Out of the past: Feb. 17

1998

Local Persian Gulf War veterans aren't surprised hostilities between the United States and Iraq are heating up again; Terry Crass, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, served as a nurse with the 217th Evac Hospital during the Gulf War; he says he isn't at all surprised that the United States is threatening to bomb Iraq over Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow U.N. weapons inspectors access; "I think that the problem was never really dealt with," said Crass, a Cape Girardeau resident and nurse in Southeast Hospital's neurology unit.

The nation needs Missouri values and common sense, U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond told cheering supporters yesterday in Cape Girardeau; Bond made a stop here as part of a campaign swing through the state to kick off his re-election campaign; the 58-year-old Republican was elected to the Senate in 1986 and is seeking re-election to a third term; Bond is being challenged by Democrat Jay Nixon, Missouri's attorney general.

1973

Sister M. Virgilia, administrator of Saint Francis Hospital, vigorously turns the first spade of earth while at the same time clutching papers used in the dedicatory program. (Southeast Missourian archive)

Sister M. Virgilia, administrator of Saint Francis Hospital, vigorously turns the first spade of earth while at the same time clutching papers used in the dedicatory program. (Southeast Missourian archive)

Under sunny skies and cold crisp winds, more than 200 persons gather on the site of the new Saint Francis Medical Center at Route K and Mount Auburn Road to watch Sister M. Virgilia Beikler, hospital administrator, toss the first spade of dirt into the air; the ground-breaking ceremony marks the start of construction for the new $13.5 million facility.

Tammy Hargraves, 7, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Hargraves of Scott City, will reign as the State Easter Seal Child during the 1973 Easter Seal Campaign opening March 1; funds raised during this annual appeal will provide care and treatment services for the disabled.

1948

Houck Field House, long a center of community activity, is destroyed by fire of undetermined origin at 7 a.m.; six men State College students, living in the building, flee to safety through a window after one of them smashes the glass; while no official estimate of the loss is available, unofficial estimates are as high as $75,000; in addition to the building, more than $10,000 worth of athletic equipment, practically the entire college stock, is lost.

An ordinance naming two city parks and the airport was passed by the Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday; at the recommendation of the City Plan Commission, the park on Broadway, formerly known as Fairground Park, will be named Capaha Park; the new park on Highway 61 will be known as Arena Park; and the former Harris Field will be renamed Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport.

1923

Lillian Patton, center, sustained a broken nose shortly after the start of a basketball game between Cape Girardeau Central High School and the Poplar Bluff, Missouri, girls; Patton's absence was felt by the locals, who fell to the visitors 15-11 at the Central High gymnasium.

The Minnen Brothers, who have been operating a dry goods store at 27 N. Main St. for the past two years, are preparing to move their place of business to 110 N. Main St.; they expect to be relocated within the next two weeks.

-- Sharon K. Sanders