Out of the past: Aug. 25

1995

PATTON, Mo. -- Cheri Fuemmeler is the new school superintendent at Meadow Heights, having served the past six months as interim superintendent; the school district has been in turmoil for years, culminating in July when Tom Waller resigned as superintendent.

Nobody at Jackson City Hall knew about the city's new 204 telephone prefix until people began listing it on their utility start-up forms; when City Clerk Mary Lowry got curious and called Southwestern Bell, she found out the strange phone numbers are correct; back in June, without fanfare, Jackson received its second telephone prefix; the first prefix is 243.

1970

Nell Holcomb School began classes yesterday, and for a time it was more moving day than school day as desks were carted from room to room to compensate for a larger-than-anticipated enrollment; 230 pupils showed up for school at Holcomb, but between 210 and 220 pupils had been expected.

Cape Girardeau's United Front has denied it had any part in three Friday night fires in Cape Girardeau in which arson is evident; the militant Black organization also has denied that it threatened violent actions if its demands weren't met; in a statement released Monday, the United Front contended, "The responsibility (for the fires) lies with the total community which for four generations failed to meet the human needs of its Poor and Black."

1945

SEMO District Fair catalogs are ready for distribution and will be placed at convenient places throughout the county; 4,000 of them were issued for the fair, which will be held at the new city park here Sept. 19 to 22.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- In a concentrated effort to stop the spread of infantile paralysis here, hundreds of buildings in Charleston are being sprayed with a chemical known as DDT; seven crews of men, three in each, manning spray guns, have since Thursday been spraying the town with emphasis on "shooting" interiors of homes; they expect to finish their work Monday; there are five cases of polio reported from Charleston, all of whom have been taken to a St. Louis hospital for treatment.

1920

The body of Homer L. Roberts, professor at the Southeast Teachers College here, is recovered after a continuous search since he drowned in Current River yesterday; the mishap occurred 12 miles from Eminence, Missouri, his boat having capsized.

J.B. Towner, representing the J.C. Penney Co., operating 297 department stores in the United States, is in Cape Girardeau and takes a lease on the Rodney G. Whitelaw building on Main Street, recently vacated by D.A. Glenn; he will establish a store here by Jan. 1, selling dry goods, wearing apparel and shoes for men, women and children; the store is 28-by-100 feet, and both floors will be used.

-- Sharon K. Sanders