Dash to the past: Over a decade and a half, Poplar Bluff manages to replace all of the wooden bridges within the city limits with “modern” structures. The final replacement, on Oak Grove Road, is marked in this Dash to the Past, along with reports of costs for a new Kennett hospital being excessive. And while the nation experienced frustration Thursday with outages impacting cell phone carriers, 100 years ago area radio listeners were frustrated by nightly interruptions that were blamed on interference from the charging of batteries in the community.
Saturday
Feb. 24, 1924 and 1974 — No issues available.
75 years ago
Feb. 24, 1949
• Two area men who shot a St. Louis policeman have been identified, and one is in custody.
State trooper R.A. Eding arrested Gibbon Shands of Kennett yesterday after he was found with a stolen vehicle near West Plains. While en route to St. Louis, Shands confessed he and his brother were tampering with a car in St. Louis, and he shot Sgt. Edward Papin when the officer questioned them.
“I knew I was caught and I blew my top,” Shands said.
Law enforcement now seek the brother, Bond Shands.
Papin remains hospitalized in serious condition, since the bullet punctured his lung and lodged near his spine.
Sunday
100 years ago
Feb. 25, 1924
• A cashier at the State Bank of Ellsinore is accused of embezzling up to $6,000 over the past year and a half.
Charles D. Sheets, whose father is a bank director, was arrested on two counts of embezzlement after an audit discovered the missing funds. He has posted a $3,000 bond on each count and blamed a former bank director for the crime.
A full audit is being conducted. Stakeholders in Poplar Bluff were assured that $5,000 of the missing money was covered by the bank’s embezzlement bond through the American Surety Company, and the institute’s solvency remains intact. A new cashier takes over Sheets’ duties next week.
75 years ago
Feb. 25, 1949
• Bids opened last night for construction of the proposed Dunklin County Hospital. The lowest bid came from Bilscheider Construction Co. of St. Louis at over $769,000. Dr. John Williams Jr., director of the Local Health and Hospital Administration for the State Health Division, said this was too high and encouraged the hospital board of trustees to prioritize “adequate buildings of a cheaper type” to serve the region, rather than “monuments.”
50 years ago
Feb. 25, 1974
• The Daily American Republic reports Butler County residents have “seen their earnings rise sharply in recent years,” but the increases are offset by higher taxes. With information from the Tax Foundation, a non-profit research group, the paper estimated that over a 10-year period the average family earned $59,500 before taxes and had $8,050 deducted. During that same period, the Tax Foundation also calculated taxes levied on cars, gas, liquor and more earned the government $74 for every $100 it received via state and federal taxes.
Monday
100 years ago
Feb. 26, 1924
• Today it’s bad Wi-Fi and patchy cell phone service. A century ago it was radio static ruining listeners’ favorite music, and the irritation was exactly the same then as it is today.
Radio owners across the county are abuzz over radio static interfering with concert broadcasts every evening. Listeners made an appeal in the Interstate American today for people to stop plugging in rechargeable batteries at night, believing, “If one of these machines is a little out of fix it causes a buzzing that pervades the air and makes receiving impossible.”
X-ray machines were also been blamed, until local doctors pointed out no one is taking x-rays at night. Others suggest amateur operators are monkeying with homemade broadcasters on the same wavelength as music programs.
75 years ago
Feb. 26, 1949
• It’s teatime in the Ozarks. According to local lore, tea brewed from sassafras roots “thins the blood” after a winter diet of heavy food makes it “sluggish,” and prevents lethargy.
“Whether or not this beverage does all that is claimed for it might be a question for argument,” the Daily American Republic states. “Nevertheless, it retains its popularity because sassafras (sic) tea is delicious to drink, pretty to serve and a welcome harbinger of spring.”
• Over 50 Butler County residents supported the “blue law” at a local meeting with Rep. Arnold Montgomery last night. The law prohibits the sale of general merchandise on Sunday, excluding food and “emergency needs.” The rule is apparently up for reconsideration by the state legislature.
50 years ago
Feb. 26, 1974
• The last wooden bridge in Poplar Bluff city limits was replaced yesterday. Street department crewmen finished a “new modern bridge” on Oak Grove Road after one of the floor beams broke, restricting heavy traffic to one direction.
Superintendent Gene Brannum recalled, “When I joined the Street Department 14 years ago, there were 23 wooden bridges in the city limits. Now there are none.”
• Dr. J.W. McPheeters Sr. received the Americanism award from Poplar Bluff Elks Lodge 2452 last night. McPheeters is a Navy veteran who served in WWI and WWII, and who participated in several major engagements, climbing the ranks to commander. After his service, he embarked on an extensive medical career in Southeast Missouri.
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