Out of the past: June 15

1996

Friday's hot weather didn't stop people from swarming downtown for the opening of Riverfest '96; large crowds showed up early Friday afternoon despite the near-90-degree temperatures; visitors shuffled through the many arts and crafts exhibits, and most couldn't resist the food concessions, stopping for a Riverfest corn dog, funnel cake or ice-cold beverage to fight the heat; even parents had a special place to take their children this year: the Family Fun Village.

McCarthy Brothers Construction Co. is seeking bids from subcontractors and suppliers for a new Mississippi River bridge that will connect Missouri and Illinois at Cape Girardeau; bids must be in hand by 10 p.m. June 27, which will give McCarthy Brothers time to prepare its final bid for the main span of the cable-stayed bridge the next day; the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department will open bids June 28.

1971

After nearly two years of "playing it by ear," the Southeast Missouri Law Enforcement Assistance Council Laboratory at State College is getting a full-time chemist and, with him, an even greater work load; Dr. Donald Popham, a State College chemistry instructor who has been directing the lab since it opened in September 1969, says he expects to have a full-time chief chemist and director by July 1.

The hum of activity is a welcomed sound at the Glenn House, 325 S. Spanish St.; after years of silence, work by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau to restore the home to its Victorian grandeur is picking up tempo; a new roof was installed last year, and now work has begun on the large front porch; the carriage house is being refurbished, and initial plans are underway to begin acquisition of period pieces for furnishing the eight-room house.

1946

Those 3.2 beer places whose patronage in the past has included teenagers receive word that after July 1, kids as beer drinkers will be taboo; and the burden of deciding whether a drinker is 21 will be on the tavern operators; how many teenage beer drinkers there are locally is unknown, but there must be many, especially among under-21 war veterans, who could shoulder a gun in war, but can't legally take whatever recoil there is in a couple of bottles of 3.2.

Cape Girardeau interests, under the U.S. Engineer's plans for controlling flooding by the Mississippi River here, would be required to make an expenditure of an estimated $572,000, according to a notice received from Maj. C.O. Howe Jr., executive officer for the division engineer in St. Louis; the plan provides that the community would furnish the land, easement and right of way, and would be required to perform "certain items of local cooperation, including building alterations, track adjustments and station alterations."

1921

Big, glaring, snappy posters, done in red, white and blue, make their appearance on the streets here, proclaiming that Cape Girardeau will have the biggest and finest Fourth of July celebration in this section of the country, and inviting everyone to attend; the local American Legion post will present the entertainment, which will continue from early in the morning until late at night with "something doing every minute."

Baseballs being used in the major leagues this season are livelier than those used in former years, says Charles "Kid" Nichols, star pitcher of the Boston National League team 20 years ago, who is in Cape Girardeau on business; that, according to Nicols, accounts for the remarkable amount of hitting in the majors, which is breaking all records this season; Nichols, who resides in Kansas City, Missouri, and is with a film-distribution company, is in town with the motion picture, "The County Fair," which is showing at the Orpheum.

-- Sharon K. Sanders