Out of the past: Nov. 8

1999

​Golfers love the warm temperatures enjoyed the past few days; record highs have been set the past three days: 79 degrees on Saturday, 81 on Sunday and 81 yesterday, as recorded at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport; representatives of local golf courses say there have been two to three times as many golfers on the links as usual during the past three days.

The dedication of Saxony Lutheran High School is set for Sunday afternoon at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau; children and adults representing area Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations that have formed a Lutheran High School Association will take part in the celebration; plans are to open the school in fall 2000 at a temporary site — St. Andrew Lutheran Church at Kingshighway and Cape Rock Drive; but the church must first get approval for a rezoning request from the city.

1974

​It’s almost like Christmas morning at the Cape Girardeau Police Department headquarters, as police officers marvel over the arrival of a Speedgun, a new radar system, as if it were the perfect toy; the hand-held radar unit was purchased from CMI Inc. of Minturn, Colorado, for $1,083; unlike the present device, which is 6 years old, the Speedgun not only will operate off a patrol car’s electrical system, but it includes a battery pack as well.

Tongues hanging out of red faces, grunts and screams raged as 60 residents of Myers Hall at Southeast Missouri State University piled on one shaky aluminum-framed dorm bed yesterday to break the world’s record of the most men in a bed; the college students hit the record of 60 in a bed; the stunt was the brain child of Daniel “Red” O’Neal and Don Berry.

1949

​JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Public Service Commission orders the hearing on requested rate increases by the Southeast Missouri Telephone Co. shifted to Cape Girardeau; the hearing will resume in the headquarters city of the telephone company Nov. 28; both Cape Girardeau and Jackson are among towns that are protesting the increases.

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education knuckles down to the things members must know in selecting an architect for the proposed new high school build; members expect to interview applicants for the design work after a dinner conference set Dec. 6 and 7; counseling the board is George D. Engelbart of Jefferson City, director of school building services for the state Department of Education; he answers a barrage of questions and outlines points to settle and questions to ask before a final choice of architect is made.

1924

​Fire, sweeping through the lowlands in the southern section of Cape Girardeau County and the northern end of Stoddard County, has caused heavy damage to timber and unharvested corn and cotton crops, according to reports reaching here; a sawmill, with a large quantity of unsawn timber, is reported to have burned south of Delta.

The “North Star”, elaborate pleasure yacht of Dr. William J. Mayo, world famous surgeon of Rochester, Minnesota, tied up at the Cape Girardeau wharf a short time last night to allow the surgeon and members of his family a respite from the river trip, before proceeding on to Cairo, Illinois, where Mayo is scheduled to speak today; the yacht is 120 feet long and carries a crew of six.

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.