Out of the past: Feb. 28

2000

​Rain couldn’t keep John Simmons, 15, from trying to catch a few fish yesterday; but his fishing trip ended in a three-hour ordeal with 20 firefighters and rescue personnel working for two hours to dig Simmons from the slick, muddy bank along Juden Creek, near Twin Trees Park; the more they dug into the creek bank, the more Simmons sank, until he was up to his chest — nearly 4 1/2 feet deep — in mud; once he was freed by police Sgt. Roger Fields and fire Capt. Charles Brawley, Simmons was transported by helicopter to Southeast Hospital, where he was observed for injuries and hypothermia.

The Plant Lady’s Corner has moved into new quarters at 221 Independence St. from 1 S. Main St.; Debbie Naeter, a certified Master Gardener, has operated The Plant Lady’s Corner, a plant-care service for homes and businesses, for a number of years.

1975

​Kicking off an eventful day that includes the graduation of 17 patrolmen from a special training program, Cape Girardeau Police Chief Henry H. Gerecke announces several promotions, the first in five years; among them are William W. Stover, chief of operations, and Donald R. Roberts, chief of services, to captain; Howard H. Boyd Jr., training officer and recently appointed crime prevention officer, is promoted to lieutenant; joining him at that rank are Danny E. Club, Detective James A. Crites and Robert F. Ross.

Charmin Paper Products Co., which manufactures Pampers disposable diapers at its facility 15 miles north of Cape Girardeau, announces it will begin construction of a 325,000-square-foot addition this spring; with the expansion will come the employment of additional personnel.

1950

​The coal squeeze is growing tighter, but essential users still have enough on hand for varying lengths of time, none of them for any great period, however; St. Vincent’s College appears to be in as bad a shape as any institution; to stretch out the meager supplies on hand, the college is burning wood along with its coal, hoping to stretch the two-day amount of fuel on had to a week; the Rev. Charles E. Cannon, C.M., president, says the college so far has been able to burn wood cut from trees that snapped during the big ice storm, but have had to order an extra supply.

David A. Graves of Clarksville, Tennessee, has been appointed manager of the Montgomery Ward & Co. store in Cape Girardeau; he will succeed Joseph J. Yuracko, who died Feb. 16.

1925

​Recommendation of $581,800 for the support and maintenance of the Cape Girardeau Teachers College, including $125,000 for a new gymnasium building, is contained in the report of the Appropriations Committee to the State Legislature at Jefferson City; the amount recommended by the committee is only about $40,000 less than asked in the budget prepared by the regents and $247,000 in excess of the amount apportioned to the school by the state Tax Commission.

A 40-year-old Stoddard County moonshiner is safely lodged in the Cape Girardeau County jail at Jackson after he was spirited away from an angry mob of from 1,000 to 1,500 persons under cover of darkness last night from Bloomfield; he is being held for the death of the Rev. C.O. Fitzpatrick, a Nazarene minister, who was killed by an automobile on a highway south of Dexter three weeks ago.

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.