The weekend began with a literal bang in 1974 when an explosion wracked the Poplar Bluff power plant. First responders and electrical crews worked through the night, as did Daily American Republic reporters. Other headlines this weekend include a glasses scam and a harrowing kidnapping, both in 1949.
No issues available — Sept. 14, 1924; Sept. 15, 1974.
Saturday
75 years ago
Sept. 14, 1949
• A local mechanic is recovering after being abducted, beaten and robbed last night.
David Bentley, a 50-year-old Missouri Pacific Lines employee, was held at gunpoint by three people while walking in downtown Poplar Bluff. His kidnappers took him to a spot down Highway 67, repeatedly hit him in the head with a heavy object, stole his billfold, and left him on the side of the road.
Three suspects identified as William Mounts, Gerald Morgan, and Morgan’s sister Willie Earlsey were arrested this morning and confessed to the crime. Deputies discovered bloodstains, Bentley’s billfold, and cash in their car.
Bentley is recovering in Lucy Lee Hospital from a concussion and multiple lacerations on his head.
50 years ago
Sept. 14, 1974
• A devastating explosion and fire wrecked Poplar Bluff’s electrical switching equipment last night, leaving much of the city without power and questioning how much repairs will cost.
City Light and Water manager Cecil Johnson said an apparent electrical fault triggered the blast within the old electrical plant’s switching gear. Though the plant no longer produced electricity, the 30-year-old switching gear was still used and connected to the current power plant. Around 12:10 a.m. today an electrical fault apparently sparked a massive blasted that destroyed gear, shattered windows and caused extensive fire damage to the south end of the building. No injuries were reported, but employees at the nearby water plant reported feeling the shockwave from 150 feet away.
The Poplar Bluff Fire Department got the blaze under control and linemen worked through the night and morning to run a temporary line from an outdoor substation to the city’s water pump at the Black River.
Johnson said power should be restored by tonight using temporary measures, but reconstructing the city’s permanent facilities could take more than a year. The price tag is already tens of thousands of dollars.
“We’ve Never Missed An Edition, But We Came Close To It Today,” read the next headline down. Writer Kent Ford reported the Daily American Republic came together with the aid of “several mantle lanterns, a couple of oil lamps, flashlights and several vacuum bottles of coffee and dozens of donuts.” Staff hauled tape punchers across the street to the powered Missouri Utilities office to assemble as much of the day’s edition as possible, then fired up the computer type setters and presses when electricity was restored to the office with emergency measures. Publisher Bob Wolpers haunted the departments and editor John Stanard reportedly ran on “nervous energy and coffee.”
Sunday
100 years ago
Sept. 15, 1924
• After protests from the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce and other Southeast Missouri organizations, a proposed railroad freight rate increase has been postponed. Rates were supposed to increase between 16-146% next month. Chamber representatives will meet with the State Public Service Commission in St. Louis on Sept. 21.
75 years ago
Sept. 15, 1949
• A sharp-eyed Grandin banker spotted a phony optometrist yesterday.
An Indiana con man — who operates under three aliases but whose real name is unknown — posed as a state-sponsored eye doctor and knocked on the door of Mr. and Mrs. D.O. Baggett of Grandin. He told Mrs. Baggett she had eye cancer and offered her curative, radium-laced glasses and a reservation at a treatment facility for $100. She gave him $50 cash and a check for the remainder.
Grandin Bank employee Loyal Hood was suspicious of the check and contacted authorities. The man’s license plate and physical description link him to other cons in Indiana and a search is underway.
Mrs. Baggett’s radium glasses were (fortunately) revealed to be a cheap dime-store pair. Radium was considered a miracle substance in the early and mid-20th century, when radiation was poorly understood, and regularly found its way into consumer products.
Monday
100 years ago
Sept. 16, 1924
City Collector Callie Thompson Burgess has crunched the numbers: Poplar Bluff has 900 vehicles private and commercial autos, and if each took seven passengers, the city’s entire 8,000-plus population could ride in a giant parade. Burgess’ estimate is based on the number of licenses she’s issued.
75 years ago
Sept. 16, 1949
• Lawyers of the Butler County Bar celebrated the 100th anniversary of the local circuit court yesterday with a ceremony at the Butler County Courthouse. The circuit was founded in 1849 by the General Assembly shortly after the formation of the county.
50 years ago
Sept. 16, 1974
• It will cost an estimated $186,000 to replace equipment destroyed by the Sept. 14 power plant explosion, according to City Light and Water manger Cecil Johnson. The damage was limited to switching gear, the old plant building, feeder cables and a transformer in the plant substation, all of which was insured. An engineer determined the explosion was caused by a fault in one of the main buses of the switch gear.
A temporary substation was constructed to restore power. The last blacked out neighborhoods of Poplar Bluff were switched back on around 8 p.m. that night.