Out of the past: Oct. 18

1999

The Cape Girardeau census office, which will be responsible for recruiting and training census workers and all other local operations in 31 Southeast Missouri counties, holds its grand opening at 2715 Thomas Drive; the staff and other Census 2000 representatives attend the grand opening in the afternoon; Lloyd Smith, administrative assistant to U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, is among local and state elected officials attending.

Camel racing is to Mideast countries what horse racing is to the United States; and camel racing will be one of the main topics of conversation during a camel conference and training school to be held in Cape Girardeau from Nov. 1 through 6; the conference, to be held Nov. 1, 2 and 3 at Drury Lodge, will feature topics on camel health care, camel rearing and some round-table discussions; the second three-day session, Nov. 4, 5 and 6 — the training school — will be held at 5-H Ranch north of Cape Girardeau, which is home to about 80 camels.

1974

Homecoming is in full swing at Southeast Missouri State University; in the afternoon, a Shakespearian collection belonging to Dr. H.O. Grauel, professor emeritus of English, is placed at Kent Library, and the J.C. Brandt Music Hall, formerly the Music Building, is dedicated; the Homecoming Parade will be held tomorrow morning and the gridiron clash between the Indians and the Springfield Bears will be Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium.

Real haunted houses are rare, but two Halloween haunted houses will be in Cape Girardeau and Jackson from Oct. 29 to 31; a solitary, abandoned house on an unkept, windswept hill at 1836 Perryville Road, on property of the city’s new north park tract, will be the site of a haunted house sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees; in neighboring Jackson, the Jaycees will host a haunted house in a house owned by First Presbyterian Church, adjacent to the church parking lot on North Hope Street.

1949

A crowd estimated at 3,500 persons lines the route of march at Jackson in the morning for the parade of 17 bands that will participate this evening in the Fifth Annual Southeast Missouri Marching Band Festival; business suspends during the 55 minutes it takes the parade line to move through the business area; in addition to the 16 bands originally carded for the program is the band from the high school at Thayer.

Painters begin the interior decorating of the county courthouse in Jackson in the morning; workers start painting in the main corridor; each office will receive two coats.

1924

The Cape Mill Manufacturing Co., which operates a cotton gin in Cape Girardeau, received two loads of cotton yesterday and ginned their fourth and fifth bales of the year; Theo. Hoffmann of near Gordonville brought the first load to the gin, and the weight recorded was 1,775 pounds; after the cotton was ginned and baled, its weight was 520 pounds; the second load was delivered to the gin by Albert Grase, also from Gordonville; this load weighed 1,550 pounds and, after being ginned, produced a bale that weighed 480 pounds.

Frank Seib, local cigar manufacturer, has begun construction of a modern five-room bungalow on North Fountain Street near Washington School; the dwelling is to be of hollow tile and stucco construction and will have a garage to match; estimated cost of the structures is $4,500.

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.