Out of the past: Feb. 1

2000

​The Cape Girardeau JCPenney store sent a truck to St. Louis on Monday morning to pick up a shipment of T-shirts and sweatshirts proclaiming the Rams as Super Bowl Champions; this was done so the local store could have the merchandise in stock Monday afternoon, rather than waiting several days for it to be shipped from St. Louis; Penney’s, as well as other stories carrying Rams merchandise here, report Rams’ apparel is in high demand here.

MARBLE HILL — Bollinger County government used to find it hard to make ends meet, but these days the county government is on solid financial ground; the Bollinger County Commission has approved a budget of more than $2 million for this calendar year; the general-revenue budget alone totals more than $1 million for the first time; it includes about $40,000 to provide health insurance for the county’s 42 employees and officeholders.

1975

​The Missouri General Assembly closed out its third week with its first steps toward resolving two of the more controversial issues facing it — reinstatement of the death penalty and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; the death penalty measure has failed twice in the past because the Senate and the House couldn’t resolve their differences; Sen. Albert M. Spradling Jr., D-Cape Girardeau, says the ERA “will have tough sliding” in the Senate.

Voelker’s Jewelers, in business in Cape Girardeau for three years and formerly located at 109 Independence St., has moved to 112 N. Main St., in a building leased from George Siebert; Mr. and Mrs. Gary Voelker operate the business.

1950

​The worst ice storm in 23 years holds Cape Girardeau and most of Southeast Missouri in its grip, bringing thousands of dollars damage to power and telephone lines and to trees; an estimated 40% of Cape Girardeau is without electrical power and 600 lead-in lines serving an estimated 1,200 telephones are down; Missouri Utilities Co. officials say it will be impossible to restore power to some places until ice begins to melt, but the weather forecast holds out no hope of relief.

School superintendent Louis J. Schultz announces that, because of the danger from falling limbs and broken utility lines, Cape Girardeau’s public schools will be closed tomorrow; says Schultz: “We don’t want the children to take chances, and we don’t want any of them hurt.”

1925

​The Rev. Charles H. Swift, for five years pastor of First Christian Church at Cape Girardeau, announces his resignation from the pastorate of the church to his congregation, effective about April 1; Swift plans to spend several months resting before again taking up ministerial duties; he hasn’t decided what pastorate he will accept; while the minister will remain in Cape Girardeau until April, his family will leave early in March to make their home in San Diego, California.

The Southeast Savings and Loan Co. has purchased the property at 621 Good Hope St. from R.C. Noeninger; the lot, 22 by 102 feet, is improved with a two and one-half-story brick building, the lower floor occupied by Hitt’s Barber Shop and the second floor by a five-room apartment; the ground floor will be remodeled and will be occupied in June by the savings company.

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.