Out of the past: Sept. 12

1999

Fairgoers pour through the gates at Arena Park as the 144th SEMO District Fair begins in the evening with a pet parade; a few sprinkles in the afternoon can’t stop the fun; admittance is free, and bracelet night for rides is a good opening-day draw.

As warriors in a spiritual battle over partial-birth abortion, nearly 150 persons gather at the Cemetery of the Innocents in Cape Girardeau; the crowd gathers under overcast skies hinting of rain to pray for legislators, Gov. Mel Carnahan and themselves as they brace for a veto override Wednesday; legislators will decide later this week whether to uphold the governor’s veto on a bill banning partial-birth abortions in Missouri.

1974

Cloudy skies and threats of rain continue to plague the 1974 SEMO District Fair as thousands of schoolchildren crowd the fairgrounds at Arena Park; it is Cape Girardeau Day at the fair, and pupils, dismissed from school at noon, are admitted to the grounds free; the midway is a busy place with reduced prices on some rides of the Blue Grass Shows; this evening’s grandstand entertainment will be Lee Mace and the Ozark Opry Show.

James E. Spain of Bloomfield, the new chairman of Missouri’s Democratic Party, calls his party “a bunch of mavericks,” not controlled by a “small group” or limited to “one-way thinking”; the 39-year-old Southeast Missouri lawyer and former state representative predictably declares the Democratic Party will win the state’s top two contests — for auditor and the U.S. Senate — in November.

1949

The 1949 SEMO District Fair gets underway at Arena Park; many visitors mill about the grounds, mingling with exhibitors who swamp the entry office with more entries, adding to the 750 items listed by 92 exhibitors up to last night; the feature-studded program of the fair kicks off in the evening, when Lee “Lucky” Lott and his Hell Drivers present a 90-minute exhibition of “motor madness” in front of the grandstand.

A wait-and-see situation prevails at local Frisco Railroad offices as officials mark time awaiting an expected increase in freight movement over their tracks as a result of the strike of operating employees that has tied up the Missouri Pacific Railway system; there has been a marked increase in mail trains on the Frisco as the postal service re-routed mail to meet the strike situation.

1924

More than 5,000 persons, undaunted by a drizzling rain and threatening skies, line the streets of Cape Girardeau late in the afternoon and watch a parade of local organizations in an observance of National Defense Day; around 1,000 persons attend the patriotic services in Courthouse Park, braving the mist and rain to show their loyalty to the nation’s ideals; in a short keynote address, A.E. Nelson, chairman of the committee arranging the event, declares: “Cape Girardeau has again shown its loyalty and patriotism — you have again shown that you are willing to fight for the protection of your homes and your country.”

Thieves early in the morning break into the Fornfelt Post Office, rifle parcel post packages and loose mail, and escape with $8.07 in currency, all the money in the office at the time; no registered mail is in the office, and the thieves are unsuccessful in their attempts to break open a desk in which money order blanks are kept.

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.