Out of the past 5/7/03

10 years ago: May 7, 1993

Owners of about one-third of Cape Girardeau County's 30,000 parcels of real estate are receiving Impact Notices advising them of increase in their property assessments; Missouri statutes require county assessors' offices to update real estate values in odd-numbered years as way of maintaining statewide reassessment that took effect in 1985.

Teaching career of Col. Henry H. Gerecke has come to end; students, faculty members and friends of Gerecke assembled in Johnson Faculty Center at Southeast Missouri State University Thursday to salute former Cape Girardeau police chief, who is retiring after 10 years of teaching.

25 years ago: May 7, 1978

The 100th anniversary of present building of German Evangelical Church near Dutchtown is observed, along with annual meeting of German Evangelical Cemetery Association; observance includes basket dinner, religious service conducted by the Rev. Ernest Jordan, pastor of Evangelical United Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau, and cemetery association meeting.

One thousand forty-four students at Southeast Missouri State University graduate in two separate ceremonies on campus; 1,000 students receive their graduate and undergraduate degrees during ceremonies at 3:30 p.m. in Houck Stadium; another 44 students in university's one- and two-year certificate programs are honored during morning ceremony at University Center.

50 years ago: May 7, 1953

Faint flicker of hope that has sustained Mr. and Mrs. Roland G. Busch of Cape Girardeau for past year -- hope that somehow, somewhere, their son Ens. Roland G. Busch Jr. was alive -- burns brightly today; it flared to practical reality Wednesday, when telegram from Navy Department was found by another Busch son, Elwin, when he came home and saw yellow envelope beneath door; telegram states Busch was sighted in communist prisoner of war camp in March.

Cape Girardeau's two downtown levee improvement districts, striving to have $989,000 appropriation for flood-protection restored, have forwarded letters to Senate and House subcommittees urging reconsideration of earlier elimination of item from budget.

75 years ago: May 7, 1928

Plans for building in which they will open retail store in Cape Girardeau have been approved by officials of Montgomery Ward & Co.; negotiations have been going on since representative of firm visited city several weeks ago with purpose of securing location for store; building will be provided by local capital as investment, and site on Broadway is being considered for it.

After having received their mail for nearly 25 years without interruption, 22 families living on farm branching off from Highway 25 between Gordonville and Allenville suddenly find themselves cut off because postal route inspector has declared road impassable, and rural carrier has discontinued daily delivery.

-- Sharon K. Sanders