Out of the past: July 13

1999

The Mississippi County commissioners have delayed the completion date of the Mississippi County Courthouse at Charleston for a third time because of difficulties with receiving supplies; the delay won’t cost the contractor because the county didn’t include a time-delay clause in its contract; most recently, delays in receiving the limestone needed for the building’s exterior have kept the general contractor, C.A. Walker Construction Co., from completing work on the outside of the structure.

Cleanup begins of some 500,000 tires near Benton, which have been stockpiled for six years in the sandy field near Interstate 55; the tires long have been an eyesore and a breeding ground for rats, mosquitoes and complaints; Scott County government, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, local legislators including Sen. Peter Kinder and Wood and Houston Bank, which holds a lien on the property, worked together to get the cleanup process underway.

1974

Looking to expand its production facilities in Cape Girardeau, Dow Chemical Co., has announced the purchase of a 175-acre tract of land on Nash Road on which it will locate a plant; the tract is a farm owned by Frank Miller along the south side of Nash Road and about a quarter of a mile west of the Greater Cape Girardeau Industrial Park.

Work has begun to convert a former warehouse into the new site for the nutrition program for senior citizens presently being handled by Sunny Hill Restaurant; the warehouse, at 23 N. Middle St., will contain about four offices for the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, one large general assembly room, kitchen and storage area, with the remaining space used for a dining room.

1949

Construction work on the 2,000-foot extension to the 2,000-foot northeast-southwest asphalt runway at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport has been completed, and the lighting system for the addition has been installed, making the local field capable of accommodating some of the largest aircraft, either at night or day; the entire 4,000 feet of paved runway is lighted, and the beacon and wind direction indicator are also equipped with lights.

Enlarging the city by about one-third, Sikeston residents balloting in a special election yesterday voted to extend the city limits; there are an estimated 2,000 residents in the new territory, and it is thought Sikeston will be a third-class city with a population of 10,000.

1924

Bishop Edwin H. Hughes, nationally known minister and leader in religious thought in the Methodist Episcopal Church, opens a series of sermons at Centenary Methodist Church on “Christianity for the 20th Century”; the first sermon is delivered in the morning at the church, and other meetings are scheduled for 8 this evening and on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings; the period of the bishop’s visit here has been designated by the congregation as “Christian Leadership Week”.

Student minister Ray Cunningham of Des Moines, Iowa, preaches to the newly organized United Lutheran Congregation of Cape Girardeau at its meetings at Security Hall, 833 Broadway, in the morning and evening; Cunningham, a student in the Lutheran Seminary at Chicago, will remain here during the summer; after he graduates, he will go to India as a missionary.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a blog called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper. Check out her blog at semissourian.com/history.