Out of the Past: June 7

1999

Cape Girardeau homeowners are making a big splash; although it’s summer and that means time to indulge in the luxury of a swimming pool, some Girardeans are wading in line for construction permits; the city’s inspection services division has issued eight permits for swimming pools so far this year, including four this past month alone.

Paul Ebaugh, 78, Cape Girardeau businessman, banker and civic leader, dies; in 1990, while many of his peers were enjoying retirement, Ebaugh took the helm of a new bank, AmeriFirst Bank of Cape Girardeau; Ebaugh, former president of Cape Girardeau Construction Co. and later executive vice president and chairman of the board of directors of First National Bank and Center Bank, always loved a challenge; he helped develop Chateau Girardeau and served on the Missouri Highway Commission from 1983 to 1989; he also lobbied for funding of a new Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau.

1974

Flying mortar boards flung into the air by exuberant graduating seniors put the finishing touch on commencement exercises last night for 363 Cape Girardeau Central High School pupils; rain forced the ceremonies, schedule for Houck Stadium, into the field house instead, where hundreds of parents, relatives and friends filled the stands to near capacity; commencement speaker was Dr. Constantine W. Curtis, president of Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.

Jim Smyth, Cape Girardeau district manager for Missouri Utilities, says the cause of yesterday afternoon’s major power failure, which blacked out the city for about 35 minutes, hasn’t been determined; the power failure occurred from 4 to 4:35 p.m. during a heavy rain and thunderstorm.

1949

The pick of the 140th Infantry Regiment, designated as the honor guard for President Harry S. Truman during his attendance at the annual 35th Division reunion this weekend at Little Rock, Arkansas, receives its complete instructions and will leave by motor convoy early Friday for the two-day event; there will be 190 men and officers, representing all three battalions of the regiment, in attendance at the ceremonies; of these, 175 will participate in the guard of honor; the remainder will be drivers, staff officers and other essential personnel.

People file through the mobile x-ray unit of the state Division of Health in its first day in Cape Girardeau Tuesday, June 7, 1949.G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive

One-hundred-sixty persons pass through the state Division of Heath mobile x-ray unit at Courthouse Park in the first two hours of its opening day in Cape Girardeau this morning, and the number steadily increases in the afternoon; two technicians will take several thousand chest x-rays of Cape Girardeau residents between now and the end of the month.

1924

Candidates for Cape Girardeau County’s elective offices are preparing for 60 days of campaigning following the closing of the formal filing time at midnight last night; surprising political watchers is the eleventh-hour filing of B. Hugh Smith, Cape Girardeau attorney, in the race for the Democratic nomination for prosecuting attorney; Smith came to this county a year ago from Scott County, where he served as prosecutor; he is unopposed for his party’s nomination, but will face the winner of a race among Republicans E.A. Mason, Frank Hines, Frank A. Lowry and Orren Wilson.

Orville Castle, 22, a laborer, is shot and probably fatally wounded by James A. Adams, a restaurant keeper and prosperous landowner, in a road near Adams’ home in Neelys Landing; Castle is brought to a Cape Girardeau hospital suffering with wounds in his face and right side; the shooting occurs within 30 yards of the Adams home and is provoked by an argument over a cheap screwdriver, residents of Neelys Landing say.

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.