Out of the past: Aug. 10

1997

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- A time capsule, tucked away Sept. 14, 1948, behind the altar of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, is opened, kicking off a year-long celebration commemorating the church's 150th anniversary; the capsule is a metal lock box wrapped with brown paper; inside the locked box are financial records, correspondence and a sermon from 1948.

The first signs in Missouri marking the Mississippi River Trail, a bicycle route planned to extend 2,000 miles from Ste. Genevieve to New Orleans, have been placed on poles in Mississippi County; the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Division of Tourism have decided to go forward with the trail in spite of objections from loggers in Perry County.

1972

Bradshaw Smith has decided not to attempt to exchange his Cape Girardeau City Council seat for one in the Missouri House of Representatives; Smith, an attorney who has been on the council 1 1/2 years, announces his withdrawal as a candidate for the Republican nomination to represent the 156th District; that leaves two active candidates, Glen W. Lampley, former Missouri Highway Patrol zone commander here, and Linus W. Bartels, retired State Department of Education official.

Previews of fall are evidently early as Cape Girardeans pile on some extra covers and turn off air conditioners as the thermometer dips to a chilly 54 degrees; it's not a record, but is only two degrees higher than the low set in 1922.

1947

Dean Forrest H. Rose fills the pulpit at the Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau in the absence of the pastor; the Rev. Bernard A. McIlhany is guest speaker at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis.

A homecoming celebration sponsored by the congregation of First Christian Church is held at worship services in the morning and a picnic in the afternoon and evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. Grant Frye in Illmo; present at the all-day celebration are a former pastor, the Rev. R.L. Harrell, and his wife of Kankakee, Illinois.

1922

Missouri pays tribute to the organization of the first Farm Bureau of the state; thousands of Missouri farmers are in Cape Girardeau celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the initial county agent in Missouri -- in Cape Girardeau County -- in August 1912; the day's events, being held at Fairground Park, include a huge parade, concert by the municipal band, horseshoes tournament, speeches and an old-fashioned square dance.

To maintain good order in the large crowd at the Farm Bureau decennial celebration at the fairgrounds, police chief Jeff Hutson put on a force of extra policemen: E. Langston, Walter Bellaw, J.F. Kinder, W.A. Lawler, H.S. Sitze and T.E. Sandbach; owing to the heavy traffic at Broadway and Pacific Street, two policemen -- Bob Wilson and Glen Kinder -- are handling traffic there; an extra policeman, Charles McDonald, is on duty on Broadway.

-- Sharon K. Sanders