Out of the past: Nov. 5

1998

More than 80% of respondents to a recent survey support the creation of a Lutheran high school in Southeast Missouri; members from 14 regional Lutheran congregations completed the survey, circulated to judge the interest in developing and funding such a school.

The R/B River Explorer docks at Cape Girardeau in the morning; the floating hotel and touring vessel, owned by RiverBarge Excursions of New Orleans and propelled by a towboat, is one of the largest passenger boats on the inland waterways; the vessel is made up of two 295-foot barges and custom built to include a floating hotel-resort; it can carry 198 passengers.

1973

A Southeast Missouri State University sophomore is in critical condition at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, after a freak accident Saturday morning at the university soccer field; William Meters, 20, of South Holland, Illinois, received severe head injuries around 11 a.m., when the metal bar of a goal post at the field struck him in the head; he was swinging from the goal post when it came loose from its anchors in the ground and collapsed on him.

Mrs. Truman R. Cole Jr., was named Outstanding Young Woman for 1973 at a tea hosted yesterday afternoon by sponsor of the annual event, the Jaycee Wives.

1948

Along with the precipitation, it rained geese in the Horseshoe Lake area of Alexander County, Illinois, last night as the befuddled birds, confused by automobile lights on Highway 3, sought to land on the concrete strip; Norman Huhn, passenger agent at the Union Bus Center, who witnessed the scene, estimates from 100 to 200 geese were killed, crippled or stunned by their impact with the concrete; many automobile drivers, taking advantage of the situation without the inconvenience of hunting, were reported to have stopped to pick up birds.

Seeking funds to purchase the old Park Theater building on Broadway for use as a citadel and for general operating expenses during the year, the campaign of the Salvation Army to raise $22,200 will be formally opened Tuesday with a breakfast at Hotel Marquette; general chairman for the campaign is Elmer E. Shrout.

1923

It's circus day in Cape Girardeau; hundreds of persons from the adjoining territory mingle with many Cape Girardeans on the streets, watching the big parade of the Sells-Floto Circus at noon and hurry to Fairground Park in the afternoon to see the opening performance, the last big show to perform here this season.

The City of Cape Girardeau isn't responsible for damages sustained by an automobile owned by A.R. Zoelsmann, which was wrecked last Wednesday when a fire truck crashed into it on Broadway, says Mayor James A. Barks; he declares the fire department was acting in the interest of public safety, and that state laws provide that a city shall not suffer any damages in case of a disaster while doing such work; Zoelsmann indicates he will take the question of damage to his car to the courts for settlement.

-- Sharon K. Sanders