Out of the past 7/27/06

25 years ago: July 27, 1981

Lightning is being blamed for a fire at the Charles Kamp home in Jackson yesterday, which caused considerable damage; a neighbor reported the house fire at 312 Cathy Drive at 3:10 p.m.; it apparently started when lightning struck the flue, catching the roof on fire; the Kamp family was out of town at the time of the incident.

If sales tax revenue is a barometer of economic conditions, Cape Girardeau is in better shape than most of the state; according to figures released by State Treasurer Mel Carnahan, Cape Girardeau during the second quarter of 1981 showed an 11.1 percent increase in sales tax receipts compared to the same quarter in 1980.

50 years ago: July 27, 1956

As the summer heat rolls in, the temperature at Cape Girardeau goes to 95 degrees at 1 p.m. and gives all promise of going even higher; humidity remains high at 72 percent.

Abstracts of the tracts of land under individual ownership in the Trail of Tears State Park area will be brought up to date and then divided among county lawyers to determine validity of the titles, reports Prosecuting Attorney Stephen N. Limbaugh; this step will be taken, he explains, to expedite acquisition of the 3,000 acres of ground in the park area; abstracts will be distributed to lawyers as abstractors bring them up to date.

75 years ago: July 27, 1931

Mrs. Henry Sachse of Gordonville was bitten by a two-foot copperhead snake while housing up the young turkeys at her place after supper on Sunday; immediate medical treatment forestalled serious results.

Smith Myers, well known traveling salesman who "made" this territory for Armour & Co. for 15 years, is spending his vacation in Cape Girardeau, stopping at the St. Charles Hotel.

100 years ago: July 27, 1906

The street car company and the electric light company are having many troubles these days; the other night, a cylinder head was blown out at the power house, and no lights burned in Cape Girardeau; last night, they barely burned, and today again the power is off while repairs are being made; the street cars are out of service most of the day.

A.R. Hussey, who has delighted hundreds of people with his xylophone and chimes, plays a free concert at the E.W. Fluentge store in the evening; Nona Hussey accompanies him on the piano.

-- Sharon K. Sanders