Out of the past: Sept. 29

1990

An ambitious $25 million capital campaign to fund "a new vision of excellence" at Southeast Missouri State University is announced by university officials; it is the first major capital campaign in Southeast's history.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A circuit court judge has ruled the city of Perryville violated the state's Hancock Amendment by levying special assessments for street improvements without voter approval. City officials say they'll appeal the case directly to the Missouri Supreme Court.

1965

Because heavy summer electrical demands have passed, the Missouri Utilities Co. has shut down its plant at 800 N. Main St. The plant will remain on a stand-by basis, ready to open whenever necessary.

Walter E. Parks, 54, of Chaffee, Missouri, band director for the Bell City, Missouri, school system, is killed instantly when the station wagon he is driving strikes a sign post on Interstate 55 near the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. Parks' death is the first fatality on I-55 in the district this year.

1940

After establishing a record for attendance Saturday, the revived SEMO District Fair closes in the evening with another day registering a favorable attendance. The largest crowd ever attending a fair in Cape Girardeau jammed the new park yesterday, the actual count of paid admissions totaling 17,638.

Assisting in the dedication services for the New Liberty Church on Highway 34 in the western part of Bollinger County, Dean Vest C. Myers, whose great-grandfather donated the land on which the first church was built 117 years ago, is presented with a plaque commemorating the occasion. The plaque, made from old logs which were in the original church and which were found in the second church, is given back to the church by Myers.

1915

The annual county fair kicks off at the fairgrounds with Children's Day. Schools close at noon, and probably 99 out of every 100 children are at the fair a half-hour later to see the fun.

The Rev. F.Y. Campbell, pastor of First Baptist Church, places an announcement in The Daily Republican regarding the Baptist prayer meeting and the fair parade: "Both are to begin this evening at 7:30, the prayer meeting and the Bible study hour at the corner of Broadway and Spanish streets, and the parade at the corner of Broadway and Pacific streets. Both are worthwhile, and a man can take in both. When the parade gets to Broadway and Main streets, the prayer meeting will be dismissed ... ."

-- Sharon K. Sanders