bridge -- Thebes, Ill., Edna and Illmo -- are progressing; Thebes has just installed an electric light plant.

-- Sharon K. Sanders