Out of the past: Jan. 30

2000

​The Rev. Sam Ramdial is installed as the new pastor of First General Baptist Church during the morning worship service; Dr. Kenneth Kennedy, former executive director of the General Baptist denomination, and the Rev. Fred Brittain, director of pastoral ministries for the denomination, officiate; Ramdial, of Poplar Bluff, has been president of Stinson Press Inc., the publishing and marketing arm of the General Baptist denomination, the past 10 years.

A truly snowy day in Southeast Missouri is rare, but that’s what some residents saw yesterday; in a region where snow and ice usually come in pairs, the Cape Girardeau area received 2 to 5 inches of snow Friday and early Saturday; the Bootheel, however, wasn’t so lucky; police and emergency personnel in Scott and Mississippi counties and south say hazardous road conditions greeted motorists as falling temperatures caused snow to freeze on roadways Friday night, with the resultant accidents.

1975

​Medical malpractice insurance premiums at Southeast Hospital have increased more than 50% over last year’s rate even though the hospital had no claims in 1974; the drastic premium increase is a local indication of a nationwide problem that has seen many doctors faced with the possibility of losing professional insurance protection; premiums are also going up for Saint Francis Hospital, but not to the extent they are at Southeast.

The Missouri Division of Health announces the release of $87,000 for a special unit in the new Saint Francis Hospital under construction here; the money is the first payment of a $335,539 grant financing a 20-bed rehabilitation unit in the new hospital.

1950

​Postal officials are making preliminary investigations of the feasibility of establishing an over-the-road equivalent of the railway mail service, which would connect Cape Girardeau and other points for rapid postal delivery; Postmaster N.M. Snider says for about two years, post office authorities have been making surveys from time to time to possibly include Cape Girardeau in a system of such routes.

Judge Frank Batchelor of Cape Girardeau files his declaration to be a candidate on the Democratic ticket, subject to the August primary; Batchelor seeks to succeed himself as judge of the second district of the County Court; he is the first Democrat to file; Judge W.P. Crites of the first district, who is a Republican, filed earlier in January.

1925

​The new 1925 state automobile license plates are received at the Fred A. Groves Motor Co., Sprigg and Themis streets, and their distribution begins in the afternoon; the shipment consists of 2,000 sets of plates numbering from 170,000 to 172,000; as this is the only branch license office in Southeast Missouri, and Cape Girardeau alone will demand more than 2,000 sets, the local firm expects to distribute more than 6,000 pairs of license plates.

Inspectors with the Missouri Fire Prevention Association completed their investigation of fire conditions in Cape Girardeau late yesterday; they plan to check back here in a few weeks to determine whether any of the fire hazards have been corrected; the city’s public schools came into special scrutiny by the inspectors, and Broadway School, where a fire a few weeks ago threatened the building, came in for considerable criticism.

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.