Dash to the past: The Crown Hotel gets cuffed and closes its doors due to pressure from law enforcement. The hotel was busted for housing an illegal gambling ring on Feb. 9, 1924, in a police dragnet that caught 24 people.
Accidents and strikes also mark this day.
100 years ago
Feb. 14, 1924
• Facing legal pressure, a local hotel shut its doors today. Police raided the building’s basement on Feb. 9 to bust an illegal gambling ring.
The Crown Hotel “has been in the crime spotlight of the community some years,” according to reporters, and the county prosecutor allowed owner Arch Phillips to close down without court action. This is the second time it’s been forcibly shuttered.
The Feb. 9 police raid led to 24 arrests.
• Poplar Bluffian A.H. Burklow wins a Chamber of Commerce slogan competition. His rallying cry of “Fill the Gap!” will be used to promote a paving project connecting the city’s east side to the “Cairo to Poplar Bluff highway” — possibly today’s Highway B.
75 years ago
Feb. 14, 1949
• Three young men survived a harrowing wreck on Highway 67, but two are in critical condition.
Dwight Johns, his brother Thomas Johns and friend Billy Johnson were driving to St. Louis from Poplar Bluff yesterday when they passed another vehicle on a curve and lost control. Their car left the road, careened down a steep hill, went airborne and struck a tree — state troopers said the impact was 10 feet off the ground.
None of the men were thrown from the vehicle. A doctor on his way to work stopped and rendered first aid until ambulances arrived.
Both Johns brothers are in critical condition at Poplar Bluff Hospital, with head injuries and severe lacerations. Johnson’s most serious injury is a broken arm.
All of them are 21 years old or younger and live in St. Louis. They were in the area visiting family.
• A mobile chest x-ray unit will pass through Ripley County on Feb. 16, providing free x-rays to those with illnesses and other conditions. The unit is run by the State Division of Health.
50 years ago
Feb. 14, 1974
• The Southeast Missouri Independent Truckers vote 93-7 to return to the road after a meeting last night, formally ending the local branch of the national truckers strike.
On Feb. 12, group leaders had a productive meeting in Jefferson City with Gov. Kit Bond and other officials.
Gary Phelps of the Truck Center said of the meeting, “My main impression was that the Gov. [sic] and the others had very little idea of what our real problems were when the meeting started. But by the time the meeting was over I think they all had learned a lot.”
The Southeast Missouri Independent Truckers also decided to set up a formal association with by-laws, elected officers and regular dues.