Out of the past: Feb. 13

2000

A red wave washed over the Show Me Center last night and appeared in everything from stickers on clothing to painted torsos as fans arrived in record numbers to support the Southeast Missouri State University Indians in their battle against the Racers of Murray State; 7,241 fans, however, weren’t enough to bring the Indians victory; the tribe fell 77-60.

One reader’s comment summed up a recent Southeast Missourian comics survey, when he said, “I can’t imagine life without ‘Peanuts’”; as a result of the survey, “Classic Peanuts”, the best of the strips drawn over the years by Charles Schulz, will remain part of the Southeast Missourian’s comics pages.

1975

​The chances of adding another floor to Saint Francis Hospital while it is still under construction appears dim; representatives of the Cape Girardeau Area Health Care Council presented their views of the need of an additional floor at a conference yesterday in Jefferson City with legislators and health officials; the health officials in the course of discussions, pointed out they are bound by a formula established by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare; that formal says Cape Girardeau’s total bed needs are about 308, and the community now has more beds than that number.

Declaring there is an urgent need for a new jail, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ivan E. McLain yesterday said he will begin immediately holding a drastically reduced number of only minimum security risk prisoners in the county jail at Jackson because of its “deplorable conditions”.

1950

​Heavy weekend rainfall — 4.2 inches at Cape Girardeau and 5.15 inches at Cairo, — sent small streams out of their banks, flooded rural roads, damaged fields and brought a new threat of heightened water to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; the rising rivers threaten the Birds Point Floodway, from which most of the 12,000 inhabitants are still barred by flooding; the spillway was evacuated Jan. 16 and comparatively few families have returned.

Cape Girardeau County roads suffered under heavy rains again this weekend, with some bridges being damaged or washed out; Big Whitewater River at Millersville is out of its banks for the 13th time this winter; a Jackson school bus going north and east was turned back at the Ed Gohn place, where Indian Creek for the third time this winter washed out a bridge.

1925

​Comparatively mild weather the past week brought the building bee out of winter hibernation; construction of nine new residences was started in Cape Girardeau and another is being remodeled; among the new construction are four five-room frame bungalows started by various contractors.

A large crowd at the Teachers College auditorium hears Capt. Donald B. MacMillan describe his latest journey to the North Pole; his talk includes the viewing of 8,000 feet of film showing the life of Greenland’s inhabitants.

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.