25 years ago: March 8, 1985

Owners of stolen property which has been held as evidence by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department and is no longer needed soon may be able to claim the property; the department recently began reviewing all county property evidence, some of which dates back to the early 1970s.

Jackson businessman Jim Sander, owner of Albert Sander Hardware, has been named "Merchant of the Year" by the Jackson Merchants Association.

50 years ago: March 8, 1960

The Jackson Lumber Co. has bought the building and lots of the Cape Girardeau Farm Bureau Service Co. on East Main Street in Jackson; the lumber company is planning to expand from its present quarters; a new Farm Bureau store and facilities is being built on Highway 72 west.

Rallying in the fourth quarter with 21 points to the opponents' 10, the Crystal City Hornets defeated the Poplar Bluff Mules, 63 to 47, last night at Houck Field House in the first round of the state Class L basketball tournament.

75 years ago: March 8, 1935

In a letter to Missouri Pacific Railroad, city engineer John R. Walther informs the company that the city will proceed with plans for the construction and extension of two blocks of Merriwether Street, from Fountain to Frederick streets, and asks the railroad to make immediate preparations for construction of an overhead crossing just west of the Fountain Street intersection.

Final transfer of $2,215,239.38 in Reconstruction Finance Corp. funds by the Federal Reserve Bank to financial agencies representing bondholders of the Little River Drainage District is made in St. Louis, winding up officially the refunding of the district debt through the medium of a government loan.

100 years ago: March 8, 1910

Judge Alexander Ross of Cape Girardeau has in his possession an ancient relic that is well worth preserving; it is a copy of the bylaws of Unity Lodge No. 6, established at Jackson in March 1822; this was the first Masonic lodge established in Cape Girardeau County and the sixth in the state.

Marie Valcourt, a French hairdresser of much experience, arrives in Cape Girardeau to take charge of the Talent hairdressing parlor on the third floor of the Himmelberger-Harrison Building.

-- Sharon K. Sanders