Out of the past 6/21/11

25 years ago: June 21, 1986

Heat swelters both the minds and bodies of Riverfest enthusiasts, but temperatures in the high 90s fail to keep large crowds away from downtown Cape Girardeau; highlight of the two-day festival is the spectacular fireworks show.

Meyer Supply Co. recently opened a new storage warehouse at 608 Good Hope St.; it will be used to store many of the plumbing wholesaler's larger merchandise, such as bathtubs, water heaters and china basins.

50 years ago: June 21, 1961

Several Cape Girardeau youths have been elected to office at the American Legion's Missouri Boys State at Warrensburg: Stephen Mosley, police judge of Clark City; Barry Thornton, councilman of Boone City; John Crowe, state senator from Doniphan City; Mark Michel, councilman of Clark City and Elwood Brown Jr., state senator for Shelby City.

In spite of the chilly weather -- the temperature eventually bottoming out at 50 degrees overnight -- a large crowd attends the Municipal Band concert at Capaha Park; special guests are members of the Junior High Band Camp at State College.

75 years ago: June 21, 1936

Picking up a mussel shell on the Current River, Paul Mills of Cape Girardeau finds a pearl valued at more than $50; the pearl is large and is perfectly round.

The pavement on Highway 25 between Appleton and Perryville, Mo., opens to traffic; this is a new stretch of pavement and will link with that from Appleton south to Jackson, which has been placed under contract.

100 years ago: June 21, 1911

Members of the board of directors of the street railway system meet at the First National Bank to handle regular business matters and to consider ways to increase productiveness of the line; there is some discussion of extending the line to Jackson, Edna, Illmo or Chaffee, Mo.; Louis Houck has offered the company the right of way and a bonus to build a line down to the towns of Edna and Illmo or elsewhere to the south.

Just off The Daily Republican's presses is Col. Thomas Beckwith's book on the Indians or mound builders of Southeast Missouri.

-- Sharon K. Sanders