Out of the past: May 1

1999

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Residents of the Missouri Veterans Home can rest or ride in comfort thanks to recent local, regional and state donations; tomorrow, the Veterans Home will dedicate a new $40,500 multi-wheelchair bus and a $12,000 decorative water garden; the bus was purchased with a $23,500 donation from the Lilbourn Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Unit 7183, a $15,000 donation from the Disabled Veterans Association of Lakewood, Ohio, and a $2,000 donation from the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Department of Missouri; planning began last year to develop a quiet and safe outdoor area for residents, and Jackson American Legion Post 158 approved a $12,000 proposal to develop a landscaped water garden in the fall.

A unknown person fires a small-caliber gun through the south window of the Mudsuckers Restaurant and Bar, 2 N. Main St., about 9:30 p.m.; police converge on the scene, but find no witnesses; all that remains is a single bullet hole in the window in the south side of the restaurant, glass shards and a gun shell.

1974

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Rain, the gardener’s friend, turned foe yesterday for the first day of the 41st annual convention of the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri; not only did it make getting about Cape Girardeau less pleasant, but when a bus bogged down in a rain-softened driveway at Elmwood, several hundred women were stranded at the welcoming tea; a wrecker removed the bus eventually, and the evening’s program went on as planned.

Cows aren’t sacred here as they are in India, but about 2,500 area customers of Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. pay a tribute of several hours of silence when a farmer, two miles south of Delta, cuts a cable while burying a dead cow; service is out in Advance, Bell City, Marble Hill and Painton.

1949

The Rev. and Mrs. E. Arthur Larson Jr., of Denver, Colorado, new pastors of Foursquare Church at Cape Girardeau, have assumed their duties here; the Rev. Edith Bailey, who has been serving as interim pastor for two months, will return to St. Louis as co-pastor of the church there.

Members of St. Vincent’s Catholic Church observe May Day with a colorful procession and services in the evening; a large number of parishioners join the procession, which moves along Spanish, Merriwether and Main streets to the lower terrace of the church, where the observance is concluded; on the terrace, a statue of the Blessed Mother is crowned.

1924

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Southeast Missouri farmers are jubilant over the “million dollar rains” of Tuesday and Wednesday, which broke a seven-week drought in this section; today, they are preparing to get into their fields to continue the spring planting, which had been delayed in some cases by the dry weather.

J.A. Berry and M.B. Murray are erecting a new “airdome” on South Ellis Street near College and will open it for the moving picture business about May 10; the airdome, which consists of walls 10 feet high, with no roof, will accommodate 600 persons; it is 100 feet in length and 50 feet wide and will be used exclusively for showing motion pictures; admission will be 10 cents for children and 20 for adults; Berry formerly operated a show at Glen Allen, and Murray is a student at the Teachers College.

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.