Out of the past: Aug. 20

1998

Cape Girardeau's largest surgical group, Cape Girardeau Surgical Clinic Inc., has notified Blue Cross Blue Shield that it will leave the HealthNet Blue provider network Oct. 1; surgeons in the group are Drs. Robert S. Hunt, Franklin H. McGinty, L. McClune, Jonathon K. Foley, Ronald M. Richmond, Daniel G. Hafenrichter and John G. Adams.

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A state veterans cemetery will be established in Bloomfield adjacent to a new Stars and Stripes Museum and Library that is under construction in this Stoddard County community; the cemetery is one of two veterans cemeteries being developed in Eastern Missouri by the Missouri Veterans' Commission; the other will be in Randolph County.

1973

Sports fans are recovering after a day filled with athletic events in Cape Girardeau; the Cape Girardeau American Legion baseball team won two games of a best-of-three series to claimed the state Legion championship, something that has eluded coach John Yallaly for the past 18 years; Mel Purcell, a 14-year-old youngster from Murray, Kentucky, battled tennis players two or three times his age in emerging as the open division net champion in The Southeast Missourian tennis tournament.

Preschool orientation and workshop for teachers in the Cape Girardeau public schools will get underway as scheduled tomorrow regardless of the strike by Carpenters Local 1770, which has halted renovation work at three elementary schools -- Washington, Franklin and Lorimier; a union spokesman says the Board of Education is planning to go into Circuit Court in Jackson this afternoon in an effort to prevent pickets from stopping work at those buildings.

1948

A new health and physical education building for State College will rise out of the ashes of Houck Field House, the community landmark destroyed by fire in February; decision on the oft-discussed site of the new half-million-dollar athletic plant was made yesterday by the Board of Regents; two other sites had been considered: the old peach orchard on the college farm, which the Bartholomew planning firm favored, and an area between Cheney Hall on Henderson Avenue and the residence of Vernon A. Chapman, superintendent of grounds and buildings.

The initial step toward the calling of Cape Girardeau County men ages 19 through 25 to military service is taken with the announcement from the state Selective Service headquarters in Jefferson City of the composition of local draft boards; appointed to the Cape County board are George T. Alt and Sherman T. "Mike" Daley, with Robert J. Altenthal serving as clerk; it is expected that L.A. Barney will be the third member of the board.

1923

T.M. Kayser of Nevada, Missouri, was elected by the executive committee of the Farm Bureau Saturday to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of C.D. Hearne as farm agent for Cape Girardeau County; Kayser came highly recommended and had the endorsement of the extension service of the State Agricultural Bureau.

A rebuilt, horse-drawn street sweeper, in use in Cape Girardeau several years ago, is put to work on the streets here on orders of Street Commissioner Louis Wittmor; a large, 100-gallon water tank has been placed on the truck and will sprinkle water in front of the broom to keep down the dust; the sweeping problem has been ongoing for many years and only grows as more streets are paved.

-- Sharon K. Sanders