The tale of a gambling raid at a local hotel has a twist, with the police officer involved being removed from duty. This weekend’s dates also have an enterprising Hendrickson resident being praised for his “ingenious” pairing of the community’s radio and phone system, and a farm worker escaping serious injury after a small plane lands on the cab of his truck.
Saturday
Feb. 17, 1924, and Feb. 17, 1974 — No editions available
75 years ago
Feb. 17, 1949
• Walter Thomas retires from board of the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce, saying, “After being associated with a bunch of men who are not afraid to go down in their pockets, and pretty deep, without hopes of being reimbursed other than seeing our town be a better town in which to live... Such noble deeds give you confidence and a greater admiration of your fellow man.”
• The newly organized Dexter Rotary Club is making preparations to entertain 500 persons at its charter night program. Poplar Bluff Rotary Club President Paul Kaiser said, “We want to make this the biggest Rotary event in this entire part of Missouri and I hope we have big delegations from every club from St. Louis south.”
Sunday
100 years ago
Feb. 18, 1924
• Four men are on trial for gambling today.
An attorney for the four men say the trial is the second on the same charge following a raid Feb. 9 at The Crown Hotel. A 3:50 p.m. bulletin declares city attorney C.H. Dicus dismissed the cases against defendants Frishy, Priest and Greason. Police officer C.M. Bolton testified the three men signed fictitious names when arrested.
When called to the stand Bolton testified that he had gone through warrants signed by the men arrested that night and that at the end of that night he had received money for 24 fines.
“Are the warrants for the four defendants being tried in that bunch?” Bolton was asked. He replied they were not.
The defense attorney was asked if everyone Bolton arrested gave bond or went to jail.
“They were supposed to. It is possible that some of them got away,” Bolton said.
Mayor G. N. Davis said he was going to conduct a probe of the conditions.
• One of Hendrickson’s leading citizens unselfishly shares his radio with everyone.
The town of Hendrickson has a radio. The town also has a telephone system. Combine the two and add an ingenious brain, and you will surely have a combination, The Daily Republican reported. Missouri Pacific railroad agent C.C. Gilliam came up with a plan to share the town’s sole radio with others on the telephone system. When Gilliam hears something good, he “will take down his receiver and ask Mrs. Harold (the operator) to get some of his friends on the phone... Gilliam quickly places a 20-volt battery onto the telephone, makes certain connections from his radio and the program is on... The long evenings of the winter months are shortened and made pleasant through this plan.”
75 years ago
Feb. 18, 1949
• The Butler County Health unit, temporarily housed in the courthouse, now has a staff of administrative officer, a public health nurse and a sanitation engineer. The budget is set up to provide another nurse. Dr. Edward W. Cline has been named administrative officer, with the title county health officer. Cline emphasized today the unit will concern itself wholly with the prevention of disease through such measures as inspection, sanitation and immunization.
50 years ago
Feb. 18, 1974
• Construction of a satellite of Poplar Bluff’s Kneibert Clinic is underway at Corning, Arkansas. The 5,000-square-foot clinic will have eight examining rooms, a small emergency room, and lab and x-ray space. It will be staffed by members of the clinic on a rotating basis.
• In national headlines, Randolph A. Hearst made plans today for a food giveaway program “involving a substantial amount of money” in a move toward gaining the release of his kidnapped daughter. The Symbionese Liberation Army made the demand in return for the release of 19-year-old Patricia Hearst.
Monday
100 years ago
Feb. 19, 1924
• Officer C.M. Bolton was fired by city council last night. The city council took action following numerous reports of “irregularities” in his duties as policeman and after Mayor G.N. Davis gives notice to Bolton he might resign if he wishes to do so.
“I notified him yesterday to turn his badge over to me, and he said at first he would bring it down later, but some time afterward he called me and said he would not resign,” Davis told The Daily Republican.
Davis told Bolton he would take the matter up with the council and Bolton responded, “Go to it.”
The motion was made by council member Ira Bradley, with another council member asking for reasons. “Too rotten to state,” Bradley replied. A unanimous vote followed to relieve Bolton of his badge.
John Sinden, an employee of Brooklyn Cooperage Company, was named to the position temporarily.
Bolton was not present at the meeting.
• An experiment to test out the value of hot lunches for school children who carry their lunches will be tried by the Kiwanis Club. It was decided today each member would contribute $1 for a four-week test at the East Side school, where it has been found that from 30-50 children carry a cold lunch each day. A lady living across the street from the school building has been preparing meals for the teachers and arrangements will be made for her to furnish a bowl of hot soup to each student. It is estimated this will cost 5 cents per bowl.
75 years ago
Feb. 19, 1949
• A letter to the Daily American Republic from the U.S. Army Engineers states plans are being considered to make repairs to the Black River levee. Col. L.H. Foote, district engineer at Memphis, was replying to information sent to him that a large area of land in the lower Butler County has been flooded due to an old break.
Foote told the paper the Inter-River drainage district had 34 miles of levee and a plan authorized reconstruction of the levee, which is below the approved project grade or has less-than-approved cross section.
“Relocation of the levee will be required throughout a considerable portion of its length, as the existing levee is endangered by caving banks of the river...” he said.
Lack of funds meant it was unlikely the work would take place in the next fiscal year without emergency funding, Foote said. Plans were made to begin inspections.
50 years ago
Feb. 19, 1974
• A Malden farm worker escaped apparent serious injury when a spray plan landed on top of his fertilizer truck. Loyd Garris, 44, was on a field near Powe when he crossed the landing strip used by the plane he was supplying, just as the plane started to touch down. The plane landed squarely on top of the truck, crushing the cab and pinning Garris.
• It appears some Butler County residents have changed their smoking habits as the nation marks 10 years since the Surgeon General’s warning that smoking cigarettes is a health hazard. But studies also show an influx of new smokers, mostly teenagers, offsetting these reductions. An estimated 4.4 million packs of cigarettes were sold in the past year. It was a rate of 202 packs for every local resident over the age of 18. In Butler County, the overall outlay last year was approximately $1.7 million or about $76.80 per smoker.
• Randolph Hearst is awaiting word from kidnappers after making plans to deliver $2 million in food aide to California’s needy.