Out of the past: Sept. 16

1998

The weather has been kind to the SEMO District Fair the first three days, with only occasional showers; fair attendance through yesterday evening was 7,516; a truck pull is the feature grandstand feature tonight; beginning tomorrow night, with a performance by Willie Nelson, the big acts will take the stage; Kenney Chesney performs Friday and Lonestar and Brad Hawkins on Saturday.

The 1998 YELL edition has all but sold out, thanks in large part to St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire; a souvenir, 12-page section highlighting McGwire's home run record was included in the YELL edition, making it a hot item in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City yesterday; the project raised $44,000 for literacy, $9,000 more than last year's campaign.

1973

The Rev. Alvin H. Lange, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church at Norborne, Missouri, played at the dedicatory recital Friday night for the new tracker-action organ at the Southeast Missouri State University Lutheran Chapel of Hope at Pacific Street and College Hill; the organ was built by Paul Ott Werkstatt fur Orgelbau in Guttingen, West Germany; it wasn't voiced for any special period of music, but instead is capable of playing any style; tracker-action means that there are direct mechanical connections from the keys to the valve so the organist can directly influence and control the opening of the stops.

Construction was started last week on another banking facility in Cape Girardeau: the new First National Crossroads Bank at Independence Street and Kingshighway; footings will be poured early this week, and the building should be completed in the late fall.

1948

It's Cape Girardeau Day at the SEMO District Fair; promising to be a highlight of the day is the first night of the three-night society horse show program, with 79 animals appearing in the show ring in front of the grandstand; a number of Girardeans will participate in the show; at last night's beauty pageant, Phyllis Hubbard of Chaffee, Missouri, was crowned fair queen.

CAIRO, Ill. -- The lid on gambling activities is on tight in Alexander County, but in its wake comes expressed fears that the city of Cairo, without the fines gambling places paid monthly, will face a critical financial crisis; in addition to putting a stop to gambling, yesterday's order issued by Cairo mayor Ebert A. Smith and Alexander County Sheriff Max Bevill directs the removal of all gambling equipment from the buildings in which they are located; the order applies to lotteries, drawings, bingo punchboards, baseball tickets, tip-boards and horse racing results.

1923

The Rev. J.H. Taylor, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, having returned from a week's vacation in the East, resumes regular worship services at the church; in the evening, a fellowship supper and meeting for the congregation's young people is held.

The Rev. John H. Wells, former pastor of First Christian Church in Cape Girardeau and now located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, is greeted by a large number of his old friends at Christian Church, where he occupies the pulpit; nearly every seat in the church is filled, and his audience is well repaid by the splendid sermon delivered.

-- Sharon K. Sanders