Out of the Past, September 26: Cape Girardeau's school program for infantile paralysis patients takes off

1999

Former members of Peace Lutheran Church at Friedenberg and descendants of the early pioneers meet for the 19th annual reunion service in the afternoon; the church is preserved by Concordia Historical Institute of St. Louis as a reminder of the German Lutheran heritage in Southeast Missouri; guest speaker is the Rev. Adam Mueller, originally from the Black Sea area of Europe; he served 21 years as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim.

The faithful gather in the afternoon at Old McKendree Chapel near Jackson for the 180th anniversary of the church’s founding; the Rev. Monk Bryan, a bishop with the United Methodist Church who served in Missouri 36 years, is guest speaker for Old McKendree Day; members of the Perryville United Methodist Church sing.

1974

Farmers in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, already suffering millions of dollars in crop losses from high water and then a drought, hope the weather won’t deal them a harvest-time blow — a killing frost or heavy rain; chances for an early killing frost and muddy fields are present, according to the National Weather Service, which predicts below normal temperatures and above normal rainfall for the region through mid-October.

A Perryville contractor has submitted the apparent low bid on a 4.6-mile relocation of Route K from Interstate 55 west to Highway 25; Quadri Contractors, Inc., of Perryville bid $2,305,401 on the work, which includes right of way, grading, bridges and resurfacing; the only other bidder was from R.B. Potashnick of Cape Girardeau; the primary reason for the relocation of that section of Route K west of Cape Girardeau is the increased traffic on the road and poor conditions of four bridges.

1949

Preliminary work toward activation of a full-fledged school program is placed underway among the school-age infantile paralysis patients at Saint Francis Hospital; Nell E. Finlay, formerly of Webster Groves and Kirkwood, a graduate occupational therapist, has been employed by the state Department of Education and the Cape Girardeau Board of Education to conduct the program.

A treat is in store Wednesday for the western-minded youngsters of Cape Girardeau when Red Ryder, famed comic strip and movie hero, will make a personal appearance at the Broadway Theatre in connection with the showing of his newest movie, “Ride, Rider, Ride”; Ryder is portrayed by Jim Bannon, a 6-foot-2-inch native of Kansas City, who is on a cross-country tour of motion picture houses; the movie actor will make four appearances at the theater in the afternoon and evening; each will feature stunts, roping and shooting tricks on the stage.

1924

In an address last night in Common Pleas Courthouse, B.H. Piepmeier, chief engineer of the Missouri Highway Commission, declared the commission looks with favor on the suggestion of The Missourian that a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois, be equipped to handle vehicular traffic.

Two prisoners in the Cape Girardeau city jail, painters by trade who are unable to pay their fines, will “paint it out,” police decide; J.S. “Kitty” Summers and Jack Fisher, both being held on charges of drunkenness, can’t pay the fines assessed by the police court, and it is decided that, since the police court building on Independence Street needs a new coat of paint, this would be a good opportunity to get the work done; so the pair will start painting Monday; they won’t be paid the regular painter’s daily wage, but on the city’s pay schedule of “$1 per day and board.”

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.