Out of the past: March 26

1993

General Sign Co., 780 Nash Road, may be closing its doors within 30 to 60 days; the 53-year-old business is for sale, and while some people have expressed interest in purchasing it, they may run out of time; General Sign is owned by Lon Maxie.

The City of Jackson is purchasing the two-story former Jackson Exchange Bank buildings at West Main and Court streets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $625,000; it will be at least one-and-a-half years before Jackson's municipal offices are moved into the building.

1968

Funeral homes of Cape Girardeau and Jackson announce they will discontinue ambulance service effective April 15; simultaneously, George F. Rouse of Jackson announces he will open and operate the Cape County Private Ambulance Service after that date.

T.F. Waltz Jr., president of the Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp., breaks ground in the morning for construction of the Bennett Corrugated Box Co. in the industrial park south of Cape Girardeau.

1943

Prost Bus Co. is moving its station to 725 Broadway, formerly the Hope Auto Co. headquarters; the station has been at 43 S. Main St.; in charge are Fred Prost, head of the company, and Elaine Fassold, acting agent.

Rain forces the St. Louis Browns back into the Arena Building and dampens the spirits of baseball fans who had hoped to witness the first practice game of spring training at Fairground Park.

1918

C.M. McWilliams, former farm agent for Cape Girardeau County, is moving to his farm near Wolf Lake, Illinois, about 20 miles northeast of East Cape Girardeau, Illinois; he tried to ship his household goods by freight, but the railroads could spare no car; he ended up using auto trucks to move his goods.

Herbert T. Slade, a Cape Girardeau boy who recently enlisted for service in the Army and was sent to Camp American University at Washington, D.C., writes he likes Washington fine and is hard at work; only engineers or specially trained men are sent to the Washington camp.

-- Sharon K. Sanders