Stories from Friday, November 26, 1993

CAIRO, Ill. -- Flora Elena Bellamy, 83, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Cairo, died Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1993, at the Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Pulaski County, Ill., Mar. 10, 1910, daughter of Ed G. Burd and Josie O. Knupp Burd...

When we last checked in with Benito Mussolini, he was hanging bat-like in a Milan square and getting the stuffing beat out of him by irate Italians. Most politicians find it traumatic enough to be escorted from office by voters. Despite the abrupt and untidy manner in which he left official life -- bullet-riddled, publicly humiliated and killed by his countrymen -- Mussolini enjoyed a pretty good run as leader of Italy...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce and Army Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake will hold a Wappapello Lake Festival of Lights Auto Tour Dec. 2-5 and Dec. 9-12 at the Redman Creek West Campground. The event is open to businesses, organizations, campers, churches, groups and individuals who will decorate a camp site with Christmas lights, decorate vehicles, display ornaments and other decorations...

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Fire Department and Recreation Department will hold a Christmas Celebration in the Community Park on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. Participants will create a winter wonderland in the park. The scenes will be on display through Jan. 3...

STE. GENEVIEVE -- Missouri's oldest town will host its ninth annual Country Christmas Walk Dec. 4-5. The town's historic district will be on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days and each historic-tour home will be decorated. Local antique and specialty shops will welcome holiday shoppers with complimentary refreshments...

After driving more than 5,000 miles up and down both sides of the Mississippi River over a six-month period, travel writer Tom Weil concludes that "All rivers run through time as well as place." Two of the places that stick in his mind are nearby: Commerce, which he calls "one of the most haunting towns on the entire river," and the promontory known as Cape Rock...

SCOTT CITY - Although always looking for new industrial prospects, the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority staff is focusing a lot of effort on infrastructure development -- an emphasis they believe will provide the port with the kind of intermodal transportation industries will need to compete in the 21st century...

The Better Breathers' Club will hold its annual Christmas party at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. Bingo and a covered dish lunch are scheduled for the day. The club is offered free of charge by the American Lung Association of Eastern Missouri...

The Missouri National Guard is removing lead particles, lead dust, and sand from former indoor shooting ranges at 32 national Guard armories in Missouri so Guard units can resume full safe use of their buildings. Work began in Cape Girardeau and progressed to Dexter and Sikeston. It is complete at those sites pending sampling results...

The Area Vietnam Veterans Support Group will hold its regular monthly meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post 63, over Beards Sports Shop. The holiday group dinner will highlight this meeting. Meat, bread, soda are furnished, and members are asked to bring a covered dish or dessert. Those attending are also asked to bring a small wrapped non-gag gift limited to $5...

DELTA -- Tony K. Menz, 70, of Delta died Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 6, 1923, at Randles, the son of the late Joe and Sarah Smith Menz. On Sept. 2, 1941, he married Ellamae Beklund, who survives of the home...

November 26, 1993 Dear Patrick, Arlene, Angela, Critter and Nick, Duke, Marylea and Ivy, Erin and Marki and Jackson, Tom and Michelle, Emily, Dominick, Peter and John, Imagine, it's been almost two years since we've seen each other. Jackson and Ivy must be ready for the Big Leagues by now, and there's another young one I haven't even seen...

The Christmas season is upon us. For retailers, it's cause to celebrate. Today, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. The ringing of the cash register is a sound of Christmas that businesses like to hear. That's understandable...

The Cape SEMO Chapter of Parents Without Partners has scheduled an orientation for prospective members at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. It will be held in the Harris Room of the Community Counseling Center, at the corner of Silver Springs and Bloomfield. Parents who are divorced, widowed, legally separated or never married are invited to attend. For more information, call 335-0797...

Charles Hutson and his crew of designer elves had to work late Wednesday. "It was almost all night," admitted Hutson, who worked into the wee hours to prepare the annual Hutson Furniture Christmas window for the crowds who gather there each year to view the spectacle on Thanksgiving Day...

It's rare when a community event has too many volunteers. But such was the case Thursday as the Salvation Army hosted its 11th annual community Thanksgiving dinner at 701 Good Hope in Cape Girardeau. "We always have a good turnout of people who want to help," said Capt. Elmer Trapp of the Salvation Army. "We had so many volunteers that there wasn't enough for them to do."...

Shoppers braved drizzling rains and cool temperatures to get a day's head start on the official Christmas shopping season Thursday, visiting two big retail outlets before and after Thanksgiving Day feasts. With the Yuletide celebration less than a month away -- 29 more days -- many shoppers appear to be taking advantage of every shopping opportunity...

JACKSON -- Warranty deeds issued at the office of Janet Robert, Cape Girardeau County recorder of deeds: Verna M. and Robert W. Harbison to the Verna M. Harbison Trust; Robert A. Simms et al. to Keith F. and Sharla M. Tanner; EMC Trust 1 by Trustee to Kenneth and Judith Voepel...

The Southeast Missouri State University Theatre will conduct a 10-day study tour titled "London Theatre '94" this March, which is being designed for theatre lovers of all ages. The "London Theatre '94" tour will focus on the contemporary London theatre scene and will include opportunities to attend feature performances of "Miss Saigon," "Sunset Boulevard," and "Don't Dress for Dinner," plus a show at London's Barbican Centre, the entertainment complex which houses the Royal Shakespeare Company. ...