Out of the past: Oct. 23

1999

Twelve girls who participated in a lunchroom free-for-all Tuesday at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School have been suspended and must meet a number of conditions before they return to classrooms; all of the participants received out-of-school suspensions of between five and 10 days depending upon their past disciplinary record.

A proposal to restrict the 100 block of South High Street in Jackson to one-way traffic has general support among merchants, although the idea has detractors; the plan was developed by the Jackson Merchants Association in an attempt to increase parking space along the street; the plan calls for angle parking on one side of the street and north-south one-way traffic.

1974

In a second explosion and fire in Southeast Missouri within a two-day period, two more men were badly burned last night; Bill Franklin, 19, of Cairo, Illinois, and Anthony Morris, 23, of Wyatt were injured when a diesel fuel tank suddenly exploded and burned at the Illinois Waterway Terminal on the Mississippi River at Birds Point in Mississippi County; they were taken by helicopter from PADCO Community Hospital at Cairo to St. John’s Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, where Franklin is in critical condition and Morris in poor condition.

A total of 94,543 Southeast Missouri residents can’t cast ballots in the general election Nov. 5 because they neglected to register to vote; more than 6,000 are living in Cape Girardeau County; voter registration figures released by Secretary of State James A. Kirkpatrick reveal 226,332 persons have registered in the 19 area counties making up the 10th Congressional District.

1949

Foul weather makes the audiences at the two concerts of the U.S. Navy Band at State College auditorium disappointingly small; those who do attend the concerts enjoy high caliber performances; the afternoon concert features more popular numbers, while the evening event is tailored to suit those who want and appreciate good music; interspersed through both are well known marches.

Detailed plans and drawings which, if put into effect, would eliminate flooding of Cape Girardeau streets with every heavy rain, such as occurred Friday, are on file at the city engineer’s office; they have been there for years and could easily be brought up to date with only minor alterations.

1924

Fair skies and a brisk atmosphere greet incoming teachers of Southeast Missouri, as they assemble in Cape Girardeau for the 49th session of the Southeast Missouri Teachers Association at Teachers College; the meeting will be held today, Friday and Saturday; all trains arriving here since last night have brought instructors for the annual session, and it is predicted that by tonight more than 1,500 teachers will be here from towns throughout the 27 counties of the district.

Edmond P. Kiesler, Perryville banker, has been named a special deputy commissioner to liquidate the closed Farmers Bank of Daisy; he is in Jefferson City to consult with the State Banking Commission as to how to proceed in clearing up the tangled affairs of the institution, closed when its cashier disappeared Sept. 22.

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.