Out of the past: Nov. 27

1997

Thanksgiving Day. Nearly 150 volunteers and the Salvation Army corps create a replica of home, as they serve Thanksgiving meals to 300 at the Army's building in Cape Girardeau and deliver another 278 to the homebound; Capt. Joyce Gauthier says nearly all food served was donated, including 37 turkeys and 20 hams.

Nearly 800 entries poured in during the first three days of the Beanie Baby giveaway; the contest continues four more weeks online at SEMissourian.com, the official website of the Southeast Missourian; for week one, Alyssa Mohney of Scott City won Bongo, the monkey, and Sarah Watkins of Dexter, Missouri, won Lucky, a red and black ladybug; most of the entries were from Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, but they came from as far away as Florida and North Dakota; the drawings will be held each Wednesday, with winers posted on the website the next morning.

1972

Santa Claus needs a helping hand; all the Christmas toys and gifts he had labeled for little Michael Perry, 4, went up in smoke early yesterday when fire destroyed the mobile home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Perry on Cape LaCroix Road; the family was visiting in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, at the time; Santa had already delivered Michael's entire Christmas order, but he is hoping generous neighbors and friends will help replace the toys and gifts lost in the fire.

A 2,300-pound safe containing an undetermined amount of money and blank travelers checks, along with about $400 that was in a cash register, a forklift and an electric jack, are stolen early in the morning from Liberty Food Giant, 1220 N. Kingshighway; police theorize the thieves loaded the safe and forklift into a U-Haul truck that was stolen during the night from Tom Hogan's Parkway Phillips 66 Station, 865 N. Kingshighway.

1947

Thanksgiving Day. A union religious service is held at 8 a.m. at Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau; the Rev. J.B. Ragsdale, pastor of Red Star Baptist Church, delivers the sermon; pastors from various churches of the community fill other rolls during the service; the Thanksgiving offering will be turned over to Southeast Hospital, as in previous years.

The 35-year-old Thanksgiving Day gridiron classic between Central High School and the Jackson High Indians at Houck Stadium provides another display of "anything can happen" in a Cape-Jackson football game; as expected, Central wins the game, 20-0; the contest is marred by 14 fumbles, the Tigers being the offenders nine times; a punted ball kicked from the Jackson 15 catches in a wind gust and is blown back over the Jackson goal to let Central score a touchdown.

1922

Ruth St. Dennis, Ted Shawn and their company of Denishawn Dancers, the greatest organization of the kind in the world, arrive in Cape Girardeau on the afternoon train from Memphis, Tennessee; they are late arriving, having encountered much difficulty in making train connections; the 20 persons in the celebrated company of artists and musicians will perform tonight at the New Broadway Theatre under the auspices of The Southeast Missourian.

Plans are being made to care for the large crowd that is expected to attend the two football games at Fairground Park Thanksgiving Day; the largest crowd of the season is expected when the Central High Tigers clash with the Poplar Bluff, Missouri, High team and the Teachers College eleven battles the Aggies from Jonesboro, Arkansas.

-- Sharon K. Sanders