Stories from Sunday, September 26, 1999

A timeless memory, the ancient barn abandoned stands, The wood is faded, the paint no more, only a headless weather vane remains. It is a testament to the years, of a day long gone. Yet beneath hat antiquated veneer, there is a song. A faint but captivating tune, it portrays a vivid scene;...

UNIONTOWN -- Saxon Lutherans, opposed to the Rationalism being forced on them by the State Church in Saxony (Germany), and hoping to find more financial opportunity, flocked to Perry County in 1839 and 1840. Johann Gottleib Frentzel (often spelled "Frenzel") and his family were among 128 Saxon Lutherans who left for the area in Oct., 1839, led by Pastor Karl Freidrich Gruber. ...

The historic Frentzel house is now backed by Frentzel Haus, Inc., a non-profit corporation, which is restoring the structure. Jackson USA Signal/Mark Evans UNIONTOWN -- Missouri's German heritage doesn't get much older than Uniontown and the surrounding Perry and northern Cape County bergs...

After one month of school the Jackson High School student council has finally fleshed out into its full 34-member body. The final 20 representatives were elected just over a week ago, giving more muscle to the skeleton crew that had gamely held down the fort the first four weeks of school...

Junior Members of the River City C.B. Club are now accepting donations for the 1999 Westfield Works Wonders Charity Event. This year's special evening will be held on Sunday, Nov. 21, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau. For a requested donation of just $5 per ticket, contributors will receive admission to the exclusive after-hours evening of pre-holiday shopping. One night only and in-store special discounts will be featured...

Booths are now available for the annual Crafts, Gifts and Collectibles Show at The Bavarian Halle, 1-55 exit 105, Nov. 19-21. This three-day event will feature a variety of items from local crafters, as well as those from the four-state area. Also included will be a selection of collectibles - Ty Beanie Babies, Precious Moments, tin-toys, glassware and baseball memorabilia...

Bishop Monk Bryan will be the featured speaker this year at Old McKendree Day today at 3 p.m. at Old McKendree Chapel in Jackson. This annual service honors the pioneer founders of Methodism west of the Mississippi River. Bishop Monk Bryan will be the featured speaker. He was born and reared in Methodist parsonages in Texas, his father being a minister in the Central Texas Conference for 66 years...

The 55th annual Jackson Marching Band Festival will be Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999. In case of inclement weather, the alternate date will be Oct. 12. The day's events will include a parade through downtown Jackson at 1:30 p.m. and the field shows, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Jackson High School Stadium. The cost for the field show is $2 for adults and $1 for students...

The Jacksonian Charter Chapter of American Business Women Association is again sponsoring the Miss Jackson Scholarship Pageant, Miss Christmas, Miss Junior Christmas, Miss Holly and the Little Miss Snowball and Little Miss Snowflake Pageants. These pageants will be held November 13th, 1999 at 2 p.m. ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Jackson native Laura Avakian continues to be a major player in the human resources industry. Effective Oct. 4, Avakian will become vice president for human resources at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Recipient of the prestigious Award for Professional Excellence from the International Society for Human Resources Management in 1996, the former Laura McClary served 16 years as head of human resources at Harvard University's Beth Israel Hospital. ...

25 years ago: 1974 Second hearing of Missouri Highway Department's proposed relocation of Highway 72 around Jackson has been tentatively set for Nov. 6; hearing, which was originally set for June 20, was postponed early in June so that highway designers could come up with plans that hopefully would "completely satisfy local interest," said Lionell T. ...

Several years ago I visited one of the few skills-training classes offered to residents of a Missouri habilitation center for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled. Anxious to learn how successful the program was, I turned to a young girl, perhaps no older than 10 or 12, and asked, "What have you learned in this class?" The young girl's face brightened as she replied, "Oh, lots of things. But I already know how to love."...

This morning, as the sun was beginning to show its dominance, I was sitting in my "relaxing" chair under the peach tree. To supplement my breakfast, I had just picked a nice peach off the tree, and was enjoying its natural sweetness. With the warmth of the sun, the outdoor life was stirring. Birds were calling to friends, a Juvenile Red Headed Woodpecker was enjoying a fresh peach, and a rooster from far off was crowing...

To the editor: Until the story appeared two weeks ago in this paper about the horrible thing done to the Venable boy, my husband and I were in complete ignorance about the whole ordeal. In this case, ignorance is truly bliss. How I wish this whole thing had never happened for so many reasons. I cannot tell you how much my heart goes out to this innocent young man who has had his life turned upside down and exposed to the world. We pray every night for him and all involved...

The liberal reformers are back to pester Missourians with another dreary version of their favorite cure-all for our political campaigns: food stamps for politicians. Pardon our sarcasm, but this is the best way to think of the proposal advanced by a group modestly calling itself Missourians for Fair Elections. ...

