Out of the past: Jan. 1

2000

Like the rest of the nation, Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois sail into the new millennium untouched by any Y2K snafus that had been feared; preparation seems to have headed off whatever misfortune could have occurred had computers been fooled into thinking 1999 had just rolled over into the year 1900 instead of 2000.

Bayley Leeann James wasn’t supposed to be here until Wednesday, but she arrives at 4:47 a.m., four days ahead of schedule; Bayley is the first baby born in Cape Girardeau in the new year, new decade, new century, new millennium at Southeast Hospital; she is the daughter of Terry L. and Jessica James of Jackson.

1975

A traffic fatality starts 1975 off on a morbid note win Southeast Missouri as a Jackson man dies in a one-car accident on an Iron County road after Missouri had achieved and exceeded its highway safety goal for 1974, and Southeast Missouri had recorded its lowest number of traffic fatalities in 16 years; Gary W. Dickerson, 23, is pronounced dead on arrival at an Ironton hospital following an accident at 3 p.m., seven miles west of Banner on Highway 32 in Iron County.

Lusty cries, rather than bells or fireworks, ring in 1975, when six babies are welcomed by area families at Southeast Hospital on New Year’s Day; making the first appearance of 1975 is Simian Eugene Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Williams of Mound City, Illinois; the baby, a husky 8 pounds, 1 ounce, is born at 2:47 a.m.

1950

The largest building construction total for a single year in Cape Girardeau’s history, a near $2,000,000 in permits issued by the city, was written into the 1949 record book, surpassing by hundreds of thousands of dollars the prior mark established in 1947; the mark was reached, of course, because of the huge amount of reconstruction necessary to rehabilitate the strip of devastation cut by the May 21 tornado; but even without that taken into consideration, and counting only permits issued in the normal course of events, it was the second largest construction year in the city’s history.

It was a damp welcome 1950 received on arrival in Cape Girardeau, but despite heavy rainfall in the opening hours of the new year, creating driving hazards, it was a safe and sane opening of the new decade; there was considerable celebration to mark the advent of such an auspicious year, but few appeared to let it get out of hand; Cape Girardeau police arrested only four celebrants on charges of intoxication, and there were no driving while drunk arrests.

1925

Cape Girardeau County during the past month experienced the coldest December in seven years, according to the government observer; the coldest previous December was 1917; the lowest reading recorded last month was on the 28th, when the mercury slid to 9 degrees below zero; maximum for the month was 69 degrees on the 16th; sub-zero readings were recorded on four dates.

The Gerhardt Construction Co. is awarded the contract for the general construction of Louis Hecht’s new $50,000 building, to be erected immediately north of the First National Bank building on Main Street; Polack Brothers Plumbing secures the plumbing contract, while Goyert Electrical Co. will do the wiring; work will start next week, if the weather is favorable.

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.