Out of the past: March 8

1998

Travelers on County Road 351 drive through a canopy of trees to an 88-year-old bridge that crosses the Little Whitewater River; but the historic span in Cape Girardeau County is slated to be dismantled when a new bridge is built across the river later this year; "It's one of those things," says Judy Wilferth, who owns a farm in the area; "It's considered an attractive nuisance. We understand why the bridge must go, but it's such a wonderful part of history. It just tugs at your heart strings to see something like this torn down."

Tim Welter yesterday was named Knight of the Year by the Knights of Columbus Council 1111 at its annual recognition banquet; presenting the award was last year's honoree, Kenneth Beussink.

1973

Steps for improving Cape Girardeau's parks and recreation program were taken by the City Council last night; the council authorized the hiring of R.W. Booker and Associates Inc. of St. Louis and Thomas E. Phillips and Associates of this city to develop a master park plan at a fee not to exceed $14,600; the council voted to accept, if available, ownership of Dennis Scivally Park on Cape Rock Drive from Cape Special Road District; it was also learned that Lorenz "Red" Williams, head athletic trainer at Southeast Missouri State University, will be director for the city's summer recreation program.

Seven school buildings in Cape Girardeau County lack fire protection; this was illustrated Wednesday afternoon, when 75 pupils at the Fruitland Attendance Center of the Jackson School District were evacuated after smoke began pouring from a ceiling and the floor above; custodian William McCain called the sheriff's office at Jackson asking for help in fighting a fire at the school, but the Jackson Fire Department wouldn't respond because the call was outside the city limits; a deputy sheriff, Paul Nenninger, drove to the school and used a chemical spray to extinguish the smoldering wiring.

1948

OLATHE, Kansas -- First Lt. Jack M. Rothweiler, Marine Corps Marine Corps Reserve, of Palmyra, Missouri, and the son of Leota Rothweiler of Cape Girardeau, was among fliers killed yesterday in the takeoff of a twin-engine training plane at the Olathe Naval Station; five naval reserve fliers, all of them University of Missouri students, lost their lives and another was critically injured; all had spent the weekend in training activities at the station and were being returned to their homes.

Residential DDT spraying, a potent factor in the elimination of disease-bearing pests in lower Southeast Missouri, will come to Cape Girardeau County this spring; an estimated 3,000 homes in the southern section and Smelterville will receive a single application of the highly concentrated liquid; estimates show about 1,000 buildings in the Smelterville and surrounding area will be sprayed.

1923

With The Southeast Missourian's circulation growing so rapidly, another carrier has been added to the force in Cape Girardeau, making a total of 16 carriers for the city; the newest carrier, Glenn Lampe, is serving the business district of Broadway; from the Liberty Life building at Fountain Street, west to Pacific Street, Lampe delivers 171 newspapers daily; the Missourian's city circulation is 2,358, a gain of 92 subscribers since Jan. 1.

Arnold Brennecke and Clyde A. McDonald, two widely known young Girardeans, formally begin business under the name of the Night and Day Cleaning Company; their new establishment is in the stucco building on Middle Street at Broadway, where they have installed modern equipment and are prepared to handle a large clothes cleaning and pressing business.

-- Sharon K. Sanders