Out of the past: Jan. 17

1993

Many area people attend Commemoration Community Fest honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, which is held in Rose Theater.

A report published by the Cape Girardeau Police Department shows that the total number of violent crimes and property crimes in 1992 greatly exceeded 1991 totals; standing out in the crime statistics are the two triple homicides that occurred during a six-week time span in August and September.

1968

More than 100 state directors of the Missouri Real Estate Association are expected to attend the two-day meeting of the organization to be held in Cape Girardeau Friday and Saturday; Thomas L. Meyer, Cape Girardeau Realtor, will be installed as new state president Saturday night, climaxing the meeting.

Less than two months ago a traffic light, an illuminated sign and a flagpole stood on the southwest corner of Sprigg and Independence streets; today, all are down as a result of traffic accidents; the latest crash occurred last night; the impact bent the police department's flagpole back against the headquarters building, damaging three barricades and knocking off a gutter.

1943

Members of Centenary Methodist Church, doing their bit on the home front, host the officers and cadets of Harris Field, the new Army Air Force training center, at a weekly fellowship supper in the evening at the church dining room.

The Rev. H.H. McGinty, pastor of First Baptist Church, who has been ill at his home a month, has been granted a 60-day leave of absence for a rest period; during the month, the pulpit has been filled by various ministers; until McGinty returns, services at the church will be conducted by the Rev. A.D. Aubuchon, dean of the Southeast Missouri Baptist Foundation.

1918

Up to noon, over 200 requests for coal from residents whose bins are entirely depleted by the continuous cold weather are answered by the local coal administrator, Col. L.B. Houck, and his deputy, Ben Vinyard; late yesterday afternoon, they instituted a half-ton ration, ordering all five of the local dealers to give no more than that amount to any one person, except in the case of some larger institutions.

Just 20 miles behind the firing line somewhere in France, Mary Helen Fee, once a teacher at the Cape Girardeau Normal School, is nightly listening to the music of German bombs exploding while she serves hot coffee and tea to soldiers brought back from the front trench, wounded or released for a rest after their four days "in."

-- Sharon K. Sanders