Out of the past: June 12

1997

The Gary Garner Era officially began yesterday at Southeast Missouri State University; Garner, who coached Fort Hays (Kansas) State to a 34-0 record and the NCAA Division II national championships in 1995-96, was introduced as Southeast's new head men's basketball coach during an afternoon news conference at the University Center.

People attending this weekend's Riverfest will be able to enjoy the Mississippi River for a change; in recent years festival-goers could only see floodgates that were closed in the floodwater because of high river stages; but this year the gates are open, and the river is falling slowly.

1972

Griffaw Furniture Co., whose plant is at 432 S. Middle St., has purchased six acres of land in the Greater Cape Girardeau Industrial Area on Nash Road; within the foreseeable future, they plan to build a new manufacturing plant there; the furniture firm, owned by Mr. and Mrs. William E. Griffaw and family members, began business in Cape Girardeau 15 years ago and now manufactures an extensive line of upholstered furniture distributed throughout the country.

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Petite Patricia Nixon Cox, a white dress accenting her blonde hair and blue eyes, charmed a crowd of 1,000 as she tossed a bouquet in the boiling waters of Big Spring south of here Saturday, officially dedicating the Ozark National Scenic Riverways; the president's daughter, substituting for her sister, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, was a gracious figure as she returned along the pathway, besieged by Girl Scouts and other children.

1947

With the cotton-chopping season in full swing in Southeast Missouri, the wage is running $4 to some few instances of $6.25 per day, a survey of several counties shows; in many cases the prevailing wage is $5 for about nine hours of work; the press of work, due to grass and weeds, coming in the wake of rains, has caused growers to bid up a bit for choppers.

For the first time since May 1942, when consumer rationing began, residents of Cape Girardeau cast aside their ration books following the announcement of the end of sugar rationing; the program ends for domestic consumers, restaurants and hotels, but rationing continues for industrial consumers of sugar.

1922

St. John's Evangelical Church was wrecked and other buildings blown down or badly damaged by a wind storm of cyclonic proportions which visited the Schoenebeck district, five miles northwest of Jackson, at 10 p.m. yesterday; the parsonage was also badly damaged, but no one was home at the time.

There are 31 cases of measles in Cape Girardeau County, and the epidemic is spreading rapidly, according to Dr. Ernest Huber, county health officer; steps are being taken to enforce a strict quarantine to prevent a greater spread of the disease; the epidemic began in the Jackson schools, 16 children taking the disease the first day in one room, and a smaller number the next day in another room; since then, it has been under control in Jackson, but is spreading to outlying districts.

-- Sharon K. Sanders