Senate Bill 335 is the sentencing-reform bill that passed both houses of the Legislature this year, only to meet with Gov. Mel Carnahan's veto pen. The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler, one of Carnahan's closest allies during his tenure as governor. So incensed was Caskey by the veto that earlier this month that the veteran senator led a rare attempt to override it...

Arizona Sen. John McCain distinguished himself this past week by becoming the first GOP presidential candidate to say of Patrick J. Buchanan, as he departs the Republican Party, that in truth he left it long ago. The truth is Pat no longer belongs in the party of Ronald Reagan...

This week I couldn't help mentioning my visit to historic Uniontown in posts on a couple of the on-line clubs I belong to. A fellow member of the Yahoo Missouri People Club posted back later, commenting on what a neat, adventurous life we journalists get to live...

Abraham Lincoln. our nation's 16th President- once made an astute observation about our children. "A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started." Lincoln said. "He is going to sit where you are sitting, and when you are gone, attend to those things you think are important. ...

Cal got out of bed early one morning and decided that he would go fishing. Grumbling he looked in the garage for his fishing poles. "Somebody must have been messing with my stuff," he said to himself. Finally locating everything he needed he took off for the river. ...

"At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden, and in the garden, a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." (John 19:4142)...

(To my first grandchild, Journey Elizabeth Gentil" You are my shining diamond that God gently cut just right He sent you to us flawless straight down from Heaven's light He also sent an angel with beautiful wings of white to guard you and to guide you...

Can you trust a dog who wears sunglasses? A tiny girl was trying to decided when the spectacles-wearing pooch licked her hand and the tot squealed with glee. Heidi, a 3-year-old rottweiler, had just made another friend at Saturday's Pets on Parade. At the event, held outside Michael Tanner Furnishings and co-sponsored by that store and the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, people enjoyed the sights and dogs sniffed out the smells of contests, demonstrations and exhibits...

Jim Poyner says his fish story isn't phony. The 30-year-old Cape Girardeau man says Big-Head carp have jumped into his boat on shallow Mississippi River backwaters in Mississippi County. He's not just hooking people with a tall tale. It's true, he said. And he has a videotape to prove it...

Kent Hall doesn't mind being among the cheapest lawyers in town. He said he never saw law as a way to make money anyway. "I just had a desire to make a difference in people's lives," said Hall, who oversees work in five counties from the state public defender's office in Jackson. "Corporate lawyers are certainly needed, but that wasn't for me."...

Patrick Nwokoye remembers every detail of the day he was confirmed. The archbishop of Lagos laid his hand on the 14-year-old boy's brow and made the sign of the cross. "It was an incredible feeling," Nwokoye says. "I told my friend if I died that day I'm going to heaven."...

The Nina is coming back to Cape Girardeau and Debbie Gattis is so excited, she's taking 70 people with her to see it. Actually those 70 are fifth-graders at Jefferson School were Gattis teaches, but she's sure they will love seeing this replica of Christopher Columbus' ship as much as she did when it was here two years ago...

Saturdays just wouldn't be the same without cartoons. Our children would find it hard to get up in the morning without their favorite 'toons. Things have changed in cartoon land over the last several decades. Today's kids don't relate to Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, they tune in to Rugrats and something called SpongeBob...

Mike Dumey and Robyn Hosp never expected to book passage on a cruise ship for a song. But the local duo will be doing just that in March when they perform on the world's largest cruise ship. Dumey and Hosp will perform on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas ship on a week-long cruise that runs from March 19-26...

Delores AuBuchon was enjoying the gospel music early Saturday afternoon at Wailing in the Woods. But more dear to her heart is the cause the event was raising money for: Southeast Hospice. AuBuchon, who suffers from pulmonary thrombosis, is a Hospice patient who relies on the program's volunteers to remain independent...

U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft hopes his congressional colleagues will resist the temptation to dip into the Social Security Trust Fund for a last-minute spending spree. Ashcroft is concerned Congress and President Clinton won't keep their hands off the Social Security fund as they adopt spending measures for the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1...

A trip to the Union County Wildlife Reguge on Oct. 3 to view migrating hawks is being organized by the Four Seasons Audubon Society. Participants should meet at 12:30 p.m. at the upper municipal pool parking lot in Capaha Park. Those interested in the trip should call Bill Eddleman at 335-1507 or visit the chapters Web site at www.audubon.org/chapter/mo/fourseasons/...

Southern Illinois has a new state senator in the 59th Legislative District. Ned Mitchell, 51, who has been active in the Democratic Party for almost a quarter of a century, replaces Jim Rea, who is vacating the office to take a position with Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White...

The old and the new will be mixed at this year's Zonta Club Fashion Show, which will be Oct. 4 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The theme for this, the 21st annual fashion show for the club, is "Back to the Future: A Century of Fashion," said Jane Daume, publicity chairman of the Zonta Club. Chairman of the event is Charlotte Lanpher. Dr. Janet Ruopp is president of the Zonta Club...

