Out of the past: April 20

1998

The news came as a welcome surprise for volunteers from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau; Marillac's Moveables, a charity program at the church, was named the local winner in the national Make A Difference Day program; Marillac's Moveables provides furnishings, including beds, couches, tables and chairs, to the needy.

The Cape Girardeau City Council does an about-face, approving a special-use permit to add a sixth floor to a William Street office building after rejecting the request earlier this month; the council votes unanimously to grant the request from Drury Southwest Inc. and Robert A. and Anna R. Drury for a sixth floor on the building under construction at 3065 William.

1973

Good Friday. In remembrance of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples, several churches here host evening Holy Communion services; a light meal followed by communion is served at Christ Episcopal Church and Evangelical United Church of Christ.

Heavy rains that pounded the area Thursday and into the night sent creeks out of their banks, flooding numerous streets and highways and spurring the flooded Mississippi River toward another crest here, forcing it up six-tenths of a foot in 24 hours; a total of 2.17 inches of rain fell at the municipal airport between midnight Wednesday and 6 a.m. today; the river is expected to crest here Easter Sunday at 39.9 feet.

1948

In the wake of two presentations by salesmen to the Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday, it appears parking meters -- a subject wrestled with by city fathers for some 10 years -- lack only an official vote to become a reality here; the council took no vote on the matter, but council members' agreement, visible in their comments and plans, left no doubt of their intentions; a tour of cities is planned for the weekend and early next week to view how meters are used.

Seeking an answer to the stray dog problem, the Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday appointed Leonard Beckett as the pound warden with the responsibility of picking up all dogs roaming the streets; by ordinance, owners must keep their dogs either penned or tied on their own premises and must not allow them to run loose.

1923

J.F. Schwab, engineer, and Charles Floyd, switchman, of the Cape Girardeau Northern Railway were arrested yesterday by police chief H.F. Wickham on warrants charging them with "hindering and interfering with the operation of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department" while on a run to a fire Wednesday; charges stem from a collision of the big fire truck and a railroad engine operated by Schwab on Independence Street, resulting in $100 worth of damage to the truck; driver of the truck, fireman William Foley, says he was traveling south on Frederick Street, when the train engine failed to yield to him at Independence and sideswiping the fire truck.

Al Brinkopf receives from architect R.K. Knox the plans for his new undertaking house to be built at the corner of Broadway and Frederick Street; Brinkopf has been in the furniture and undertaking business in Cape Girardeau for 18 years; recently, he disposed of most of his interest in the furniture business so he can devote his entire attention to undertaking.

-- Sharon K. Sanders