Out of the past: Dec. 26

1998

Mike Obermiller is one of many gas station owners who have quit pumping fuel; Traveler's Garage-Gas, a service station at 104 N. Sprigg St. for more than 35 years, has become Traveler's lawn and garden business; Obermiller closed the gasoline pumps and had the underground tanks removed more than a month ago.

The man who has managed Cape Girardeau's water system since the city took over the service in 1992 will step down early next month; during his tenure, Tom Taggart guided the water system through the ownership transition, two major Mississippi River floods and a major fire at the primary water treatment plant; all without residents ever losing service.

1973

Optimism is expressed by Cape Girardeau's mayor and city manager on the fuel shortage which could effect three sources of municipal income: city sales tax, state motor fuel tax and gross receipts tax; neither Mayor Howard C. Tooke nor city manager W.G. Lawley see the bottom dropping out of the city's monetary coffers because of the energy crisis, particularly if industry keeps operating.

Tenth District Rep. Bill D. Burlison, D-Cape Girardeau, announces legislation that would create an Emergency Coal Administration with powers similar to those of the war production czars who mobilized the industrial resources of the country in World War II; Burlison notes that coal accounts for 73% of the total recoverable fossil fuels in the United States; to utilize this energy source, Burlison says, "It is necessary that there be a single agency with adequate authority to coordinate all elements necessary for the desired increase in the production and conversion of coal into energy."

1948

Special music for the morning worship service at Grace Methodist Church is provided by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Siurua of Danville, Kentucky; she is the daughter of the Rev. P.A. Kasey, the pastor.

Ice-covered streets and highways brought considerable grief to Christmas Eve motorists, and while there were no serious mishaps, police report there were nine wrecks in Cape Girardeau; the Highway Patrol and garages offering tow services say many vehicles, one being a bus, slipped off the highway in the area this weekend.

1923

Ira Collins, a fireman with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, resigns his job, and applications for his successor are being received; fire chief George French says a man, not too old, and who is willing to work when emergency calls, is wanted.

PUXICO, Mo. -- The state bank examiner takes charge of the Bank of Puxico, closed on Monday, and will make a complete examination of the institution's records; D.F. Walser, president, and J.C. Walser, cashier, are called into consultation, together with members of the board of directors; failure of the bank to secure re-appointment as one of the depositories for money of Stoddard County led to the closing of the bank, according to a reliable source.

-- Sharon K. Sanders