1994

Missouri National Education Association says it will take the Cape Girardeau Board of Education to court if the board holds its planned annual retreat this weekend in St. Louis; in a letter delivered to board members' homes, NEA attorney Lisa Van Amburg said holding the meeting in St. Louis effectively cuts off public access.

Longtime state highway patrolman Benny Hinton and Cape Girardeau County sheriff's Lt. John Jordon are nominated by their respective political party committees to run for an unexpired term as county sheriff; Hinton, 55, is chosen on the first ballot by the Democratic committee from a field of four candidates; Jordon, 33, was chosen on the second ballot from a field of five candidates by the Republican committee.

1969

Several dozen large catfish and hundreds of small bluegill are found dead on the banks and floating in Capaha Park Lagoon in the morning, the apparent victims of oxygen depletion caused by a sudden drop in temperature on the heels of a cooling rain that swept the city late Friday.

U.S. Sen. Stuart Symington was the guest speaker Saturday evening at the State College commencement, held among the trees on the east terraces of Academic Hall.

1944

Cape Girardeau County goes over the top in E war bond purchases, the first county in the state among those with larger assigned quotas to do so in the Fifth War Loan drive; as of July 31, the county's E bond purchases amounted to $646,902, or $3,902 over the quota.

L.F. Brenneisen opens a new skating rink on West Broadway, near Clark Avenue, in the evening; the rink will accommodate more than 200 persons and has a permanent maple floor measuring 130 feet by 50 feet; rental skates are owned by Brenneisen, as he was able recently to acquire 300 pairs.

1919

Emancipation Day is observed with a picnic and barbecue at Fairground Park, sponsored by Second Baptist Church; five speakers make talks of interest to the black community; speakers and their topics are O.O. Nance, principal of Lincoln High School, "Vocational Education in Our Schools a Reconstruction Necessity"; D'N. Stafford of the school board, "The Negro as a Citizen"; Mayor H.H. Haas, "The Negro in Skilled Labor"; J.M. Batchman, "The Negro Woman in Labor and Politics"; and H.H. Harris of St. Louis, a black orator.

Mr. and Mrs. Mercer D. Wilson and children departed Cape Girardeau yesterday for Arizona, making the trip by automobile; they took with them equipment for camping during fair weather as they drive across country; one of the children hasn't been in good health for some time, and it is hoped the drier climate will help him.

-- Sharon K. Sanders