Out of the past: Dec. 11

1999

Users will find a different look at Central High Municipal Swimming Pool when they return this weekend; school and city officials say workers are completing installation of a new bubble over the pool at 205 Caruthers Ave.; the pool will reopen to the public tomorrow after the water is fully chlorinated and warmed; the previous bubble was destroyed by a storm in May.

Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents has agreed to replace the natural grass surface at Houck Stadium with synthetic turf; installation of the FieldTurf synthetic grass will cost $744,021.

1974

Even with the shaky economy, Cape Girardeau Christmas tree sellers are reporting sales at least at last year’s pace, if not an increase; the Evening Optimist Club is selling about three trailer loads of trees in their special lot in the 2000 block of Independence; nearby is Master’s Christmas tree lot; Elbert Masters owns the trees along with his brother, Dr. E.C. Masters; another lot is at Sprigg and Morgan Oak, owned by Lenny Presley; prices range from $3.50 to $16.

Changes are being made in the Cape Girardeau Police Department, as it is adding both new officers and dispatchers, and also using new patrol cars in an effort to upgrade the department’s efficiency, says interim chief Lt. Donald R. Roberts; five new officers will be starting on Sunday, along with three new civilian dispatchers, if all goes as planned.

1949

Dorothy Kelly of Marquand, State College student who is preparing for work with the Methodist Foreign Mission Board, is guest speaker at Maple Avenue Methodist Church, first at the Youth Fellowship meeting and then in the evening service.

POPLAR BLUFF – An out-of-season tornado dips into Southeast Missouri, killing six persons and injuring 15; the twister whips across a 10-mile strip of farm country north and west of Poplar Bluff; four of the fatalities are in one family; Tom Sparkman, 47, and his three daughters die in the wreck of their home; Mrs. Sparkman is injured; others killed are Andy Freeman, 55, and his wife, Mattie, 54.

1924

Cape Girardeau city commissioners and engineers go over the territory in South Cape Girardeau, which has been proposed to be included in the city’s annexation program, with a view of determining within a few days where the boundaries in that section should be; officials with Marquette Cement Co. and Hely Stone Co. have asked that the plant not be annexed.

Frank Carroll, the leather-lunged hot tamale vendor, has discarded his equally well-known two-wheel cart and is carrying the tamales in a can; it’s much easier to handle, according to Carroll, and will hold enough of the tamales for his customers during the winter months; he denies that the sales of his wares has dropped off since he increased the price from 20 to 30 cents per dozen.

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.