Out of the past: July 27

1995

City officials say the Cape LaCroix Creek-Walker Branch Flood Control Project is more than half finished; the Army Corps of Engineers will open bids today for what city officials call phase II-B of the project; it includes construction of a concrete channel between Broadway and Kingsway, next to Burger King and Choctaw Park.

City manager J. Ronald Fischer celebrates his 62nd birthday with cake and goodbyes; it's his last day as city manager, bringing an end to a career in Cape Girardeau city and county government that spanned three decades; he was Cape Girardeau's fourth city manager in 30 years and the only one who previously served as a councilman and mayor.

1970

Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Gilmore says he will file later this week for an injunction to halt a rock festival scheduled for Labor Day weekend near Sikeston, Missouri; while there is no state or county law prohibiting such an event, Gilmore says the request for the injunction will be based on the possibility of the festival constituting a public nuisance.

Two Cape Girardeau contractors -- Loy Crites and Burton J. Gerhardt -- are asked to resign from the Southeast Missouri Contractors Association following a labor dispute over a written agreement with Laborers Local 282; James L. Drury, chief negotiator for the association, calls the agreement "invalid."

1945

How an American airman, formerly of Cape Girardeau, was liberated from a German prison camp by his soldier twin brother has been revealed to friends here in letters from family members; the liberated flier is 1st Lt. Braxton Roberts, and his brother, who freed him in May, is Sgt. Mack Roberts; Braxton Roberts' plane was shot down over Germany in June 1943, during his first mission with the Army Air Forces.

A combination fruit packing shed and cold storage plant is being built at Deneke Orchard on Cape Rock Drive, owned by R.B. Potashnick and A.F. Deneke; the grading and packing will be done on the first floor, with space to be provided below for about 3,000 bushels of fruit.

1920

An unauthorized, nation-wide coal strike is threatening to paralyze industries; the situation in Cape Girardeau is serious, with all local coal dealers reporting they are out of the fuel and have no way of knowing when they'll receive more; the Missouri Public Utilities Co. here has enough coal on hand to operate eight days.

Construction on the west side of the new Frisco passenger depot, which had been temporarily delayed for a few days because of a lack of window and door frames, is begun with the arrival of the necessary material; carpenters are finishing the ceiling work on the outlet baggage room,; work has also begun on the north wall.

-- Sharon K. Sanders