Out of the past: May 26

1999

High water continues to delay construction of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge; it has affected work on both the Illinois approach and jet grouting on the bedrock of a pier site in the middle of the Mississippi River; the Illinois approach work has been shut down about three weeks by flooding; the river is expected to crest Saturday in Cape Girardeau at 35 feet.

The show will go on; after a week of public pleas for sponsors to help prevent financially pinched Riverfest from being canceled, organizers announce that enough corporations, merchants and individuals have chipped in to stage Riverfest 1999 June 11-12.

1974

Founded in 1940 in a tent at the corner of Lorimier and William streets, the Foursquare Church, 1224 Bloomfield, celebrates its 34th anniversary with a homecoming and note-burning service; the church’s first pastor, the Rev. Evelyn Taylor, is the featured speaker at the morning service; it’s followed by a covered-dish luncheon and and afternoon service featuring the Melody Masters Quartet of Collinsville, Illinois.

The Rev. Carl F. Hansen of Evansville, Indiana, has been called as pastor of Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson; the Rev. and Mrs. Hanser and their three sons will arrive here about Aug. 1.

1949

An exact 100 families of the estimated 500 left homeless or otherwise affected by Saturday’s tornado in Cape Girardeau have applied at Red Cross rehabilitation headquarters, 19 N. Middle St., for aid in reconstruction, and many will go to the scene with disaster workers today to survey their losses; these will be the first visits at the scene with the families and from this will stem the counseling and other aid supplied by the Red Cross.

Three federal agencies step in to lend aid to those affected by Saturday’s death-dealing tornado; the Reconstruction Finance Corp. announces it will consider applications for loans from individuals or firms who have sustained losses to property and who are unable to obtain assistance from local lending agencies; the Federal Reserve Bank announces it is lifting credit restrictions on the repair or replacement of personal property lost in the storm; and a representative of the Federal Works Agency is here to confer with city officials relative to obtaining federal funds for the clearing of streets and other city property.

1924

Home-grown strawberries are coming to market in large quantities, and the quality has never been better, the berries benefiting from the cool, cloudy weather; local growers make their first shipments today, sending many cases of choice berries to northern counties and getting a much higher price than prevails at the local market.

Clio Hall of Teachers College is being turned into a reserve library by the library personnel, to accommodate the extra number of students attending the summer term; arrangements are being made to accommodate 800 students, so they may all have seats to study at the same time, with the addition of large tables in the general library and of a number of tables and chairs at Clio Hall; besides being a study hall, Clio Hall will also have shelves for about 1,000 reserve books.

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 semissourian.com/history.