Out of the past: Sept. 8

1999

The unassuming green box doesn’t look like much now, but in 50 years it could be a treasure trove of information about the area and its residents as the approach the new millennium; the stainless-steel box that will become the YELL Millennium Time Capsule arrived at the Southeast Missourian yesterday; it’s waiting to be filled with items detailing the area’s past and present; plans are to bury the time capsule Tuesday at Arena Park and open it in 2050.

Smoke from a grass fire apparently contributes to a head-on collision between a school bus and minivan in Scott County; at about 4 p.m., Lisa Scherer, 34, of Oran, the driver of the van, veers to the left while traveling east on Scott County Road 264 just off Highway 77 between Chaffee and Oran; smoke from the fire on both sides of the road obstructs her vision, and the van collides with an Oran School District bus headed west; the driver of the bus is Sara Duzman, 45, of Oran; no children on the bus are injured.

1974

The Rev. J.E. Gray, new pastor of Calvary United Pentecostal Church in Jackson, conducts his first Sunday worship service here in the morning; Gray, who has been in the ministry 26 years, moved to Jackson from Vienna, Illinois, where he was pastor of United Pentecostal Church for seven years; he has pastored and built new churches in Herrin, Metropolis and Clarksdale, Illinois, and Rector, Arkansas.

Attractions galore are on tap for the 1974 SEMO District Fair, and many residents are on the grounds today for a preview of the exposition that opens Tuesday; livestock is expected to begin arriving today on the grounds, and some exhibitors will be placing produce, clothing, arts and crafts and other wares for display; along with crowd-favorite Lee Mace and the Ozark Opry Show, other entertainment in front of the grandstand includes a tractor pull, demolition derby and and the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show.

1949

Natural gas is flowing from the Big Inch and Little Inch pipe lines to the point of connection with the local distribution system at Hackberry Street in Cape Girardeau, but conversion of it from the manufactured variety is still several days away; completion of laying of pipe from the Inch lines to Cape Girardeau is announced by Missouri Utilities Co. president H.B. Newman; the pipes, which must withstand 500 pounds of pressure, are being tested; once the tests are completed, workers will arrive to convert the present equipment.

Residents of Cape Girardeau and surrounding area by an overwhelming vote in one of the lightest elections in many years yesterday approved the merging of parts of three adjacent townships into the Cape Special Road District; the vote was 468 for and 37 against.

1924

Just in time for the Cape Girardeau Fair, streetcar service to Fairground Park will be resumed next week; while the car tracks have been torn up on Henderson and Normal avenues, they will be replaced in time for use by fairgoers, it is stated; completion of the paving of Normal Avenue, from Henderson to West End Boulevard today, makes certain that this street will be open for traffic during the fair, leaving two paved entrances to the park.

With the fall semester of the Teachers College opening with enrollment tomorrow, many members of the faculty arrived in Cape Girardeau over the weekend, ready to resume their duties; Katherine Gillard, dean of women, arrives here from her home at Spruce, Michigan; Winifred Johnson from Sistersville, West Virginia; Louise Pearce and Wilhelmina Vieh from New York, where they have been attending Columbia University.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a weekend column called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper.