Out of the past: April 6

1999

The Cape Girardeau County Commission will establish a county archives center that will be open within a year; the county purchased a building at 112 E. Washington that formerly housed a Texaco station; the building is directly across the street from the County Administration Building in Jackson; the new structure will provide storage for county records, as well as access to historical documents for researchers; the county will hire a director and use volunteers to operate the center.

Southeast Missouri State University has formed a committee to focus on American Indian culture; the goal of the Committee on University Relations with Native Americans is to showcase to the community the cultural diversity of Indian views, perspectives, art, literature, music and dance; Southeast President Dr. Dale Nitzschke created the committee partly to recognize the more than 200,000 Cherokee descendants who live in Missouri and Arkansas.

1974

Rick Borchelt, a senior at University High School, is advancing for the second consecutive year to international competition in science as his project on using a fungus to control the common house fly was one of two to take top honors in the 18th annual Southeast Missouri Science Fair; he and Joe Morgan, a junior at Woodland High School in Lutesville, who probed the effect of physical exercise on white rats, were named winners of all-expense paid trips to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the 25th International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Pupils of St. Augustine Catholic School in Kelso last week began studies in a new facility, the fourth building which the school has utilized during its 97-year history; the new building, constructed by Drury Brothers Construction Co. of Cape Girardeau, contains eight classrooms, a library, gymnasium, offices for principal and teachers and modern kitchen facilities and has central heating and air conditioning.

1949

Two young Cape Girardeau business men will take posts on the school board at an organizational meeting tomorrow night after winning three-year terms at the annual school election Tuesday; elected were John F. Cargle and Carlston A. Bohnsack; two veteran school board members, Walter H. Oberheide and Hugo A. Lang, were defeated in a light vote.

A constitution and bylaws were adopted and temporary officers to serve until the May meeting were elected at the initial meeting last night of the Cape Girardeau County Advisory Health Council at the courthouse in Jackson; officers elected were: president, James Evans of Cape Girardeau; vice president, L.H. Strunk of Cape Girardeau; secretary-treasurer, E.E. Schneider of Cape Girardeau.

1924

To better preserve the religious atmosphere of the gatherings, the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance this week decided that the regular Good Friday services will be held in two churches here; for downtown persons, the First Presbyterian Church was selected, and for those in other sections of the city, services will be in Grace Methodist Church; business men have been requested to close their establishments from noon to 3 p.m. Friday.

E.D. Hoffman, Cape Girardeau head of the Hoffman Mortgage Co., is seriously burned on the face and hands, when a quantity of gun powder, overlooked in rubbish he was burning at his home at 133 S. Ellis St., explodes shortly before noon; the blast throws the burning embers over him and inflicts severe burns.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a blog called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper. Check out her blog at semissourian.com/history.