Out of the past: March 15

2000

​SALT LAKE CITY — Whether it was due to the sheer boredom of travel or a contagious psyche of the entire squad, the mood of the Southeast Missouri State University basketball team on its trip to Salt Lake City yesterday was a calm one; the Indians arrived here at about 10 p.m. CST in anticipation of their match-up with fourth-seeded Louisiana State University tomorrow in the first round of the NCAA Tournament; the Tribe’s travel agenda included a two-hour bus trip to Lambert International Airport at St. Louis, a one-hour wait at the airport, another one-hour wait inside the plane before it took off, and then a three-hour flight.

Two Carter-Moore Construction Co. workers were injured yesterday morning in a fall at a construction site at BioKyowa in Nash Road Industrial Park; the workers — wearing safety harnesses — were about seven feet above a catwalk platform when their scaffolding broke, plunging the workers downward; names of the workers weren’t released.

1975

The Cape Girardeau School District faces a federal investigation of possible violations of federal civil rights laws, but the exact nature of the alleged violations hasn’t been specified; neither the superintendent of schools nor the president of the Cape Girardeau County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People can say for sure what spurred the probe; however, it is believed the investigation will be based on enrollment in the elementary, junior high and senior high schools here; whites by far outnumber Blacks in most of the schools.

President-elect of Southeast Missouri State University, Dr. Robert E. Leestamper, begins a busy three-day schedule of appearances in Cape Girardeau preparatory to taking over the reins of the university July 1.

1950

A spectacle of color is seen at the Arena Building, as reds, blues, golds and oranges clash in a brilliant uniform display as almost 400 youngsters come together in the annual spring festival of the Southeast Missouri Band Association; high schools participating in the event are Lilbourn, Sikeston, Perryville, Charleston, Jackson and Cape Girardeau Central; guest conductor is Charles Minelli, assistant professor and director of bands at Kansas State Teachers College, Pittsburg, Kansas.

Crews of the Cape Special Road District are felling trees and clearing brush preparatory to construction of a 400-foot cutoff on the Bloomfield Road, which will eliminate a sharp turn centering on a one-way bridge over Ramsey Creek; workers have started driving creosoted timber pilings, which will be the foundation for a new bridge across the creek; the span, estimated at $4,493, will be on steel beams with a concrete floor.

1925

The first issue of “The Alliance News”, a weekly newspaper, is published by the Ministerial Alliance of Illmo and Fornfelt; the front page is devoted to general news, while the remainder is divided among the various churches; the Rev. W.M Wigger is editor-in-chief, with the Rev. R.L. Smith as business manager; associate editors are the Revs. S.D. Nichol, E.C. Abernathy and Harvey Dunn.

Extensive remodeling and redecorating are being done at the St. Charles Hotel, Main and Themis streets; the hotel, which is the oldest of the large hotels in Cape Girardeau, will be painted and papered throughout; eight new sample rooms for displays and 10 new bathrooms will be installed; a new kitchen and a private garage also are being added; the proprietor is E.G. Gramling; the work will cost about $15,000, and the plans were drawn by R.K. Knox, architect.

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.