Out of the past: May 20

1993

Deactivation Sept. 30 of the 1138th Combat Engineer Battalion at Jefferson Barracks in South St. Louis County will mean additional manpower and equipment for the 1140th Combat Engineer Battalion and its four line companies in Southeast Missouri; the 1140th Engineer Battalion and its headquarters company are based here; Guard officials say deactivation of the 1138th will increase the strength of the 1140th by at least 149 people; the 1140th will also receive most of the equipment assigned to the 1138th.

Decked out in hard hat and safety goggles, Southeast Missouri State University president Kala Stroup initiated the start of renovation at the Towers West dormitory with a "wall bashing" yesterday, taking a 3-pound sledgehammer to a masonry wall of the dorm.

1968

Responding to a letter of complaint published in The Missourian, James R. Busch, superintendent of Trail of Tears State Park, said the well at the park's camping area has been re-cased and cleaned out, but cannot be returned to service until a pump is installed.

National Stereo Centers Inc., with headquarters at 1200 N. Kingshighway, has purchased the Sands Motel and Pancake House; Richard Barkhurst of Jackson, president of the corporation, will supervise the businesses, and Eugene Welch, who presently operates the Pancake House, will continue to do so.

1943

A new, modern high mark of 40.5 feet for the flooding Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is predicted by Tuesday; if the river reaches that stage, it will top the mark of the disastrous 1927 flood, when the crest was 40.04 feet; it will be next to the all-time mark of 42.19 feet established July 4, 1844; the river overnight inundated all of the Water Street block between Themis and Independence streets and covered a portion of the block north of that.

Mr. and Mrs. Jess Mansfield of Cape Girardeau have received a letter from their son, Paul Mansfield, seaman second class, saying he has arrived in Alaska; he left the states about three weeks ago; he has been in service about 18 months.

1918

A community nurse has been employed for July and August, her salary to be paid by an unannounced source; the subscriptions collected for this purpose by the Child-Welfare Committee over the past two weeks will instead be used to purchase milk and ice for the poor, delicate and needy infants of the city.

Linus Penzel, the contractor who is erecting the new corn products mill at Jackson, has found a new use for his tin lizzy; in getting the timbers up on the fifth floor of the new structure, block and tackle rigging is used, but instead of the slow method of drawing the material up by hand power, Linus hitches his Ford to the rope and pulls a large load up without trouble.

-- Sharon K. Sanders