Out of the past: July 6

1999

As part of its 25th anniversary, Port Cape Girardeau, the city’s premier rib restaurant, has added a delivery service; Port Cape opened in December 1974 as a family restaurant owned by David B. Knight and Associates in a three-level, 163-year-old brick building at Water and Themis streets; Dennis “Doc” Cain has owned the business since 1988.

Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, in a St. Louis day care center, signs a bill giving parents greater access to information about the workers who care for their children; the law creates the Family Care Safety Registry, and it requires criminal background checks on all workers in day care centers; the law also covers workers who provide care for the elderly.

1974

Work on the new Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce building, 601 N. Kingshighway, will be underway once selection of an architect has been made, says Robert B. Hendrix, Chamber executive vice president; the building was previously a doctor’s office, and there is a reception room in the front of the building with three examination rooms on each side of a hall behind it; plans call for removal of the partitions separating the examination rooms and installing new partitions, which would divide the area into two offices on the left of a hall and a workroom and storage room on the right; at the rear of the building will be a board room the width of the building.

The Jerry Lipps Truck Service is erecting a new brick and masonry structure at 130 S. Frederick St. to be used for truck salvage and other storage; a portion of the building has two floors and an additional room is being built adjacent to the main office building for a truck drivers’ lounge.

1949

What was described by board president A.C. Magill as “the start of positive action for a new high school building” was initiated by the Cape Girardeau school board last night, when it formally adopted recommendations of the finance committee; one of the first objectives set out in adopting the recommendations is the definite selection of a site for the high school.

The Marty Marion Hyde Park beer distributing agency, owned by the St. Louis Cardinal shortstop, has been sold to the Thilenius Distributing Co., Sprigg and Themis streets, and is now being operated in conjunction with the firm’s Budweiser agency; the Marion building just off Highway 61 west of the Airline was demolished by the tornado of May 21; Marion, who was here frequently in the off-season, at one time planned to move to Cape Girardeau, but continued to live in St. Louis when he was unable to find housing here.

1924

The first of the series of union religious meetings, which are being participated in by nine local congregations this summer, is held in the evening at Courthouse Park; union services are also being held at Centenary Methodist Church during July for the benefit of college students; the Rev. Charles H. Swift, pastor of First Christian Church, delivers the sermon at the meeting at Centenary, while the Rev. C.H. Morton, Presbyterian Church pastor, occupies the pulpit at the park.

J.W. Gerhardt, of the Gerhardt Construction Co., returned to Cape Girardeau yesterday from Hannibal, where he was the successful bidder for construction work on the new Mark Twain School, one of four educational plants to be built there this year; Hannibal plans to spend $800,000 this year for new schools.

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.