Out of the past: Feb. 25

1994

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is forecast to crest 2 feet above the 32-foot flood stage Sunday; no serious flooding occurs at that stage, but the rising river has stopped construction of the Fayville levee near Olive Branch, Illinois.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, addressed members of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association at their annual banquet last night; buoyed by a balloon-laden Holiday Inn Convention Center, which was festooned in patriotic red, white and blue, Falwell sprinkled humor and spiritual anecdotes in a speech that drew a standing ovation.

1969

Sidney S. Sommers, a Cape Girardeau insurance agent, becomes the first candidate for the three-year term on the Cape girardeau City Council; two other candidates have filed to fill a one-year unexpired term on the council.

Proponents of a Senate bill to abolish special road districts are heard by the Senate Local Governments Committee in the evening, and opponents will have their say next Tuesday night; Sen. Albert M. Spradling Jr. of Cape Girardeau, who strongly opposes the measure, calls it "a sinister bill" that could mean the end of road tax expenditures inside cities such as Cape Girardeau.

1944

Second Lt. Joseph O. Koch, 25, a pilot in the Army Air Forces, was killed in action Feb. 15 in New Guinea, according to a message received by his widow, Dorothy Koch of Cape Girardeau, yesterday from the War Department; he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Koch of Commerce, Missouri, and had been located in the South Pacific combat area only a few weeks.

Congressman Orville Zimmerman has written Cape Girardeau Mayor R.E. Beckman that no policy has been formulated by the government for the disposal of the Harris Field property; the city has proposed it lease the facility after the Army Air Forces cease using it to train pilots in March.

1919

D.A. Glenn received word last night of the death of his sister, Mrs. G.E. Crumbaugh, in Eddyville, Kentucky; she was taken with influenza about two weeks ago and pneumonia followed; she was 73 years old and Glenn's only sister.

Cape Girardeau saloonkeepers have been notified the new federal tax on liquor goes into effect at midnight; all dealers will inventory their stock at the close of business at midnight tonight and will make a complete report, which a revenue agent will check; he will collect the new tax based on the report; the tax amounts to $3.35 per 100-proof gallon.

-- Sharon K. Sanders