Out of the past: Oct. 31

1991

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson has taken procedural steps that could lead to construction or leasing of a new federal office building here. The House Public Works Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday of Emerson's request for an "11-B study" by the General Services Administration, which would determine federal agency needs.

For the second time this year, the CBS television show "Top Cops" has decided to recreate the heroics of a law-enforcement officer from Cape Girardeau. Deputy U.S. Marshal Clarence Comer will step into the spotlight in a segment that will show Comer's actions when a man hijacked a U.S. Mail Jeep in Scott City in 1987.

1966

Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick gives the opening address at the 71st annual convention of the Missouri Association of Farm Mutual Insurance Cos. being held in Cape Girardeau.

Police have little idle time in the evening in Cape Girardeau during the Halloween celebration, which is marred repeatedly by acts of vandalism. In one incident, nine juvenile boys are apprehended in connection with the heaving of water-filled balloons at passersby near Sunset Boulevard and Bessie Street. Showers put a damper on trick-or-treating for youngsters.

1941

Having completed 30 weeks of training, Edmund W. Howenstein, son of Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Howenstein of Cape Girardeau, and Chester M. Conrad of Cape Girardeau receive their wings and are commissioned second lieutenants in the Army Air Corps at Maxwell Field, Alabama.

Halloween pranks, innocent and harmless for the most part, become a bit destructive at times in Cape Girardeau. Some of the new street markers are damaged, and numerous bus-stop signs are moved from their usual locations. At the Martin Oil Co. plant on West End Boulevard, a tire hose is cut, and a soda-vending machine is damaged.

1916

Cape Girardeau's police force and agents for the Frisco Railroad are making a special effort to catch a gang of boys who have been stealing dynamite caps from the railroad and placing them on streetcar tracks to hear them explode when cars pass over them. For the past week, and Sunday night in particular, a bombardment occurred every time a car passed on South Spanish Street between Good Hope and Independence streets.

School superintendent J.N. Crocker says it probably will be impossible to secure a teacher for the department of mathematics, physics and athletics unless he can offer a larger salary than the maximum now allowed. A maximum of $75 a month to start and of $80 for succeeding years is the current rate for teachers.

-- Sharon K. Sanders