Out of the past: Jan. 29

2000

Snow that began falling about mid afternoon and lasted into the night yesterday made travel hazardous across the area; numerous traffic accidents were reported, particularly along Interstate 55, where a number of vehicles skidded off the highway, some overturning; the National Weather Service says 3 to 5 inches of snow could fall before the storm moves out of the area about noon today.

J. Ronald Fischer, a Cape Girardeau native who served more than three decades in city and county government before retiring as Cape Girardeau’s city manager in 1995, became the 12th recipient of the Rush H. Limbaugh Award last night at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce awards dinner at the Show Me Center; also honored were R&M COCO, a design-fabric distributor, which received the small Business of the Year Award, and Cathy Schlosser, who received the Go-Getter Award.

1975

A bill to divide the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger counties judicial circuit into two division won its first test yesterday in Jefferson City; Sen. Albert M. Spradling Jr., D-Cape Girardeau, says that it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and should reach the Senate floor next week; subsequently, the bill must be presented to the House Judiciary Committee and then go to the floor there if approved.

Negotiations between The Missourian and representatives of Local 647, International Printing and Graphic Communications Union, over a contract are continuing with the next meeting set for Feb. 14; union members walked off their jobs a few minutes before press time Oct. 16, 1974, while the contract negotiations were underway.

1950

A former Cape Girardeau physician, who entered the ministry and has since traveled the United States and foreign countries for 15 years in evangelical work, is back in Cape Girardeau to conduct a revival at First Assembly of God Church; he is the Rev. Charles O. Neece, and he left Cape Girardeau about 19 years ago.

The high school at Delta was entered Friday night or early Saturday and five offices and classroom doors within the building were opened after the door glasses had been broken; apparently the burglars were searching for admission receipts from the Ozark Basketball Tournament, which was held there from Tuesday to Friday; the soda water vending machine was forced open and the money removed, and a wristwatch found during the tournament was stolen.

1925

An outside spiral fire escape is to be installed at Lorimier School to give the 350 pupils there additional means of escape in case of fire; the school board last night voted to purchase the fire escape from Dow Co. of Louisville, Kentucky, at a cost of $750 and ordered it installed as soon as possible; inspectors with the Missouri Fire Prevention Association have said Lorimier School should be abandoned or immediate steps taken to make it as safe as possible; at 54 years old, the school is still in fair condition, but is considered a menace to the lives of pupils, because of the numerous fire hazards.

PERRYVILLE — Following an election last Saturday when voters almost unanimously adopted a proposal to purchase new fire equipment, the City Council has signed a contract with General Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis for an REO 1 1/4-ton truck, with a pumping capacity of 350 gallons a minute; it will have a capacity of 1,000 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose, which amount the city already owns.

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.