Out of the past: Aug. 28

1997

A new student wandered the halls of Cape Girardeau Central High School yesterday for the first day of classes; uniformed and smiling, Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Barry Hovis was the model freshman as he began his first day as the school's resource officer; Hovis is the first policeman to serve as resource officer here.

Roosevelt Banks will close in Cape Girardeau and Dexter, Missouri, in mid-November as a result of Roosevelt Financial Group Inc.'s merger with Mercantile Bancorporation; the two banking networks will combine Nov. 17, when Roosevelt officially changes its name to Mercantile; Mercantile Bancorporation will close more than 35 branches in Missouri as a result of the merger.

1972

A proposal to construct 164 low-rent housing units for Cape Girardeau's elderly and low-income residents has been made by members of the Prince Hall Masonic Benevolent Association Inc., a subsidiary of Most Worshipful Prince Hall Masonic Grand Lodge of Missouri; the group presented architectural plans for the multi-family, single family and duplex units to city officials Saturday morning; the housing complex will be located between South West End Boulevard and Beaudean Lane.

Construction has begun on a warehouse of 4,000 square feet for Royal Crown bottling interests on a site on old Highway 61 near the municipal airport; serving as a distribution point for Cape Girardeau and Perry counties, the soft drink is brought here from bottling facilities in St. Louis and Chicago.

1947

Paced by a permit for an $18,000 store building to be erected on the west side of Middle Street between Themis and Independence streets, construction work in the last week is continuing its summertime boom; in the nine permits approved last week, work amounting to $49,060 was listed; seven of the permits were for residential construction, one for a neon sign and the other for the store; the latter will be a single building, but will be divided down the center by a firewall to provide accommodation for two businesses.

Katie Oliver takes over management of the beauty shop in the Idan-Ha Hotel building, which she purchased from Mary E. Finley and the latter's sister; it will be known as Katie's Beauty Shop and was formerly the Marinello-Finley establishment; Oliver had been with Florence Norvell's shop.

1922

JEFFERSON CITY -- Cape Girardeau has two men on the most important Black commission ever named in Missouri, the names of the 14 members of the Missouri Negro Industrial Commission having just been announced by Gov. A.M. Hyde; Cape Girardeau members of the commission are O.O. Nance, principal of Lincoln High School here, and Robert S. Cobb, present secretary of the commission and a Cape Girardeau educator.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- It is reported that trainmen operating on the Frisco Railroad out of this place have issued an ultimatum that, unless railroad officials order the removal of the National Guard troops here by 5 p.m. tomorrow, they will walk out and refuse to operate trains; the ultimatum follows a meeting of the Big Four Brotherhoods here, who, it is said, objected to the machine guns and the rifles in the hands of the soldiers.

-- Sharon K. Sanders