A vote on the April 1949 ballot could make Poplar Bluff bigger. Mayor Arch Bartlett said the subdivisions east of Highway SU should have been part of the city map to begin with, and residents of those areas want access to city services.
100 years ago
March 8, 1924
• The Interstate American will soon publish the results of a men’s survey about women. It’s the follow-up to a prior survey of women about their preferred taste in men, which revealed many Butler County ladies are interested in tall, athletic brunets who like kids and don’t drink.
• Poplar Bluff’s Union Electric Company power plant will briefly light Sikeston and Cape Girardeau while the Cape plant is closed for repairs. The two systems normally share the load of Southeast Missouri.
• Police arrested farmer John Manster yesterday for threatening a Black family near Broseley. Manster was allegedly among a group of around 15 masked men who appeared at the farming family’s house a few weeks ago and tried to coerce them into leaving the area. Two other men are also believed to have been in the mob, but they have yet to be arrested. Manster is out on bond.
75 year ago
March 8, 1949
• On April 5, Poplar Bluff residents will vote on whether to make their city bigger.
The new proposed city limit is east of Highway SU and would add up to 1,500 people Poplar Bluff’s population, raising the total to around 18,500. The area is primarily made of subdivisions whose residents seek access to city services.
The city council approved an ordinance last night to add the question to the April ballot. Mayor Arch Bartlett said the proposal would “square up” municipal boundaries and include areas that should have been included when the city lines were first drawn.
50 years ago
March 8, 1974
• A teen boy is feared to have drowned after walking away from W.E. Sears Youth Center.
Jack Wayne Daniel, 15, and Donald Ray Evans, 16, were reported missing from the center last night. After an all-night search, Superintendent Lloyd Matthews received a tip around 10 a.m. today that the pair purchased items at a store in Hilliard and were following the railroad tracks toward Poplar Bluff. He and other personnel discovered them just north of a trestle above the Black River. Matthews said they yelled at the boys from a distance to stop. Evans complied, but Daniel fled.
Evans told personnel Daniel intended to cross the river. Matthews then heard Daniel calling for help and ran to the trestle, trying to spot him in the water.
“I could tell from the way he sounded that he didn’t make it,” Matthews said.
Poplar Bluff and Butler County rescue units are searching the river.
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