Out of the past: June 15

1995

Signs of the flooding Mississippi River's retreat -- mud-covered walkways and water-stained siding, wet carpet lying on the lawn and ruined furniture heaped on the curb -- show Cape Girardeans have reached the cleanup phase; if all goes as predicted, the river will drop below flood stage at Cape Girardeau next Thursday.

The Missouri Division of Family Services, now housed in cramped quarters at 130 S. Frederick St., may get some breathing room by the end of the year; the Division of Facilities Management for the state recently awarded a bid for a 19,000-square-foot facility to be constructed at Highway 74 and South Sprigg Street.

1970

The Missouri Highway Department will take over 1.3 miles of county road from Crump to Lake Girardeau, probably in late 1971, the County Court learns; Charles Lawrence of Sikeston, Missouri, with the state highway department, appears before the court to explain plans for the Lake Girardeau road; he says the state has started a special fund for recreational access programs, and the road to Lake Girardeau will be one of three being considered in this area at the present time.

Jack Litzelfelner of Jackson led throughout most of the 36-hole invitational tournament at Cape Girardeau Country Club over the weekend, and only a sensational putt by one of the area's top-ranking amateurs, Connie Connell of Mounds, Illinois, held Litzelfelner's charge off on the final hole; Connell "holed-out" with a 143, two-day total, one stroke ahead of Litzelfelner.

1945

Indications are the Mississippi River has reached the peak of its current rise and a slow fall is in sight; the stage at 8 a.m. is 38.22 feet, according to river observer Lee L. Albert.

A fast-moving kidnapping suspect, who is seen in Cape Girardeau early in the day, is being hunted by officers in the vicinity of Blytheville, Arkansas; he is said to be driving a stolen blue Chevrolet automobile, accompanied by a woman; he allegedly forced the woman who owns the auto to drive him from Springfield to Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday; there, he put her out and drove away in the car.

1920

Union carpenters working in Cape Girardeau and vicinity went on a strike at noon Monday because of a raise in the union wage scale with which employers didn't comply; laborers employed by J.W. Gerhardt, contractor for the new Frisco station and many other buildings under construction here, are among those striking; labor men say the new wage scale of 75 cents an hour went into effect June 1; before that time, the scale was 60 cents.

About 50 out-of-town guests are here to attend the commencement exercises of St. Vincent's Young Ladies Academy, at which 12 girls receive diplomas; special honors are conferred upon Hazel B. Huhn, Laura Lee, Lillian Ingles, Mary Martha Barrett, Genevieve Harkness and Josephine Tyler.

-- Sharon K. Sanders