Out of the past: June 29

1999

Last year it was Willie, and this year its Waylon who will headline the SEMO District Fair; country music star Waylon Jennings, Billy Ray Cyrus and Terri Clark will perform during the fair, which will be held Sept. 12 to 18 at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau; in addition, as in years past, the fair will feature a demolition derby, the Outlaw Tractor Pull, livestock judging and 4-H exhibits.

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education last night approved a scaled-back design and bid for construction of the Cape Girardeau Vocational Career Center; bids submitted for the project two weeks ago were 25% over the district’s estimates; after considering changes in the building specifications, the board voted unanimously to approve a revised bid for $9,854,500 submitted by Kiefner Brothers Construction Co.; the revisions postpone some construction on parking lots and downgrade some fixtures and equipment, but leaves the educational levels of the building intact.

1974

Four men were injured after an explosion and fire damaged the Ceramo Co., in Jackson about 10 p.m. yesterday; all were treated and released at Southeast Hospital except Earl Stovall of Jackson, who is listed in satisfactory condition suffering from second-degree chemical burns; Jackson city police say the explosion occurred after fuel oil escaped from a broken valve on a 2,000-gallon storage tank on the southeast side of the building; fumes backed up beneath the building, and the spilled fuel oil poured through underground culverts down Goose Creek; an unknown source touched off the explosion, buckling an 8-inch reenforced concrete loading dock, and the fire spread over 300 yards down the creek.

With growing dissatisfaction in Congress over the administration of the national flood insurance program, Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton, D-Mo., is in Cape Girardeau to learn the thoughts of citizens here; city manager W.G. Lawley bluntly tells him, “It’s not really an insurance program. It’s more of a device to achieve land use control over areas designated as flood prone areas by HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development).”

1949

The heroics of 17-year-old Carl Macke are being credited with the saving of the life of his employer, who was badly burned in a garage explosion yesterday; taking command of the situation following the morning explosion at the Underwood radiator shop, 602 S. Sprigg St., in which the owner, Albert L. Underwood, 25, was badly burned, young Macke, the filling station attendant, brought his employer to the ground with a necktie tackle and ripped his blazing clothes from his body; Underwood is being treated at Saint Francis Hospital for second-degree burns on the his face and hands and third-degree burns on his arms.

Although hampered by an ordinance which provides no penalty but makes it unlawful to either sell or discharge fireworks inside the Cape Girardeau city limits, city officials have reached an agreement with those who stocked fireworks supplies whereby they will sell only sparklers and other devices which are of a harmless and noiseless variety.

1924

The Rev. Eldon Curtis Dolbeer, field missionary for the United Lutheran Church, holds services at Security Hall; good crowds attend both the morning and evening services, when Dolbeer discusses the organization of a United Lutheran congregation in Cape Girardeau; there are currently more than 20 families here already affiliated with the church.

The Rev. Victor Brugge is installed as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Gordonville, with the Rev. F.H. Melzer, pastor of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, in charge of the service; Brugge succeeds the Rev. W.C. Krueger, who accepted the pastorate of a church at Knoxville, Tennessee.

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.