Out of the Past: July 3

1999

The Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau won’t close July 25 as earlier anticipated; the soonest the bridge could close for repairs is mid-August; on Friday, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission didn’t award a construction contract for improvements to the existing bridge; the project involves replacing the asphalt driving surface of the bridge deck; only one bid was received for the work, and it was considerably higher than anticipated.

Parents take their children to the river in the morning to view a part of history; the steamers Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen stop at Cape Girardeau, marking the beginning of a 11-day journey that started in New Orleans; part of the trip is a race between the boats.

1974

David M. Gellatly, Jackson chief of police for the past three years, has resigned his position with the city effective July 31 to assume his duties as chief of police at Addison, Illinois, a west Chicago suburb; the resignation came unexpectedly to the Jackson City Council on Monday night, but was accepted unanimously.

Bonnie Loretta Huffman, had she lived, would have been 40 years old this year; instead, she died under mysterious circumstances 20 years ago today, evidently on a dusty road a short distance from Delta; her murder became the most baffling in Cape Girardeau County history and ranks as one of Missouri’s most celebrated unsolved crimes.

1949

Last Sunday’s cornerstone-laying ceremony at the Southeast Missouri Baptist Foundation Building, 465 N. Pacific St., was canceled because of rain; a permanently sealed metal box containing various records will be put in the cornerstone, and the stone placed, but not at public ceremonies; actual laying of the stone will be next week; the foundation is constructing a $75,000 addition to the building.

A 42-inch fan has been installed at Christ Episcopal Church and is used for the first time today; Flentge’s General Electric appliance firm installed the fan in the sacristy; an automatic time control is attached to the fan, so it turns on at 3 a.m. Sunday, and runs for two hours, to take advantage of the early morning cool air in preparing the church for worship services.

1924

Lillian Patton, accomplished daughter of Dr. and Mrs. W.C. Patton, has been chosen to represent Cape Girardeau in the Southeast Missouri beauty contest, which is to be one of the features of the American Legion’s Fourth of July picnic at Fairground Park; she competed in a field of seven attractive Girardeau girls and won two of the three votes of the judges; the beauty contest is set for 2:30 tomorrow afternoon, with 15 young women vying for the title.

The Frisco Railroad has let the contract for laying heavy steel rails from Chaffee to Luxora, Arkansas, a distance of over 100 miles, and that work has started; when completed, the entire distance between St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee, will have been spanned with the heaviest rails used, and the roadbed will be as good as it is possible to make it.

Southeast Missourian librarian Sharon Sanders compiles the information for the daily Out of the Past column. She also writes a blog called “From the Morgue” that showcases interesting historical stories from the newspaper. Check out her blog at www.semissourian.com/history.