Out of the past: March 5

1996

Cattle whose food was decimated by prairie wildfires that swept through parts of Oklahoma and Kansas in recent weeks soon will be eating Missouri hay; Gerald Bryan, University of Missouri Extension specialist at the Jackson office, is organizing a statewide "hay lift" to assist ranchers whose pastures and hay were destroyed by wildfires.

While outlining reasons why a Republican will win the White House in 1996, former Vice President Dan Quayle dismissed claims that GOP hopefuls will destroy each other and pave the way for another Democratic victory; focusing on traditional conservative themes such as lower taxes, welfare reform and school choice, Quayle elicited an enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd of 997 that heard him speak last night at the Show Me Center.

1971

"All we can do is wait and listen for more news, just wait and hope," Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Gholson of Oak Ridge say after learning their grandson, Airman 1-c James M. Gholson of Alexandria, Virginia, was one of four Americans kidnapped yesterday in Ankara, Turkey, and is being held for $400,000 ransom; Airman Gholson, 22, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith Gholson of Alexandria; he has served in the Air Force a little over two years.

Preliminary plans have been made by the Veterans Corps of State College to fund a statewide Collegiate Veterans Association; the corps here numbers 150, while it is estimated 7,000 service veterans are presently attending colleges in Missouri.

1946

In a move to take bus lines operating in Cape Girardeau off of Broadway to alleviate traffic congestion, the City Council yesterday approved a plan for a survey with company representatives of existing streets into the city; they will also attempt to find sites suitable for construction of bus terminals.

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education yesterday agreed to submit a $60,000 bond issue to voters at the April 2 school election; the issue, which would not increase the present tax levy, would be used to complete payment on the purchase and for improvement of the new high school site on West Broadway.

1921

Frisco Depot on South Main Street in Cape Girardeau.G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive

Cape Girardeau -- designated the gateway and metropolis of the most fertile section of country in the world -- is officially presented the finest depot on the Frisco Railroad system in an afternoon ceremony held in the main waiting room of the depot; Alexander Hilton, vice president of the road, makes the formal presentation to Mayor H.H. Haas.

Plans are being made by engineers of the Public Utilities Co. to connect Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Cape Girardeau electric plants with one large transmission line at a cost of approximately $50,000; it would supply power and light to 18 towns in six counties of Southeast Missouri, covering an area of several hundred square miles.

-- Sharon K. Sanders