Out of the past: Aug. 6

1993

The Mississippi River is at a 47.2 foot level, a flood-stage that almost completely obscures the mural on the city's floodwall; the flood crest is expected tomorrow, with a height of 49 feet.

Members of the Cape Girardeau fire and police departments have combined their job-specific abilities to form an investigation team designed to determine the cause and origin of suspicious fires; the Cape Girardeau Arson Task Force was formed in April by fire chief Robert L. Ridgeway with the cooperation of police chief Howard Boyd Jr.; it consists of four firefighters and three police officers.

1968

The Cape Girardeau Post Office has motorized its last 12 remaining mail routes within the inner city, where letter carriers were still walking the entire route; the carriers have begun using 12 new Rambler automobiles leased from a St. Louis firm; all letter carriers in the inlying Cape Girardeau areas are using the "park and loop" method with vehicles.

A record in electrical power consumption was set yesterday as temperatures here hit the 93-degree mark for the second consecutive day; Missouri Utilities Co., reported the kilowatt demand Monday at 105,300, breaking the previous record established in mid-July after a week-long heat wave.

1943

With a Public Service Commission ruling they can't operate farther than 2 miles outside the city limits, Cape Girardeau taxicabs are limited greatly in their field of passenger transportation; trips aren't permitted to Harris Field, 5 miles from the city, nor to numerous establishments along Highway 61 and to some points across the river in Illinois.

Closing of the break in the Mississippi River levee at McClure, Illinois, was completed yesterday, and the dredge Grafton of the U.S. Engineers fleet goes to a point near Gale, Illinois, to begin the pumping operations to close the largest of the two gaps in the main river dike there.

1918

Joseph Wingate Folk, ex-governor of Missouri, closed his campaign for U.S. Senator in an address here at the City Park yesterday evening; several hundred people were present to hear Folk, who was introduced by Albert Spradling; the greatest part of Folk's speech was devoted to citing the causes that led to America's participation in the war.

Mary Boeller died yesterday at the home of her son, Charles Engelmann, in Applecreek Township; Boeller was born in May 1825 and was therefore more than 93 years old; her maiden name was Kraegel, and she came to this country from Germany while very young; she had been married several times.

-- Sharon K. Sanders