Out of the past: May 13

1998

Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook believes a majority of state lawmakers support legislation to establish a presidential primary; the Senate passed a bill to create a primary by a 24-to-6 vote, but the House has yet to take up the measure; with the session to end Friday, Cook knows time is running out; she hopes the House will take up the bill and pass it; "It has bipartisan support," Cook said during a visit to Cape Girardeau Tuesday.

Calvin Mitchell says he must have looked big and strong when he first applied for a job at the Southeast Missourian in 1956; he was fresh out of the Army, with a growing family, and looking for work; he went to work for the newspaper unloading rolls of newsprint, rolls that weighed more than 900 pounds; after 42 years at the newspaper working in a variety of jobs, Mitchell is retiring from the Southeast Missourian.

1973

The congregation of the General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau is planning to build a new church on five acres of land it owns on Cape LaCroix Road; the six-sided, modern building will seat up to 350 people in the sanctuary, which will be surrounded by the educational building wings; construction will begin as soon as weather permits, with completion hopefully by September.

Frances M. Early of Ballwin, Missouri, has been named the new cadet corps commander of the Air Force ROTC detachment at Southeast Missouri State University; her selection was announced by Lt. Col. Robert L. Mize, detachment commander, at an awards and change of command ceremony yesterday on the university athletic field near group housing.

1948

Application of DDT spray by expert crews, to begin in Cape Girardeau on a mass basis June 1, will be carried throughout the county upon completion of the program here; previously, officials were unable to determine if it would be possible to include the entire county and had planned only on spraying the delta portion and Cape Girardeau.

Two stretches of Highway 25 in Cape Girardeau County, totaling 10.6 miles, will be resurfaced with asphaltic concrete this summers if bids to be received by the State Highway Commission on May 28 are accepted; the half gravel, half concrete stretch between Blomeyer and Delta will be widened to give a full 20-foot strip of hard-surfaced pavement.

1923

Mother's Day. Cape Girardeau churches honor the mothers of this city with special programs; at the Christian Church, special Mother's Day sermons are preached by the pastor, the Rev. C.H. Swift, and carnations are given every mother present.

A two-week revival campaign of the First Baptist Church opens in the morning in a newly erected tabernacle on West Broadway; seats for more than 1,000 have been provided in the tabernacle, which is located on the lot owned by the Baptist congregation opposite Broadway School; Dr. Edward B. Griffith, pastor of a large Baptist church in Detroit, is here to deliver the daily sermons during the revival.

-- Sharon K. Sanders