Out of the past: Dec. 20

1995

K's Merchandise is coming to Cape Girardeau; the Decatur, Illinois-based retail company purchased the former Central Hardware Building in Cape Girardeau; it will house the company's 14th store and the first in Missouri.

The city of Cape Girardeau and the Federal Aviation Administration have finalized a deal to allow the city to operate the tower at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; the city will assume operation of the air traffic control tower Jan. 1; the FAA announced in late November that it planned to eliminate funding to operate the Cape Girardeau tower and numerous others nationwide.

1970

Dr. Donald Amelon of Jackson, an associate professor of industrial and technical education at State College, has been elected president of the board of directors of St. Andrew Lutheran Church; other officers elected were vice president, Edward Schwent; secretary, Stanley A. Grimm, and treasurer, Leonard Dreyer.

With over 12,000 cans of food collected Friday at Cape Girardeau schools, Capt. Eugene Harris of the Salvation Army says, "It looks like we should be able to fill food requests from approximately 300 needy families this Christmas."

1945

Cape Girardeau, held in the grip of a prolonged cold wave, moves into its 12th consecutive day of below freezing temperatures; but some encouragement for relief is seen in the forecast, which calls for slightly warmer weather; the overnight low was 5 degrees.

Southeast Missouri Bus Lines has purchased a building on the east side of Spanish Street between Broadway and Themis and has abandoned plans for building on a lot it recently bought at the northeast corner of Broadway and Main Street; the Spanish Street building, purchased from D.F. Clay, who recently acquired it from Leming Lumber Co., will be used as a repair garage for buses; plans for a terminal have been delayed indefinitely pending an improvement in the materials and labor situation.

1920

Coal is selling at $10 per ton retail in Cape Girardeau, while in Charleston, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and other Southeast Missouri towns, it is priced at $12 per ton; in St. Louis, many dealers are advertising the best grades of coal delivered in the bin at $6.50 a ton.

An interesting map has been issued by the Missouri Highway Commission showing the primary and secondary roads proposed for construction with the $60,000,000 bond issue funded Nov. 2; five main roads are planned across the state, three running east to west and two north to south; one of the latter will follow the Mississippi River for a good distance, passing through Festus, Ste. Genevieve, Perryville, Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Morley, New Madrid, Hayti and thence to the Arkansas line.

-- Sharon K. Sanders