Out of the past: Sept. 5

1996

September precipitation already has surpassed the tiny little splash recorded in August; Dr. Al Robertson, a climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, reports that 0.22 of an inch of rain fell in Cape Girardeau last month; so far this month, 0.27 of an inch has been recorded; last month was the second-driest August on record, according to Robertson.

That stretch of new, white concrete between Sprigg Street Road and Highway 177 seems to beg for traffic, but drivers must wait a bit longer; the new section of Lexington Avenue originally was slated to open next week, but some of the new pavement has cracked, causing a delay in the opening; the damaged areas musts be removed and replaced.

1971

David Herrig is installed as vicar at Trinity Lutheran Church during the morning worship service; Herrig is a third-year student at Concordia Theological Seminary at Springfield, Illinois.

Ruth Withers of Cape Girardeau, college organization adviser, and Kim Kurka and Sharon Helms, State College students, represented the First Church of Christ Scientist at the Biennial College Organization Meeting held recently in Boston, Massachusetts.

1946

On its way to a new site, the eight-room house, the rectory of Christ Episcopal Church, "rests" on Fountain Street most of the day; it awaits the big push planned for tonight which will take it across Broadway and thence to its new location on Washington Avenue.

Ill only since Monday, Leo P. Steimle, 52, assessor of Cape Girardeau County, died yesterday afternoon at Saint Francis Hospital of peritonitis and complications; under state law, Steimle's successor as county assessor will be named by the governor and will serve until Jan. 1, 1947.

1921

Labor Day. Most Cape Girardeau business houses close at 11 a.m., and will remain closed all day; restaurants and cafes close at 1 p.m., but will reopen at 5 p.m.; a large number of Girardeans attend the Labor Day celebration at Chaffee, Missouri; the big draw is this afternoon's baseball game between the Capahas and the Chaffee team.

In a letter to the Southeast Missourian, Louis Houck suggests that now is the time to build a double-road boulevard between Cape Girardeau and Jackson; in making his case, Houck says, "The right of way will give no trouble, because the original Cape Girardeau and Jackson (toll) road had a right of way 60 feet wide and was so fixed by the original charter and secured when the county subscribed $20,000 to build the original road."

-- Sharon K. Sanders