Out of the Past: June 10

1999

The Procter & Gamble Co. has announced details of its five-year, far-reaching, strategic plan to carry the company into its next phase of “Organization 2005”; during the process, which will increase long-term annual sales growth 6% to 8%, 15,000 jobs will be eliminated over the next six years — about 13% of the work force — and 10 plants may be closed; “We see no immediate or planned impact on the Cape Girardeau County facility,” a company spokesman said.

The towboat that ran aground Tuesday afternoon on the Mississippi River about one mile south of Cape Girardeau leaked less than 50 gallons of diesel fuel into the river, the U.S. Coast Guard says; the Sharon Wildman ran aground on a dike at 4:45 p.m. while towing 16 barges southbound; the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office in Paducah, Kentucky, oversaw the cleanup and salvage.

1974

The City of Jackson has petitioned the Missouri Supreme Court for a reversed decision on the county law enforcement complex judgment; in a jurisdictional statement filed by City Attorney Kenneth L. Waldron, the city seeks to have the high court rule on the matter on grounds that the County Court has violated sections of the Missouri Constitution by authorizing an indebtedness of $750,000 or more.

Teaching school in Poplar Bluff for a year convinced LaVerne L. Willis she wanted to work with children, but not in the classroom; since December, she has been a deputy juvenile officer at the Cape Girardeau Juvenile Home and, according her, she has found a place she wants to be.

1949

Initial steps toward engaging workers for the 1949 District Fair, to be held Sept. 12-18 at Arena Park , are underway; application forms are available from secretary Elmer P. Lind; last year, approximately 100 workers were hired to stage the fair.

Cape Girardeau County taxpayers, when state and county taxes fall due next fall, will receive for the first time, except in a relatively few instances, notices of the amount they owe; the new practice became effective yesterday, when Gov. Forrest Smith signed into law a bill allowing tax collectors in third-class counties to receive one-half of 1% of all taxes they collect; but the bill made it mandatory that, to collect the fee, collectors will have to send out tax bills to all taxpayers and then follow with receipts when the bills have been paid; in the past, the county collector sent out bills only to large businesses and to owners of considerable real estate; the majority of taxpayers didn’t receive bills.

1924

The contract for the new Trinity Lutheran School building has been awarded to J.C. Reisenbichler, local contractor; the total cost of the four-classroom brick building will be $39,985.50; the building will also contain individual lockers for each student, a rest room, principal’s office and library, confirmation room, bathrooms and combined auditorium-gymnasium; there will be a basement under the entire building, which will contain two large play rooms, kitchen, dining room and bowling alley, besides fuel and boiler rooms.

Richard Carroll, 80, a veteran of the Civil War and resident of Cape Girardeau for nearly 74 years, died at his home at 227 S. Spanish St. yesterday; his wife, the former Kate Gilroy, preceded him in death by several years; he is survived by three daughters.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a blog called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper. Check out her blog at www.semissourian.com/history.