Out of the past 1/24/08

25 years ago: Jan. 24, 1983

The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to reinstate Douglas Wayne Thompson's conviction in the 1961 murder of a Cape Girardeau auxiliary policeman; the justices, without comment, leave intact a ruling that forces state officials to give Thompson a new trial or set him free.

Alvin W. Hoskin of Cape Girardeau, a field service agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation, will retire this month with more than 36 years of service; Hoskin started as a conservation agent in Lincoln County in 1946; he became a field service agent for the Southeast Missouri area in 1951.

50 years ago: Jan. 24, 1958

E.W. Howenstein, formerly of Cape Girardeau, has been appointed manager of program and financial analysis of the engineering division of Chrysler Corp. in Detroit; he is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edmond Howenstein of Cape Girardeau; he has been with Chrysler since 1950, shortly after he graduated from Wayne University in Detroit.

Rusby Crites files his declaration as a candidate on the Democratic ticket for the office of county clerk; a son of the late P.W. Crites, he has been an employee of the Wayne Hosiery Mills in Jackson for 18 years.

75 years ago: Jan. 24, 1933

The mangled body of a man identified as Alton W. Benedict, 27, of Lu Verne, Iowa, was found last night on the Frisco Railroad tracks in front of the passenger station; it is believed he had been waiting for a train and was killed in an attempt to board it.

Adjutant and Mrs. William Kelly, who have been in charge of the local corps of the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau for the past 15 months, have been transferred to Hannibal, Mo.; Capt. and Mrs. Ernest Orchard of St. Louis division headquarters will arrive here tomorrow to take charge of the local corps.

100 years ago: Jan. 24, 1908

Thomas M. Williams is the new president of the Cape Girardeau Commercial Club and Sam Carter secretary; Williams replaces W.T. Wilson, who died Jan. 13.

On Feb. 1, the Lines Music Co. store on Broadway will close; in the meantime, every instrument in the house is being offered at greatly reduced prices; standard makes of pianos, some worth as much as $400, are being offered for about $250.

-- Sharon K. Sanders