Poplar Bluff’s day at the Olympics in 1968

In case you didn’t know, there is a museum here in Poplar Bluff. It has tales of us, our family, and our history. I want to tell you some of those tales found within the museum walls.

Poplar Bluff carried the American flag during the opening ceremonies of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Janice York Romary from Poplar Bluff was the first woman to ever carry the flag at an Olympic event. She was also the first woman to compete in six Olympic games: 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. She was in a four-way tie for the gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki games and again in the 1956 Melbourne games. Both times, Janice was awarded fourth place after a tie-breaking run off.

Janice was a varsity cheerleader. She graduated Poplar Bluff High School in 1945. Janice was an avid fencer and after high school, made the U.S. Olympic team. Between Olympics, Janice was a fierce competitor. She won 10 national championships in foil, a record that still stands today. Janice also won the gold medal in the 1967 Pan-American games. In 1968, Janice Romary was honored to be appointed as the commissioner of the historic 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Ms. Romary was inducted in the Fencing Hall of Fame and in 2018, the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame. Janice’s Olympic uniform and her foil are on display in the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Poplar Bluff Museum. Photos, Olympic mementos, and Hall of Fame plaque are also on display. The Museum is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday free of charge at 1010 Main Street, Poplar Bluff (Formerly the Old Mark Twain School). Tell them Mike sent you!

Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.