Out of the past: March 29

1994

A bomb threat early yesterday morning forced the evacuation of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse and the county administrative building in Jackson; officers from the Cape County Sheriff's Department and the Jackson Police Department and Jackson firefighters searched both buildings for 1 1/2 hours, finding nothing.

With the riverboat gambling vote in Scott City less than a week away, residents get the opportunity to see what may be in store for the community if the initiative passes; representatives of three casino-based firms -- Lady Luck of Las Vegas, Royal Casino Group Inc. of Calabasas, California, and Eagle Gaming Ltd. of Colorado -- tell residents of the bounty that could be theirs if they vote yes on Tuesday.

1969

Voters of Cape Girardeau, going to the polls in a city election Tuesday, will be asked by special ballot to approve a $490,000 library bond issue to help finance construction of a new library facility on the southwest corner of Broadway and North West End Boulevard; they will also elect two members to the city council; in addition, Cape Girardeau school patrons will be asked Tuesday to renew the school tax rate for the coming year at $3.85 per $100 valuation; they will also elect two members to the school board.

Another State College graduate has joined his alma mater in the football coaching ranks; Jim Lohr, who has guided the Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Mules' gridiron fortunes the past eight years, will be defensive line coach when the Indian training camp opens this fall; Lohr will be replacing Coach Jim Hamby who is making the transition from football and physical education to philosophy.

1944

Pvt. Clayton E. Baker, 23, who as a child lived in Cape Girardeau with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Baker, now of Akron, Ohio, died in the explosion of a land mine while on maneuvers in England, where he was stationed with the American invasion forces; he succumbed in a base hospital in England, Feb. 23; word of his death came from his parents to Elizabeth Howell of Cape Girardeau, mother of Raymond Baker and grandmother of the soldier.

Charles E. Rendlen, lawyer, banker, farmer, civic worker, of Hannibal, Missouri, is in Cape Girardeau visiting Republican leaders; he is a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator, the position now filled by Bennett Champ Clark.

1919

Main Street is to have a new barber shop, which will be the most modern in the city; when the recent fire destroyed the shop owned by Otto Cook, he found it impossible to get a new location; while lamenting his bad luck, First National Bank came to his rescue; a finished basement with an 8 1/2-foot ceiling is under that building; a door will be cut to a large room directly under the office occupied by Albert insurance agency, and this will be fitted up as a sanitary barber shop, complete with large bath rooms; the door will open onto Main Street.

Schuchert's band met a number of soldiers who came home last night from overseas; they included Ray Kain and Burwell Fox of Cape Girardeau; L.A. Gladish, Paul Slinkard and Edward Slack of Jackson; James L. Johnson of Chaffee, Missouri; Dayton Mayfield of Oak Ridge and Francis Hartle of Millersville.

-- Sharon K. Sanders