Out of the past: March 14

1998

Auto thefts are up in Missouri but down in Cape Girardeau; despite the number of security devices available to deter auto thievery, 24,170 vehicles were reported stolen in Missouri during 1997, the Missouri Highway Patrol reports; that's an increase of 5% over 1996; in Cape Girardeau, however, the number of vehicle thefts fell from 135 in 1996 to 102 in 1997, city police reported.

Sixty Pinewood Derby race cars take part in the annual "Great Scout Show" at Osage Community Centre; along with race cars, the day's activities include the Rain Gutter Regatta, a boat race, and the Space Derby, a race of home-made rocket ships; in addition to the races, the activities showcase Cub and Boy Scouts from throughout the Shawnee District, featuring displays of Scout equipment, hands-on Scout crafts and demonstrations and American Indian dancing.

1973

Over five years of frustration and anxiety end in the morning for Mr. and Mrs. Earl G. Lewis of Cape Girardeau when they receive word their son, Lt. Cmdr. Earl G. Lewis Jr., a prisoner of war in Vietnam since Oct. 24, 1967, has been released; the Lewises receive a phone call at 1:30 a.m., confirming their son was on the plane; Cmdr. Lewis, a Navy flier and former Cape Girardeau resident, was among the 108 prisoners of war released by the North Vietnamese in Hanoi early in the day.

Rainstorms moving across Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois early in the day swell already rising streams, putting more low-lying land under water; the Mississippi River also continues to rise as the weekend crest nears; floodwaters rise in South Cape Girardeau, but no more families move out; the river at Cape Girardeau stands at 37.6 feet in the morning, 5 1/2 feet above flood stage.

1948

A meeting for the organization of the Cape Girardeau Council of Church Women, an inter-racial and inter-denominational group, will be held Friday at Presbyterian Church; the movement toward organization came as a result of a suggestion from Mrs. C.R. Schroer of St. Louis, a returned missionary from Japan, who was guest speaker at the World Prayer Day, Feb. 13, at Evangelical Church.

The congregation of the Christian Church, at a meeting following services, adopts a report of the church board employing the Rev. Vernon A. Hammond as pastor for a two-year period beginning July 1; he will serve as interim pastor, as he has since October, until the term begins.

1923

The Excelsior Chapter of the A.F. & A.M. met in the directors' rooms of one of the banks in Jackson last night to discuss the re-building of the Masonic lodge rooms on the corner of High and First South streets; that building, erected about 1879, was wrecked by the recent cyclone; the two-story brick building had been used for various purposes over the years, but most recently the ground floor was occupied by the Brennecke & James Garage; the second floor has always been used as a meeting place for the lodge; while the building is being rebuilt, the lodge will occupy the old McKendree Church building, which was rented from the International Shoe Co.

F.W. Niermann, teacher at Trinity Lutheran School for the past 13 years, was given a surprise yesterday when the students presented him with a gold pencil and gold fountain pen, in honor of his 54th birthday anniversary.

-- Sharon K. Sanders