Out of the past: Sept. 16

1990

Bob and Lisa Diehm of Nampa, Idaho, have begun their ministry as youth pastor and worship leader at First Christian Church of the Nazarene in Cape Girardeau; the couple has been involved in youth and music ministry several years.

The 57th annual service at Old McKendree Chapel, the oldest Methodist Church west of the Mississippi River, is held in the afternoon; a highlight of the service is a visiting circuit rider, the Rev. Jacob Lanius, portrayed by the Rev. Cleo D. Kottwitz.

1965

Arena Park is abuzz with activity as children by the hundreds flock to the SEMO District Fair to take advantage of free admissions, special rates on carnival rides and other features that are part of Cape County School Day; the first harness races will be staged this afternoon, and on the stage tonight will be the Porter Wagoner Show.

The first day of voter registration for residents of Cape Girardeau County outside Cape Girardeau went smoothly yesterday with 163 people signing up.

1940

President Roosevelt signs into law the nation's first peace-time draft bill, immediately issuing a proclamation requiring the registration Oct. 16 of 16,500,000 men aged 21 through 35 years; of interest to Teachers College students is the provision the draft will be deferred for those in college until the end of the 1940-1941 school year.

The Golden Rule is demonstrated at Oak Ridge when 30 men, neighbors of Henry Bruihl, to whom "misfortune has come in overbalanced quantity this year," go to work in his fields; the volunteers are cutting corn and shocking it; they plan, with the assistance of Fred Bruihl, son of the farmer, to continue their work until the late hay crop is put away and other labors have been completed; the elder Bruihl has been ill most of the year.

1915

It begins to look as if North Main Street will get a covering of gravel and a thorough oiling to keep the dust down; for years that street has been a terror to pedestrians and drivers; the manager of the shoe factory recently laid down an ultimatum to the city, that either the street should be smoothed out in some manner, or the factory would close until improvements are made.

John Oliver, a former student in the Normal School and who now is a teacher in the University of Wisconsin, is spending a few days here with relatives before returning to Madison, Wisconsin.

-- Sharon K. Sanders