Out of the past: March 2

1992

Vince Seyer, 62, retired in December, but he's still going to work at Southeast Missouri State University, directing the operations of the physical plant under a contract with the university until a new director is hired. Seyer began working at Southeast as a carpenter May 23, 1949, only two days after a tornado swept through Cape Girardeau, killing 22 people.

After extended debate, the Cape Girardeau City Council approves the first reading of an amended pawnbroker law that will change only slightly a city law already on the books. A measure that would have imposed more stringent identification requirements for people who transact businesses dealing in precious metals and commodities is voted down.

1967

Charles A. Juden, Cape Girardeau businessman, is named to the State College Board of Regents by Gov. Warren E. Hearnes. He will succeed Fred A. Groves, Cape Girardeau automobile-agency owner, who has been on the board since 1935.

Muddy terrain and high winds hamper firefighting units as flames spread across more than 200 acres of land north of Gravel Hill. Warm, springlike weather thaws the ground and turns hills and lowlands alike into vast quagmires that keep firetrucks and other equipment confined to roads.

1942

BLODGETT, Mo. -- For the second time in 15 years, a disastrous fire has wiped out a major part of the business section of Blodgett. Early Sunday, a blaze, believed to have originated from defective wiring, destroyed an entire block of brick business buildings on Main Street. The loss is estimated by B.F. Marshall Jr., manager of the estate of the late B.F. Marshall, to which the structures belonged, at $100,000.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Navy flyer Gene D. Aldrich of Sikeston, who was reported missing in action two weeks ago, has been located. He and two other airmen drifted for 34 days in a rubber life raft on the Pacific Ocean before they were rescued from an atoll. Their bomber crashed at sea in January.

1917

Malcolm B. Cason, the well-known drug salesman and resident of Cape Girardeau, has bought the drug store of Stanley Hollenbeck at Illmo. The store was sold at public sale yesterday by the sheriff. Cason will move to Illmo as soon as he can find a suitable location for his family.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- It is reported here the machines recently shipped from the Cape Girardeau Frisco car shops will be overhauled at Springfield, Missouri, and then sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to be installed in a new engine and car-repair shops to be established there.

-- Sharon K. Sanders