Out of the past: Dec. 23

1999

A Cape Girardeau man is accused of defrauding philanthropist B.W. Harrison of more than $500,000 over the past year and a half; the 40-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with a class C felony for stealing by deceit; according to an affidavit filed by Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, the accused obtained $531,419 through checks from Harrison between June 14, 1998, and Friday; a large part of the money was given the accused under the premise that he was studying engineering at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and needed the money for his education.

MARBLE HILL – Mayor Ben F. Ellis Jr. faces a challenger in his bid for re-election; on the first day of filing for city offices Tuesday, Ellis and Jim Johnson filed for mayor and JoAnn Riggs and Tom Houchins filed for Ward 1 alderman; Johnson works in the city of Jackson's water department; Ellis, a veterinarian, has been mayor since 1994.

1974

Last-minute cookies and cakes for Christmas may cost less than those baked earlier in the season, after a sudden drop in the price of sugar at one Cape Girardeau grocery store; Edward Hart, manager of a local grocery chain, reports he has received notification from company headquarters to drop the price of sugar from $2.99 for a 5-pound bat to $2.59, a 40-cent break.

Cape Girardeans and others in the surrounding area are faced with the fact that they may be restricted to merely dreaming of a white Christmas; no snow is in the extended forecast; clear roads and an improved gasoline picture, however, could entice more motorists to make out-of-town holiday visits.

1949

National Guard officials report that occupancy of the new motor service center in Arena Park is underway, with 14 trucks assigned there for storage; a schedule is being set up for nearby units to bring in vehicles for checkup and maintenance; the concrete block building measures 52 feet wide by 144 feet; it has an unobstructed floor area the width of the structure and 128 feet long; the remaining 16 feet of depth, running the width of the building, is used as shop and office space.

POPLAR BLUFF – The annual Jaycees “turkey throw” turns into quite a riot, and two persons are taken to hospitals, one of them critically hurt; after Jaycees toss six turkey out of a third-floor window of the courthouse as a business incentive, the battle commences; police are called in to break up the melee and ambulances haul the injured away; Paul Wilson, 89, suffers a broken leg and hip, and a boy whose name is unknown is taken to a hospital by friends; a spokesman for the Jaycees declares, “Never again will we do it.”

1924

A new cold wave, which is predicted to send the mercury to new low levels for the winter, is on the way and may reach this section by tomorrow; the blizzard is said to be approaching from Alaska, the point of origin for the one last week, which swept over the entire Midwest ad Central States; accompanying the cold wave will be a snow storm.

Christmas will be “dry” in Cape Girardeau; police, acting under strict orders from the City Council, start a drive against “bootleggers” of Christmas cheer and, assisted by federal officers, will continue a close surveillance until the holiday period is over; a “plainclothes” detective, working under the direction of the council and for a time without the knowledge of police officers, has secured evidence to be used in the raids

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.