Out of the past: Nov. 3

1997

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- The Stars and Stripes military newspaper is coming home to the city of its birth; after years of planning by a group of Bloomfield residents, construction on the first building of the Stars and Stripes Museum and Library started in June; the 3,600-square-foot structure, which will house offices and a small museum area, is expected to be completed in January.

The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeal of a Cape Girardeau man sentenced to death for a brutal 1992 triple slaying; Gary L. Roll, 45, is on Missouri's death row for the Aug. 9, 1992, murders of Sherry Scheper, 47, and her two sons Curtis Scheper, 22, and Randy Scheper, 17; Roll was the first Cape Girardeau County defendant sentenced to die since Missouri reimposed the death penalty.

1972

A newly constructed cement statue that formed part of a water fountain in front of the former Idan-Ha Hotel at North Fountain Street and Broadway was destroyed Wednesday night or early yesterday morning; police say the statue may have been toppled by vandals, but it may also have occurred while children were climbing on the structure; workers for Burton J. Gerhardt Construction Co., which purchased the property and is converting it into apartments and business space, say they have ordered children out of the fountain several times since its pool was drained for the winter months.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A third consecutive day of demonstrations at Charleston High School fails to materialize in the morning, after concerned Black parents and representatives of the school system reached a tentative agreement on the problem of suspended pupils following a three-hour discussion at City Hall last night.

1947

A special election next May on a proposal to issue bonds for the construction of a swimming pool and community building at Fairground Park is recommended by the Community Development Committee; meeting for the first time since June, the committee votes to recommend to the City Council that it submit the proposal, which has been up for consideration for nearly two years; plans for the pool and building have been drawn and then revised to meet suggestions of the committee.

Burton Gerhardt, general contractor, begins the work of remodeling, enlarging and redecorating the coffee shop in the Hotel Marquette; the main dining room will be revamped under a separate contract, but will be used for coffee shop purposes while the present $12,000 project is underway.

1922

Two bandits -- Jack Kennedy, 53, and Harvey Logan, 23 -- are killed by postal inspectors and railroad special agents after they robbed the mail car of Frisco passenger train 805, southbound, north of Wittenburg, Missouri, at 1:15 a.m.; 11 officers, who knew in advance of the robbers' plans, ambush the pair at a bridge; as the bandits approach the trap, they are ordered to halt; instead of complying, both draw revolvers, and Logan fires at officers; a fusillade of shots from the officers kills both Kennedy and Logan almost instantly.

The Southeast Missourian, which last year brought Madam Ernestine Schumann-Heink to Cape Girardeau to sing, announces it has booked Ruth St. Denis, acknowledged premier of classical dancers, with Ted Shawn, of equal renown, to perform here Nov. 27; along with their company of artists, the two will appear at the New Broadway Theatre that evening.

-- Sharon K. Sanders