Out of the past: Feb. 25

2000

​A trash bin fire yesterday afternoon has closed Outback Steakhouse for the weekend; about 25 staff members at the restaurant watched firefighters extinguish the blaze from the back row of a parking lot as winds whipped their aprons and hair; the fire, which began about 3:50 p.m., damaged the roof and siding on the back portion of the restaurant, but there was no structural damage and no one was injured.

JCPenney Co. Inc. stores at Cape Girardeau and Sikeston are expected to remain open following the company’s announcement yesterday that 40 to 45 department stores and 289 Eckerd Drug stores will close.

1975

​The Mississippi River is continuing to rise at Cape Girardeau, with a crest expected by Friday of 34 feet; the current stage is 29.93 feet; R.L. Miller, an employee of the Main Street Levy District, says the floodgates at Themis and Broadway won’t be closed unless the river rises to over 36 feet or 38 feet at the respective gates.

Two Missouri Department of Education representatives yesterday visited a number of potential sites in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area for location of the proposed new State School for the Severely Handicapped; the sites included one offered free of charge by Cape Girardeau businessman Charles N. Harris northwest of the Interstate 55-Highway 61 interchange, sites on both sides of the extension of Independence Street as it runs to Mount Auburn Road and in the immediate vicinity of what would be the extension of Themis Street.

1950

​Marquette Cement Mfg. Co. will become Cape Girardeau’s first industrial casualty to the coal strike at 6 tomorrow morning, when the last 200 of an approximate 300 production employees will be idled because of exhausted coal stocks; schools, hospitals, hotels and other industries have been able, so far, to keep a jump ahead of the rapidly dwindling supplies.

The Arena Building is more and more becoming a real center of community and district activities; the big building will see the conclusion of one district basketball tournament, that for larger high schools, while another districtwide tournament for smaller schools will start next week; the Arena is busy almost every night; besides basketball games, there are drill sessions of the National Guard, club gatherings and numerous similar events.

1925

​Federal authorities are investigating the reported practice of certain real estate dealers in attempting to conceal or advising their clients to conceal the exact amounts paid for property sold in Cape Girardeau; federal statutes provide that revenue stamps must be placed on each recorded deed in ratio to the amount for which the property was sold; a reported lower price defrauds the federal government of funds.

Steamboat service between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis will be resumed this weekend by the Eagle Packet Co.; ice disappeared from the Mississippi River several weeks ago, and it is thought steamboat service can be maintained without interruption; the Bald Eagle will leave St. Louis tomorrow at 5 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive here early Saturday morning; the boat will run only during the day due to possible shifts of the channel since early in winter, when navigation was suspended.

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.