Out of the past: Jan. 21

1991

Earl G. Lewis Jr., former Vietnam pilot and prisoner of war, applauds the U.S. for fighting in the Persian Gulf the way he believes the Vietnam War should have been fought; Lewis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, was held captive by the North Vietnamese for 5 1/2 years; he retired from the Navy in 1985 and now lives in San Diego.

Organizers are disappointed in the turnout for the program honoring the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Southeast Missouri State University; only about 150 people attend the program at Academic Hall, including 42 members of the Black Student Fellowship Choir, who perform.

1966

Arnold Roth, associate judge of the County Court from Cape Girardeau Township, announces he won't be a candidate for re-election; Roth is completing his second two-year term on the court.

Some changes in the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale are announced by the Otahki Girl Scout Council; the local council will conduct its sale this year in conjunction with the Cotton Boll Council at Sikeston, Missouri; five kinds of cookies will be offered at 50 cents per package.

1941

Work is progressing on South Main Street, where WPA labor is being used to open the street south of Good Hope; 60 men are employed on the project; the city also has applied for an extension of the project, so Main Street can be built farther south, near the Frisco Railroad tracks.

The vacant lot on Fountain Street south of the federal building, owned by Edward L. Markham, has been sold to Judge I.R. Kelso and may be used for an office building; the lot has a frontage of 66 feet on Fountain and is 125 feet deep.

1916

The deep well at the Normal School is finished, and it's a success; for about six months a well-drilling outfit from St. Louis has been boring a hole in the campus; it is now found perhaps an endless supply of water has been struck.

COMMERCE, Mo. -- Wade G. Anderson, who purchased the old Burgess building from E.A. Johnson, is having the building moved to the lot known as the old Oberly corner; the building will be occupied as a real-estate office.

-- Sharon K. Sanders