Out of the past 2/9/05

25 years ago: Feb. 9, 1980

About 50 Cape Girardeau Boy Scouts take part in Operation Deep Freeze, braving five inches of snow and temperatures that hover in the 20s; plans for a two-day campout at Shawnee Park are scrapped by most of the Scouts, not because of weather, but because of the flu.

Missouri Auditor James F. Antonio has recommended that the state attorney general's office investigate a possible conflict of interest involving Southeast Missouri State University regent James H. Estes and his past association with Cape Central Airways, which has provided air charter service to the school.

50 years ago: Feb. 9, 1955

A budget of $2,229.66 greater than a year ago has been adopted by the county court for fiscal 1955; at the same time, the county tax rate remains at 45 cents per $100 assessed valuation; the new budget allows for an expenditure of $355,248.53.

The Civic 500 Club prepares to wind up its circulation of petitions asking the return of Common Pleas Courthouse to the city by the federal government. It is estimated more than 4,000 people have signed the petitions.

75 years ago: Feb. 9, 1930

A Baptist Student Union, composed of Baptist students at the Teachers College, is organized at the Sunday school hour at the First Baptist Church. Ethel McConnell of Nashville, Tenn., special worker among the young people in Southern Baptist colleges and universities, has charge of the organization work.

A finance committee has been selected to make plans for raising the money needed to construct a Sunday school annex to Red Star Baptist Church and to remodel the main church building.

100 years ago: Feb. 9, 1905

A new jewelry store will open next to the post office the latter part of this week or Monday. N.S. Weiler, until recently of Carbondale, Ill., intends to put in a stock of goods unequaled in Southeast Missouri. He has, perhaps, the best quarters and location in the city, and he asserts that his stock will be perfect.

L.C. Rau of Dutchtown has a light plant of 1,500 candlepower in his store. It is so bright it furnishes light for the cemetery across from the store.

-- Sharon K. Sanders