Out of the past: Dec. 31

1998

Charles Kruse has been elected to a fourth two-year term as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation; Kruse, a Dexter farmer, was re-elected during the Farm Bureau's 82nd annual meeting at Osage Beach earlier this month; he was mentioned as a possible candidate for governor during his second term as Farm Bureau chief, but he remained in his present position, saying he wanted "to do the best job he could" for the Farm Bureau.

A change in how the federal government funds state veterans cemeteries could save Missouri millions, but could also delay two planned projects, including one at Bloomfield; a law signed by President Clinton on Veterans Day allows the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to fund 100% of construction and initial equipment costs for new state veterans cemeteries; previously, costs were split evenly between the VA and the state undertaking the project; while Missouri Veterans Commission officials applaud the federal government's willingness to pick up the whole tab, there is some concern that the program could now be underfunded; when Congress doubled the VA's financial burden for state cemeteries, it didn't increase the appropriation for the grant program.

1973

Building starts in Cape Girardeau hit an all-time dollar value high in 1973, with homeowners sharing in the high cost of construction by putting out $3,689,160 for 148 single-family dwellings; during the year, 432 building permits of all types were issued for an aggregate construction cost of $18,718,342, this for building construction and renovation alone and not including street and sewer construction; absent from this tally is the new Student Union being constructed at Southeast Missouri State University as well as around 100 dwellings and commercial and industrial structures erected just outside the city limits in sprawling new suburbs and industrial and commercial areas.

Traditional festivities that ring out the old and ring in the new are in store for many residents tonight as 1973 bows out, ushering in 1974; heavy advance reservations are reported by area nightclubs and restaurants; some are offering package deals that average $25 per couple for a full night of merrymaking, with an extra charge for night owls who choose to stay for an early New Year's Day breakfast.

1948

Cape Girardeau prepares for 1949 with church watch services, private parties in homes and celebrations of a gayer nature elsewhere; even the weather cooperates with fair skies and moderately cold temperature; a community New Year's Day service, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, is scheduled for tomorrow morning at the Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. R.C. Holliday, pastor of Centenary Methodist Church, as speaker.

Despite shortages and high prices, Cape Girardeau during 1948 saw its second greatest building program in history as new residences, business establishments and industrial plants were erected; with the year's count all in, the tabulation showed that in 1948 the community secured construction permits for 128 new residences at a cost of $541,900, 14 new business structures at a cost of $137,000 and 95 miscellaneous ones at a cost of $137,230; that, when totaled, brings 1948 construction, as stated on building permits issued by the city, to $816,130; it is below the $1,079,650 recorded in 1947, but is still the second highest amount ever written.

1923

Cape Girardeans appropriately usher in new year 1924 with social events in private homes, while many organizations hold watch parties at their respective meeting places for the entertainment of their members; dancing and other diversions furnish the guests with entertainment as they pass away the racing hours of 1923.

Cape Girardeau, leading city in her class in Missouri in building activity for the past two years, again set the pace in 1923, when 243 new buildings were erected at a cost of approximately $1,200,000, a survey by the Southeast Missourian newspaper shows; most of the buildings constructed were homes, exceptions being two major factories and additions to large plants already here; the greatest building activity has been in the west and south sections of town.

-- Sharon K. Sanders