Out of the past: July 26

1994

Students returning to Nell Holcomb Elementary School north of Cape Girardeau in the fall will be greeted with renovated classrooms air-conditioned and newly lighted; the $767,000 renovation project is a little more than half complete.

Cape Girardeau firefighters rescue a 36-year-old man from an apartment fire at 105 S. Spanish St.; firefighters find the unidentified man on the floor near his bed; they believe he was overcome by toxic smoke and gases while attempting to flee the burning apartment.

1969

Four families remain in the Arena Building, where they have been staying since floodwaters forced them out of their South Cape Girardeau homes two weeks ago; the flooding Mississippi River, which at its crest topped 39 feet, forced the virtual evacuation of the low-lying section and 14 families found refuge in the Arena Building.

Bunny Bread Inc. has acquired a tract of land on the east side of its plant at 310 Christine St. and plans an extensive expansion next spring; plans are to erect a masonry addition 50 feet wide and 232 feet long to provide for planned increased production facilities.

1944

A high wind, accompanied by a heavy rain and lightning display, causes considerable property damage in Illmo, Fornfelt and Ancell; at Illmo a new 24-by-20-foot garage being erected by G.B. Sauer is blown down; half of the roof is torn off the Baptist Church at Fornfelt; Dode Bollinger's Market sustains about $1,000 damage, the front of the building being crushed, a part of the roof being blown away and the roof of his adjacent filling station being damaged.

Preparations continue for the Southeast Missouri Fair, only two weeks away, Aug. 9 to 12; this year's program boasts a premium list and racing program commanding a total of $8,678.50 in purses and cash prizes; workers are constructing the box seats at the race track, along with the judges' stand and the free attractions stage, this to be in front of the grandstand on the east side of the Arena Building.

1919

Articles of agreement for the incorporation of the Egypt Mills Guernsey Club have been filed for record in the county recorder's office; the concern is capitalized at $20,000, divided among 200 shares; stockholders are the Rev. M.A. Lohmann, F.E. McDonald, Charles H. Haupt, I. Ben Miller and Samuel H. Carter.

Mrs. Jacob Doyle receives a letter from the War Department asking for the address of her son, Robert V. Wilson, who was a sergeant with the 364th Ambulance Co. during the war; the letter states the French government has conferred upon Wilson the Croix de Guerre and Citation for valiant services.

-- Sharon K. Sanders