Out of the past: Nov. 14

1998

The Safe House for Women yesterday received a check for $217,500 from the Federal Home Loan Bank to purchase an eight-unit apartment complex in Cape Girardeau; the facility will provide transitional housing for women who are leaving the women's shelter to start new, independent lives.

One of every five full-time employees at Southeast Missouri State University makes over $50,000 annually, salary records show; Southeast has 941 full-time employees, and 201 make over $50,000; last year, 192 Southeast employees made more than $50,000; the overall average salary for all Southeast employees is $36,648, but women still lag behind men in average salaries in many job classifications; since being hired as university president in 1996, Dr. Dale Nitzschke has pushed for greater diversity in both the student body and the campus workforce.

1973

The sights and sounds of autumn are mingled with those of heavy equipment and blasting at Trail of Tears State Park, north of Cape Girardeau, where the John L. Wescoat Marina is nearly two-thirds complete, says park superintendent Earl Schuessler; he says the marina should be finished next season, in June or July; rejoicing, however, may be premature; according to Harold Gibbar, co-owner of Gibbar Brothers Inc. of Perryville, Missouri, the firm that was awarded the $625,235 contract to build the marina in August 1971, about 18 to 24 inches of mud have built up in the harbor area just since the last high water.

Fewer Jackson School District pupils will be riding school buses to activities away from school the remainder of the year, fewer lights will be burning in school buildings, and thermostats will be turned back in attempts to conserve energy; Dr. Frank A. Wiley, superintendent of schools, outlined the new policy for the Board of Education last night.

1948

Southeast Missourian archive

Southeast Missourian archive

Steel tubular scaffolding has been erected inside St. Mary's Catholic Church, as workers with Missouri Studio of Ecclesiastical Arts of St. Louis prepare to clean and redecorate the church's walls and ceiling; the last complete interior redecorating of the church was in 1923; at that time, the scaffolding, all of wood, took up so much space, it was difficult to conduct services; that won't be an issue with the scaffolding now in use.

The Women's Council of First Christian Church has received notice that, because of the excellence of its last year's program, it has been placed on the honor roll of the Missionary Societies of the Christian Church in Missouri; Martha Gibson, state secretary, presented the honor roll certificate to Mrs. Norman Sanders, council president, last week at the district convention at Matthews, Missouri.

1923

Cape Girardeau County's almshouse at the County Poor Farm, although one of the finest structures of its kind in the state and recently constructed at a cost of $40,000, isn't fulfilling its mission -- a comfortable, happy home for the final days of this county's aged and helpless; this was the conclusion arrived at by the Official Board of Visitors after inspecting the almshouse yesterday unannounced; although a new almshouse was built a year ago, it isn't being used because water hasn't been provided for plumbing connections; inmates -- 19 by the latest count -- remain in the old building; the board found dirty mattresses and bedding infested with vermin; while a wood stove serves to heat the men's dormitory, the women's room has no stove; the board will report its findings to the County Court.

The new steamer Cape Girardeau, to be placed in service between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis next spring, left Louisville, Kentucky, at 2 p.m. yesterday for the trip to St. Louis, where it will remain this winter; a wire is expected from Capt. W.A. Leyhe from Cairo, Illinois, telling when the boat is expected to pass its namesake.

-- Sharon K. Sanders