The Alumni Association of Southeast Missouri State University has selected six alumni and a Southeast faculty member to receive the University's annual merit awards. The seven will be honored during homecoming festivities at the annual Merit Award Dinner. The dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Student Recreation Center...

A recent spate of season-ending, non-contact injuries in the National Football League -- most notably to Jets' quarterback Vinny Testaverde and Falcons' tailback Jamal Anderson -- have once again brought up the topic of how dangerous some artificial surface fields can be...

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's football Indians saw their record dip to 0-4 Saturday night. But this loss was unlike any the Indians have experienced so far this season. For the first time all year, Southeast was in the game at halftime, trailing host Western Kentucky only 14-7...

ST. LOUIS -- Cape Central's tennis team won both of its matches against Parkway Central and Parkway West Saturday afternoon to win the Parkway Quad Tournament for the first time in school history. Cape downed Parkway Central 5-4 and Parkway West 9-0 to up their record to 9-0 in dual matches...

NASHVILLE -- Southeast Missouri State's volleyball team responded from an upset loss to OVC foe Austin Peay on Friday by knocking off OVC opponent Tennessee State in three easy sets on Saturday at Kean Hall. The Otahkians improved to 8-5 and 1-1 in the OVC with the 15-1, 15-5 and 15-3 victory. Tennessee State dropped to 0-14 overall and 0-5 in the OVC...

PORTAGEVILLE -- G.P.: Does that stand for Great Performance or what? G.P. Glueck scored four touchdowns -- one rushing, one receiving and two on kickoff returns -- and forced a key fumble as the Chaffee Red Devils downed Portageville in a thrilling 38-32 win Friday night...

Fact: There are only four more days remaining in the month of September. If you hunt in Missouri, then that fact is significant. It means that teal season is over (as of sunset today). It means that dove season closes at sunset on Thursday, September 30, only to reopen on November 1...

Southeast head basketball coach Gary Garner will be one of the two featured speakers when Three Rivers Community College holds its 30th annual Coaching Clinic Saturday, Oct. 2. Garner, recently named the Co-OVC Coach of the Year, will focus on the triple-post offense...

The 1999 Southeast Missouri State University Homecoming Broadway Mile walk/run will be held on Oct. 9, just before the homecoming parade. The first male and female to finish the mile will receive a $100 savings bond. All participants will receive a commemorative cup, key chain and a free ticket to the homecoming football game at 1 p.m...

Geraldine McLean Ennis, 93, died Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Nov. 30, 1905, in Marquand, daughter of Daniel and Mary Pope Mouser. She and Robert L. McLean were married April 16, 1927, in Marquand. He died June 10, 1981. She married Harry L. Ennis in September 1985 in Cape Girardeau. He died in December 1985...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Robert Lee Shrodes, 81, of Olive Branch, Ill., died Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999, at the home of his daughter in Tamms, Ill. Shrodes was born Sept. 6, 1918, in Bardwell, Ky., son of Henry Boyd and Ersie B. Watson Shrodes. He was married to Maudie Mae Shrodes, who preceded him in death...

DELTA -- Frank Woodrow Kinder, 86, of Delta died Friday, Sept. 24, 1999, at the family home. He was born on Oct. 6, 1912, at Laflin, son of George Burrette and Annie Margarete McCormick Kinder. He worked for the Missouri Pacific Railway Co. on the bridge gang for 10 years. He also worked for Superior Concreters and Labor Union 282. He retired in 1975 as a concrete laborer...

PERRYVILLE -- Ethel M. Snyder, 76, of Crosstown died Friday, Sept. 24, 1999, at St. Anthony's Hospice Center in St. Louis. She was born June 19, 1923, in Perry County, daughter of Lonnie and Esther Weith Tucker. Snyder was retired from American Can Co., where she was an inspector...

PERRYVILLE -- Weldon J. Ernst, 73, of Perryville died Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Oct. 11, 1925, in Biehle, son of Joseph and Anna Zoellner Ernst. He and Wilberta (Birdie) Bohnert were married Oct. 1, 1949, in Apple Creek...

Beef cattle Angus: Grand champion heifer: Hamilton Angus; Reserve champion heifer: Birk Beef Cattle; Grand champion bull: Butch's Angus; Reserve champion bull: Birk Beef Cattle. Hereford: Grand champion heifer: Aufdenberg Polled Herefords; Reserve champion heifer: Mueller Polled Herefords; Grand champion bull: Mueller Polled Herefords; Reserve champion bull: Burns Polled Herefords...

Cookie Little has quilts on the beds in her home, but she's also made large quilts to use as wall hangings and small ones for table centerpieces. She drapes her quilts over chairs, stuffs them decoratively into baskets and crock pots and sews them into pillows. She even used one to make a backpack...

No flags lined the streets Thursday. No businesses closed. No parades. It was just the First Day of Autumn. Hardly anyone took overt notice. But I did. I knew it was coming. My favorite calendar told me so. In addition, I was jolted into awareness one previous morning by the temperature when I took to the porch with my morning coffee. ...