Out of the past: Nov. 20

1999

Cape Girardeans attending Texas A&M University say the Aggie spirit remains indomitable even in the wake of an accident that killed 11 students Thursday morning; “I think that if anything can come out of how terrible this is, it's that the whole world will see exactly how strong the A&M family is," says Kyla Hill, a junior at the university; Hill and Lesley Goehring, both 1997 graduates of Central High School, say they were awakened early Thursday morning by friends calling to tell them the 40-foot pyramid of logs erected for Texas A&M's traditional football bonfire had collapsed.

Shots were fired late Thursday night at La Croix United Methodist Church, shattering the front-door glass and damaging a parked van belonging to the church's music director, Chris Nall; police and church leaders say they don't know why shots were fired at the building at 3102 Lexington, and police have no suspects.

1974

Kiefner Brothers Construction Co. of Perryville submitted a base bid of $40,318 for excavating and grading and concrete work on a construction project to enclose the lowest floor of J.C. Brandt Music Hall on the Southeast Missouri State University campus at yesterday’s bid opening; the company was the only bidder on excavation, grading and concrete work; a combination bid of $84,120 to include that work as well as masonry, carpentry, painting, aluminum windows with glass and glazing and miscellaneous items was also submitted by the firm.

With admission receipts for the 1974 SEMO District Fair down only $904.92 from those of last year — and rain a major factor in that loss — the new $1 gate fee-free grandstand policy will be continued for the 1975 exposition; the overall financial picture of the fair was almost as good this year as last; total revenue from the 1974 fair amounted to $118,409.05; in 1973, it was $121,552.74.

1949

Retirement of the final portion of a $180,000 indebtedness on the First Baptist Church building in Cape Girardeau, incurred in 1925, will be celebrated at Thanksgiving vesper services in the afternoon; the brick and stone building, with the largest seating capacity of any church building in the city, is the fruit of many years of planning and much work, for the congregation had begun dreaming of a new church home before the First World War.

Initiation for 132 charter members of the Cape Girardeau lodge of the Loyal Order of the Moose is conducted in the afternoon by a drill team from St. Charles; the organization will use the building at 120 N. Spanish St., formerly occupied by the Missouri Division of Employment Security, as its lodge home.

1924

At Jackson workers have begun to excavate for the concrete foundation for the monument to be erected on the courthouse lawn in memory of the Cape Girardeau County soldier dead, who gave their lives in the Word War; the memorial will stand on the southeast portion of the public square and will consist of a life-size figure of a soldier, in white marble; on the pedestal will be a bronze plate bearing the names of the county boys who died in that war.

Capt. and Mrs. Charles Langley, officers in charge of the local corps of the Salvation Army, are grateful to the citizens of Cape Girardeau and Jackson and members of the advisory board of the Army for furnishing them with a new, closed automobile for carrying on their work here; the purchase of the car was made possible by the liberal contributions of the people of Cape Girardeau and Jackson to the Salvation Army Home Service Appeal Fund.

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.