Out of the past: March 5

1999

Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook won’t seek re-election or run for any other public office next year; the 48-year-old Democrat from Cape Girardeau says she will leave public office when her term ends in January 2001; however, she also indicates she won’t rule out running for governor some day; less than an hour after Cook made here announcement yesterday, House Speaker Steve Gaw said he would run for the office Cook is vacating.

It’s Daniel Dirnberger day at Oran High School, where the senior is celebrated for his second-place finish in the national “Voice of Democracy” essay contest; Dirnberger spent most of the week in Washington, D.C., a guest of the Veterans of Foreign Wars; the VFW and its auxiliary sponsor the annual essay contest.

1974

Special Judge Marshall Craig of Scott County ruled Monday in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court that the citizens group which has filed a class action law suit opposing construction of the proposed county law enforcement complex outside Jackson must post a $1,000 security bond to cover court costs; Craig also set April 13 as the trial hearing date and took under advisement a motion to determine if the City of Jackson could enjoin with the citizens group in the suit.

JEFFERSON CITY — Funding for Southeast Missouri State University at Cape Girardeau and other state universities has been approved by the House Appropriations Committee; the higher education appropriations bill earmarks $8.3 million for SEMO, up $100,000 from the current fiscal year.

1949

The Arena Building was jam-packed Friday night, March 5, 1949, for the regional basketball tournament. An estimated 2,500 were in the building, filling all seats and standing room.G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive

The largest crowd in Cape Girardeau basketball history squeezed its way into the Arena Building last night for the semi-finals of the high school regional basketball tournament; the official paid attendance is given by tournament officials as 2,101, but they add that the figure tells only part of the story; there were more than 300 official passes out, while certain personnel connected with the games were admitted without passes; they calculate that better than 2,500 persons were in attendance; without a doubt, it was the largest attendance of any indoor sports event in Cape Girardeau’s history.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 feet of good grade lumber were damaged or destroyed by fire which yesterday afternoon gutted half of a one-story frame building housing a planing mill at the L.H. Landgraf Lumber Co., 1459 Independence St.; origin of the fire is unknown.

1924

Ash Wednesday; members of Cape Girardeau’s churches begin the annual observance of Lent; practically every church has special services, while church societies and organizations will dispense with social events during the period; blessed ashes are distributed at both Catholic churches in Cape Girardeau.

The Cape Manufacturing Co., which for years has manufactured threshing machines exclusively, has changed over to a plant for the making of automobile bodies principally, with threshing machines as a side line; since the bottom fell out of the wheat business, threshing machines haven’t been in great demand, while the unusual increase in the use of auto trucks has created a need for bodies; the factory is turning out various types of bodies, including a cab for Ford trucks.

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 www.semissourian.com/history.