Out of the past: Aug. 10

1998

Members of the Cape Girardeau police and fire departments have joined with representatives from the state fire marshal's office to combat a rash of suspicious fires that have started in the city during the past four and a half months; since April 1, 14 suspicious fires have been reported in the seven-block area stretching from the Mississippi River to South Ellis Street; most of the fires occurred between William and Morgan Oak streets; authorities are uncertain whether the fires are the work of a single individual or several people, although they have noted similarities among many of the fires.

Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt says he has seen both ends of a horse but knows next to nothing about agriculture; Delahunt, a liberal Democrat whose district includes Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, travels to Southeast Missouri to get a first-hand look at farming; he joins U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson on her annual, four-day agriculture tour.

1973

Chances of more thunderstorms are predicted for the weekend after heavy showers yesterday brought .79-inch of rainfall to the Cape Girardeau area as a welcome respite to farmers and gardeners; it was the first appreciable rain here since July 29, when 1.15 inches was measured at the municipal airport; the same amount fell June 17.

Meetings of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents will be open to the public and the news media, but probably not before Missouri's new open meetings law becomes effective Sept. 28; this would mean the board could continue to meet in regular closed sessions until October; the next regent meeting is scheduled for Thursday; board president Lindsay W. Simmons says he hasn't decided whether newsmen will be admitted to that meeting, saying, "I haven't given it much thought."

1948

Mrs. James P. Hawkins of Cape Girardeau, former deputy clerk in the U.S. District Court, is appointed clerk of the Cape Girardeau Court of Common Pleas by Gov. Phil M. Donnelly; she succeeds Martha E. Smude, who died last Thursday; Hawkins will take up her new duties tomorrow and will likely become the Democratic candidate for the unexpired term; Smude's term had two more years to run.

An automatic stamp vending machine to dispense postage stamps at face value is placed in operation in the lobby of the Cape Girardeau Post Office; the machines, to be installed in post office lobbies throughout the country, will spare patrons the delay of standing in line during rush hours to purchase stamps.

1923

Cape Girardeau pays a simple tribute to the memory of President Warren G. Harding; thousands gather in the afternoon at Courthouse Park to honor the late leader of the nation; at the moment appointed for giving all that was mortal of Harding back to his Maker, the men, women and children in the park stand up, heads uncovered; no word is spoken and the only sound is that of the birds in the branches overhead; a quartet of men sings "Lead Kindly Light", the late president's favorite hymn; the main address at the solemn gathering is given by R.S. Douglass, dean of the State Teachers College.

Practically all activity is suspended in the afternoon as the city pays tribute to President Harding; practically all business is suspended; International Shoe, with 1,500 employees, ceases work at noon, as do other factories in town; city and federal offices, including the post office, are closed; passenger trains on the Frisco Railroad through Cape Girardeau halt at 2 p.m., remaining stationary for five minutes; even telephone service here, as in the rest of the nation, is suspended for one minute in respect to the memory of Harding.

-- Sharon K. Sanders