Out of the past: March 19

1999

A small tear in the rubber blade of a windshield wiper made the difference between excellent and perfect during Jackson School District’s spring bus inspection yesterday; three hours and 54 buses later, the school district posted a near perfect inspection score of 98.1%, well above the state average of 85.3%; this achievement also earned the district the distinguished Fleet Excellence Award, given school districts that score 95% or higher on the annual spring inspection.

Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence is setting up offices at 63 Doctors Park in space donated by Dr. Jonathan Thomas; he gave over half of his clinic so that victims of sexual violence can get counseling and exams; Saint Francis Medical Center and Southeast Hospital are helping to set up the center.

1974

Guy A. Lowes, a private consulting engineer of Jackson, has been hired as Cape Girardeau’s new city engineer; Lowes, 36, will begin his new duties April 1.

Gary Lynch is looking forward to April 1; Lynch, a familiar figure around Southeast Missouri football circles, will be sending his charges through their paces on that date, but instead of the orange-and-black uniforms of the Cape Girardeau Central Tigers, he’ll be directing a group of red-and-white clad Indians from Southeast Missouri State University, as offensive coordinator; Lynch has guided the Tigers the past five years.

1949

The Cape Girardeau City Council has before it a Chamber of Commerce request that consideration be given to a bond issue to complete the Arena Building and, more particularly, that the building be at least acoustically treated to remedy sound defects.

Edward A. Hartel of Jackson and Roger Reed of Charleston, agents for the Missouri Conservation Commission, were wounded when fired upon shortly before last midnight as they sought to arrest game poachers in a field north of Wyatt in Mississippi County; Hartel, special agent for the Southeast Missouri division, suffered shotgun wounds in the legs and abdomen, and Reed, agent in Mississippi County, sustained similar leg wounds; the agents have been working in the Charleston-Wyatt section for a number of weeks to apprehend poachers shooting wild geese, which feed in the wheat fields.

1924

Candidates for Cape Girardeau’s municipal offices were given an indication of the trends of public opinion in yesterday’s primary election, and they now prepare for a two-week campaign leading up to the April 1 general election; in the race for mayor, incumbent James A. Barks trimmed E.W. Flentge, 273 votes to 223; totals for city commissioner were incumbent Roy Brissenden, 327; Martin Krueger, 292, and incumbent Louis Wittmor, 270.

The Elks Building on Themis Street will be sold at a public sale during the May term of Common Pleas Court; Judge John A. Snider yesterday ordered the sale of the building under foreclosure proceedings and appointed Rush H. Limbaugh, local attorney, as special master to conduct the sale.

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.