Out of the past: Dec. 20

1992

First Assembly of God Church, 750 Mount Auburn Road, has purchased a building at 1202 S. Sprigg St. for the Super Saturday and Super Wednesday children's outreach ministry of the church; the Rev. Anthony Van Noy will conduct the Sprigg Street activities; the building was the church's original location in 1942.

THEBES, Ill. -- An investigation by the Coast Guard is underway to determine what caused a 25-barge tow on the Mississippi River to collide with a pier of the Thebes railroad bridge early yesterday; one of the barges overturned and sank in about 60 feet of water, about 1,000 feet south of the bridge; three other barges floated downstream toward Commerce, Missouri, but were recovered.

1967

Col. Narvol A. Randol of Cape Girardeau, commanding officer of the 135th Engineer Group, is named commander of the new 35th Engineer Brigade headquartered in St. Louis when the Missouri Army National Guard begins its reorganization Jan. 15.

Cape Girardeau Public School, still hard hit by the outbreak of influenza sweeping a large segment of the Midwest, will close at the end of classes today for the Christmas season, one day earlier than originally planned.

1942

Under the direction of A.H. Stellhorn, the choir of Trinity Lutheran Church presents a Christmas concert at the church in the evening; the 35-voice choir presents a number of Christmas carols; organ numbers are presented by H.A. Krahn, and the accompaniest is Madelyn Krahn.

Paula Kempe of Cape Girardeau won the first prize of $20 cash in The Missourian Christmas Limerick Contest; second prize of $10 went to Mrs. Ben A. Huebel of Cape Girardeau and third prize of $5 to Luke F. Kinder of Cape Girardeau; dozens of excellent entries made the selection of winners difficult.

1917

R.E. Duffy, an agent of the Missouri Public Service Commission, has been in Cape Girardeau two days, quietly investigating the causes for recent failure of the city water supply and the overloading of the gas supply with sulphur; this afternoon, Duffy takes surveying instrument to the site of the water plant to determine the exact point, with reference to the opening of Sloan Creek, where the intake pipe gets its supply of water.

Brother Tom Regan, about 75, the faithful lay brother at St. Vincent's College who died Monday night after devoting more than 40 years of his life to the college, is laid to rest in the morning in the college burying ground just south of the school buildings; the funeral is attended by a large crowd, many friends of the faithful old man turning out to show their last respects.

-- Sharon K. Sanders