Out of the past: Aug. 20

1999

For some farmers, the drought could be a blessing; Dean Kleckner, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, speaking yesterday morning at Midwest Grain & Barge Co. at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port near Scott City, said the drought may lead to higher prices for farm products; Kleckner’s visit to the port accompanied U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson’s final stop on her four-day farm tour of the 8th Congressional District; about 30 area farmers turned out for the event.

A third robbery this week with a man using a silver revolver occurred early Thursday; about 6:05 a.m., a man with a nylon stocking over his face walked into the Citgo gas station on Farrar Drive; holding a silver revolver, he demanded money from the cashier; similar robberies occurred Saturday at Pizza Pro, 525 N. Silver Springs Road, and at Huck’s gas station, 353 S. Kingshighway.

1974

The tenth president of Southeast Missouri State University is expected to be selected by the Board of Regents within the next month; six persons whose identities haven’t been announced to the public are being considered for the position, says Lindsay W. Simmons, board president; announcement of the successor to Dr. Mark F. Scully, SEMO president for 18 years, could come within two weeks or so, Simmons indicates.

The Watergate scandals leading to the resignation of former President Nixon are on the minds of most of the delegates to the Cape Girardeau County Republican convention in the evening, but no one discusses the troublesome situation at length; in the end, the approximately 70 precinct committeemen and -women present agree the GOP is in good shape, particularly on the grassroots level; Charles A. Hood, a former Cape Girardeau mayor, is elected county Republican chairman.

1949

Approval of the Mother House of the Franciscan Religious Order in Wheaton, Illinois, has been given Saint Francis Hospital for opening of a portion of the ground level floor as a permanent physical therapy center to serve polio patients of Southeast Missouri; approval comes from Sister Fidelis, first assistant to the mother of the order in the United States, who visited the hospital to investigate the proposal and inquire into the needs for such clinical facilities.

A broad mass of cool air, moving in out of Canada, brought a 32-degree drop in Cape Girardeau’s temperature in a period of a few hours, since late yesterday; the low reading was 52 degrees, registered yesterday afternoon.

1924

Through the efforts of The Missourian newspaper, it is probable that Kingshighway, known as State Highway 25, from Jackson to Appleton, a distance of about 17 miles, will be graveled as soon as the work can be done; this will hard-surface the one break in the highway from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis; at a meeting of members of the County Court, directors of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and commissioners for Cape and Byrd township special road districts Tuesday, agreements were entered into which will meet the requirements of the State Highway Commission, and as soon as the contracts can be let, the hauling of gravel will start.

Management of the Idan-Ha Hotel in Cape Girardeau announces that on Sept. 1 it will change from the American plan to the European plan; thereafter, meals will be served a la cart — pay as you eat — according to owner Walter D. Black; under the new plan, the dining room of the hotel will be converted into a cafe and the menu enlarged; by September, it is also planned to have added 16 rooms to the capacity of the hotel; the third floor of the new 44-room addition is nearing completion.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a weekend column called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper.