Out of the past: Nov. 12

1998

North County Park's new arboretum will be planted with 144 trees over the winter thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation; the price tag for trees and labor to install the planting is between $8,000 and $9,000; the Cape Girardeau County Park Board had planned to raise most of that money through donations and gifts, but the grant means plans can now move ahead more quickly.

Estil Fretwell, director of public affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, says the state's revamped highway bill will put urban projects in the driver's seat at the expense of rural areas; he calls the $4.2 billion, five-year plan "tragic news" for rural Missouri.

1973

Veterans Day is observed, with city, county and state offices being closed; also observing the holiday are banks, savings and loan institutions and independent insurance firms; the annual Veterans Day parade and program are held in the morning, sponsored by the Joint Veterans Council; program speaker is Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., Cape Girardeau attorney.

Cape Realty Co. has purchased property at 355 N. Kingshighway, which has been occupied and owned for many years by the Seven-Up Bottling Co. of Cape Girardeau; the new owner plans to raze the old building; the plant was damaged by fire a couple years ago, after which bottling operations were suspended.

1948

Delays incurred in securing cement for the base of road structures have set back construction of the 10-mile stretch of asphaltic surfacing on Highway 25 between Blomeyer and Advance, Missouri; other road projects in the district are also suffering delays because of the shortage.

A very old picture, one that has been in the Krueger family through generations, has been presented to the Cape Girardeau Public Library by Nellie E. and Clara Krueger, 1428 Themis St.; the image -- "Capital Views of Cape Girardeau" -- is done in color and depicts several of the older homes and interesting sites in the city; it was drawn many years prior to 1872, according to the former owners.

1923

The formal opening of the Forest Lumber Co. in its new $20,000 building at Frederick and Morgan Oak streets was held Saturday, with an estimated 500 persons visiting the facility; C.K. Gould of Kansas City, Missouri, secretary and general manager of the company, was here for the opening.

St. Vincent's Catholic Church, one of the oldest church buildings in Cape Girardeau, is being given a coat of stucco as the first step by the congregation in repairing the structure; contract for the work has been let to W.W. Taylor and Sons, a local firm, for $5,000; along with repairing the church, the congregation plans to improve its interior and to build an addition to the parochial school.

-- Sharon K. Sanders