Out of the past 7/19/06

25 years ago: July 19, 1981

Construction of the pediatric special care unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital is underway; the four-bed unit, added to the north wing of the hospital, will have bedside monitoring and other specialized equipment.

William H. Beggs of Jackson, the founder of Pioneer Orchards west of Jackson, dies at a Cape Girardeau hospital at age 69; Beggs, the son of Henry and Nora Rapp Beggs, married Laura Ochs in 1932; he is survived by his wife, three sons, and his mother.

50 years ago: July 19, 1956

Southeast Missouri's melon crop, particularly cantaloupes which are just beginning to hit the market, is in danger of being wiped out by the fungus disease anthracnose, unless farmers start immediate spraying, according to the University of Missouri extension service; fields have been hard hit by the fungus because cool, moist weather during the growing season has been ideal for the spread of the disease.

Sewer construction in the Main Street area is expected to start shifting to Water Street soon, as work in the section from Independence Street south to Good Hope Street comes to a close; trenching through solid rock from William to Good Hope should be completed tomorrow.

75 years ago: July 19, 1931

Several improvements are being planned for the Community Clubhouse at Fairgrounds Park; the windows of the dance hall will be screened, new light fixtures will be installed in the lounge and the floor of the lounge will be painted.

Mrs. Caroline Gloth, nearly 92 years old, one of the oldest members of The Missourian's Century Club, dies at the home of her cousin, Mrs. Orren Wilson, 1325 Broadway; a resident of Cape Girardeau 89 years, she was a member of the Nabe family, one of the oldest of this community.

100 years ago: July 19, 1906

G.W. Moothart, president of Moothart business colleges in De Soto, Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, Mo., arrives in Cape Girardeau with professor L.E. Butler; the two are here to make preparations for a college to open this fall; Cape Girardeau is in need of the business school, because there is always a scarcity of stenographers and bookkeepers here.

A prominent change in banking circles at Jackson took place yesterday; Harry R. English, president of the Jackson Exchange Bank, and who had been connected with the institution since its establishment in 1894, resigned; Judge John A. Snider was elected in his place.

-- Sharon K. Sanders