Out of the past: June 11

1995

The Rev. Jim Caughlan, pastor of Evangelical United Church of Christ, and his family recently visited Carron Hall United Church in rural Jamaica as part of a church-wide partnership program; in this program, churches of the world are "twinned" with churches in other countries.

An estimated 50,000 people enjoyed the two-day Riverfest that ended last night with the traditional fireworks display; the event was almost canceled after Thursday's heavy rain and storms; Friday's attendance was low, but Saturday proved to be a busy day for Riverfest volunteers.

1970

A proposal to purchase 63 voting machines for Cape Girardeau County elections and to consolidate some precincts in order to reduce the number of machines that would be required is submitted to the County Court; the proposal is submitted by the Automatic Voting Machine Division of AVM Corp., a voting-machine manufacturer in Jamestown, New York.

Seeking to challenge the "establishment" to solve various problems on local and national levels, a Cape Girardeau chapter of the New Democratic Coalition is being organized under the leadership of Edwin A. O'Donnell, a State College instructor; O'Donnell sees the biggest local concern as the lack of adequate housing; he says the NDC will promote public housing for low-income persons.

1945

Unusually heavy rain fell again in Cape Girardeau over the weekend with a downpour Saturday night being accompanied by a strong wind, which did some damage here; the Mississippi River is also inching upward again; it is at 33.9 feet at Cape Girardeau; this is the fourth time this year the river has moved above flood stage, a record for a six-month period.

Henry Norman Huhn, aviation student stationed at Luke Field, Arizona, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Huhn of Cape Girardeau, appears in several scenes of the motion picture "God Is My Co-Pilot," currently showing at the Broadway Theater.

1920

Leslie McKinnis is wearing some scars on his face that tell the story of a high dive into shallow water last night; McKinnis, with a number of young people, went out to Three-Mile Creek to take a dip in the sparkling water; they located a "hole" of water that looked deep enough to dive into and, without investigating further, McKinnis jumped in; the result was he struck bottom, said bottom being graveled; his injuries aren't serious.

Betty Gerlach, pioneer resident, passes away at her Olive Street home in the evening at age 70; she was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but came to Cape Girardeau County with her parents, William and Martha Young, when she was 6; she is survived by her husband, Edward Gerlach, and three children, three grandchildren, two brothers and a sister.

-- Sharon K. Sanders