Out of the past: Feb. 7

1990

A presidential search committee at Southeast Missouri State University names four finalists for university president; the finalists are: William M. Fulkerson Jr., 49, of Alamosa, Colorado; J. Wade Gilley, 50, of Vienna, Virginia; Robert M. McChesney, 47, of Conway, Arkansas, and Kala M. Stroup, 52, of Murray, Kentucky.

Students who walk to and from Hawthorn Elementary School will soon have a safer path, when a new footbridge over Cape LaCroix Creek is finished; footings for the bridge are being poured adjacent to the Hopper Road bridge.

1965

The Rev. Robert W. Olson is installed as the new pastor of Christ Lutheran Church of Gordonville at an evening service; Olson was graduated from Concordia Collegiate Institute of Bronxville, New York, in 1951 and from Concordia Seminary in 1955; he comes to Gordonville after serving as missionary-at-large of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church in Yonkers, New York.

Some time over the weekend, vandals painted historic Cape Rock atop the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River pink; the miscreants also painted a pink stripe down the stone steps leading to the road on the east side and painted the word "Phantom," also in pink, in the roadway at the foot of the steps.

1940

Rain or snow again threatens as the skies remain cloudy over Southeast Missouri and temperatures hover close to the freezing point; the mercury rose to 45 degrees yesterday afternoon, permitting about half of the 5 1/2-inch snowfall to melt away; streets are still slippery, and city crews are busy spreading cinders at intersections.

Bonds to cover part of the cost of construction of a $25,000 school building for the Campster School District southwest of Cape Girardeau have been sold to the Cape County Savings Bank of Jackson; the issue is for $8,000 and the rate of interest is 3 percent, with the purchaser paying a premium of $80; the bonds will run for a period of 16 years; the WPA proposes to spend $17,000 for labor and some materials; the school will be built of concrete and stone.

1915

Mr. and Mrs. J.H. McPherson leave in the morning for California to visit the San Diego and San Francisco exhibitions; they will be gone about five weeks; they are the first residents of this community to make the trip.

At worship services in several of Cape Girardeau churches, it is announced that a mass meeting of men will be held at the Presbyterian church Thursday evening; the purpose of this meeting is to discuss actions that can be taken to protect the morals of the city; a protest is to be raised against the "notorious resort" that is permitted to flourish in the very heart of the city.

-- Sharon K. Sanders