Out of the past: Feb. 3

2000

If your last name is Brown, Steed, Copeland, Pett, McGuire, Skelton or Lambert – and you received a letter from San Francisco recently – it could be worth $1 million, if you can prove you are related to Glenda Ella Bergman; Bergman, born Glenda Steed in Cape Girardeau in 1906, died in December in San Francisco with no will, no known relatives and an estate worth about $1 million; the probate court is hoping to find relatives here.

Construction should begin this year on the main span of the new Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau; a bedrock problem in the middle of the river has been fixed so work can proceed on the main span, the Missouri Department of Transportation says; jet grouting to repair seams in the bedrock of a pier site in the river added about $8 million to the cost of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

1975

Incumbent Paul W. Stehr files for reelection to a second three-year term on the Cape Girardeau City Council, becoming the first candidate for a city office in the April 1 election; the council seat he is vacating is the only one open this spring.

Legal opinions on the possibilities of Cape Girardeau County accepting a gift of land as a site for a new jail or trading county property for an alternate site owned by the City of Jackson have been asked of Prosecuting Attorney A.J. Seier; the County Court Thursday asked the opinions regarding Cape Girardeau businessman Charles N. Harris’ offer to give the county five acres between Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the City of Jackson’s proposal to trade property it owns for the site of the present jail and adjoining county-owned lot.

1950

The ice is finally rapidly disappearing, leaving in its wake shattered and broken trees as mute evidence of the fury of the storm; electricity and telephone service are being restored in all sections of Cape Girardeau; following a hard freeze over night, which brought little more damage, the weather moderates, and thawing and melting is evident early in the day.

Southeast Missouri Telephone Co. president C.W. Boutin says it will be at least four weeks before the company has repaired its ice-shattered long-distance lines in the district; the company will, however, have its toll service back in operation on at least a partial basis by Tuesday night.

1925

Nineteen-hour ferry service across the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau has been promised the City Council by A.C. Jaynes, owner of the ferryboat Gladys, which yesterday resumed operations after a month’s tie-up; Jaynes, appearing before the council yesterday, promised that within a short time the boat will go on a new schedule, leaving here at 4 a.m. and making it’s last trip across the river at 11 p.m.; he promised to keep his boat in operation as long as the river remains ice free.

With only a light vote being cast in the morning, indications are than less than 1,000 ballots will be turned in at today’s special election on the proposal to extend Cape Girardeau’s city limits.

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.