Out of the past: May 19

1993

Better late than never, it's finally strawberry-picking time in the Cape Girardeau area; because of cloudy, wet, cool weather the past 30-40 days, the strawberry harvest is about two weeks behind schedule.

Charles Kupchella, who was hired in December, began his new duties Monday as the provost at Southeast Missouri State University; he replaced Leslie Cochran, who is now president of Youngstown State University in Ohio.

1968

Cornerstone-laying ceremonies for the new Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel take place in the afternoon at the construction site on West Cape Rock Drive; the cornerstone, a gift of the nine original families of the chapel, contains a number of items, such as the Holy Bible, the Lutheran Hymnal, Martin Luther's Small Catechism, a constitution of the congregation, local newspapers, a list of local, state and federal government officials, and a list of officers and members of the congregation.

The 147th anniversary of the founding of the Apple Creek Presbyterian Church near Pocahontas is celebrated in the morning, with services conducted by Dr. T.E. Wilson of Jackson; guest speaker is the Rev. W.T. Magill of Farmington, Missouri.

1943

Rising 2 1/2 feet in 28 hours, the Mississippi River reaches a stage of 34.5 feet at Cape Girardeau at noon; it's rising at a rate of nearly one-tenth of a foot an hour; the river has inundated the north portion of the Smelterville suburb, routing families from their homes; Mayor R.E. Beckman announces white residents of Smelterville will be moved to the Arena Building at the new city park, while black residents will be housed in John S. Cobb School.

Mrs. J.E. Miller of Cape Girardeau has learned her son, Pfc. Allen W. Thompson, 22, was seriously wounded in action in North Africa on April 25; it is the third time he has been wounded in combat.

1918

A peeved group of Red Star Addition residents gather to discuss living conditions in their area; the nearly 1,000 residents of the suburb feel they are being neglected and are anxious to be taken into the city in order to get protection and some of the advantages of city service; the biggest demands are for a bridge across Sloan Creek and the construction of streets and sidewalks in the area; there has been no bridge over the creek for months, forcing those who work at the shoe factory to either cross over the railroad bridge or over the iron wagon bridge, both of which are dangerous.

Sgt. John Neal, son of Ida Neal of Cape Girardeau, dies at the general hospital at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where he had been ill for the past month; Neal, 22, enlisted in the Army June 27, 1916, when the trouble with Mexico was brewing.

-- Sharon K. Sanders