Out of the past: Dec. 27

1996

The trappings of Christmas disappear quickly; even the trees don't stay up long; area residents discarded Christmas trees at Arena Park yesterday in what has become an annual holiday ritual; each year, the city of Cape Girardeau provides a site in the southeast corner of the park for people to drop of their trees; the Missouri Conservation Department takes most of them and sinks them in area lakes as fish habitat.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, opening-round play in the top bracket of the 52nd annual University High School Christmas Tournament sets up a quarterfinal clash between two intense, longtime Cape Girardeau County rivals; both Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson rolled past over-matched foes at the Show Me Center yesterday; the fourth-seeded Tigers drilled No. 13 Oak Ridge, 79-40, while the fifth-seeded Indians disposed of No. 12 Leopold, 62-33.

1971

The jingle of cash registers continues as shoppers take advantage of after-holiday sales following one of the biggest Christmas shopping seasons ever, Cape Girardeau merchants report; it's also a day for exchanging gifts too big, too little or, perhaps, the wrong color.

Two property owners in the Hobbs Chapel area north of Cape Girardeau have filed suit in Circuit Court seeking an injunction against City Sanitation Inc. to prevent the company from operating a dump near them; filing suit were John K. Holcomb and Samuel D. Shrum; the suit says Holcomb has a home on land near the proposed dump, while Shrum has plans to build a home in close proximity to the planned dump.

1946

The holiday basketball tournament kicked off yesterday at Houck Field House, with Van Buren, College High Preps, Flat River, Sikeston, Fornfelt, Cape Girardeau Central, Leadwood and Charleston surviving the first round of play; five of the first eight seeded teams turned in first-round victories, with three eliminated: Morley, Anniston and Malden.

CAIRO, Ill. -- The proposition to locate and pay $18,000 for a site on which to eventually build a large grade school to replace Elmwood and Lincoln schools was passed by an overwhelming majority, although the total vote was light; by the favorable vote, the Cairo Board of Education is authorized to pay a sum not to exceed $18,000 for a tract of land 460 feet by 375 feet.

1921

A large projecting machine for motion pictures is being installed in the auditorium of Academic Hall at Southeast Missouri State College; the machine is being placed in position in the balcony of the auditorium by Ecker Brothers of St. Louis; it is the same make and size of the machines installed in the theaters here.

At a meeting of the board of directors of the Farmers Cooperative Association Saturday night, John Shaw of New Madrid County, Missouri, was elected manager of the association store and warehouse here; the association has 150 members, each of whom subscribed for $100 worth of stock; $5,000 was invested in a lot in the northern part of the city, where a warehouse and store will be built.

-- Sharon K. Sanders