Out of the past: Oct. 14

1999

Estimated bills will soon become a thing of the past for AmerenUE customers; devices being installed over the next three months will enable AmerenUE to read both gas and electric meters by remote control.

CAIRO, Ill. – The death of a 65-year-old Kentucky man who was flying a homemade gyrocopter is being investigated, but may never be solved says Bill McHughs of the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office; David Spears of Kevil, Kentucky, died Monday when his one-seat gyrocopter crashed three-fourths of a mile east of Cairo Municipal Airport near Highway 3.

1974

A petition of the City of Jackson to halt construction of the long-proposed county law enforcement complex on the County Farm property in Cape Girardeau has been turned down by the Missouri Supreme Court; the high court’s decision removes another road block set up by Jackson city officials and residents to prevent moving the jail from the county seat; the controversy is far from over, as another Jackson appeal to the Supreme Court is still pending; meanwhile, Nip Kelley Trucking and Equipment is given the go-ahead to begin site preparation work at the County Farm.

Dr. Harold O. Grauel of Cape Girardeau has been appointed to the advisory board for the Missouri School of the Blind in St. Louis; a retired Southeast Missouri State University English professor, he is one of five persons appointed to the new advisory board.

1949

Arriving early, hundreds of Southeast Missouri teachers “take over” at State College for their 74th annual district meeting; the meeting, streamlined to a single day, will conclude this evening with a football game, but many of the teachers plan to remain over for the college homecoming festivities tomorrow; guest speaker in the afternoon is James E. Green, New York City professional lecturer.

Reports continue to come in of the heavy damage done to crops in the bottoms along Apple Creek by the excessive rainfall the past two weeks; corn in particular was badly damaged, and even some of the grain planted on hill land was hurt as the rainwater soaked the ears remaining erect; some farmers report losing an entire crop, in some instances the finest in years.

1924

Speaking to the Rotary Club at a noon luncheon, Cape Girardeau Mayor James A. Barks declares the greatest need of the town at the preset time is a traffic bridge across the Mississippi River; says Barks: “If there’s any way to aid in the project to make the Thebes (Illinois) bridge into a crossing for vehicles, the Rotary Club should get busy at once, for it would be doing a great service to the city.”

Republican candidates for office in Cape Girardeau County, accompanied by several leading speakers, will make a swing through the county the latter part of this week, next week and the week prior to the election…; the battery of speakers includes Rush H. Limbaugh, T.D. Hines and O.A. Knehans, the latter a candidate for judge of the Common Pleas Court.

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.