Throwback Thursday

This week's throwback image is of the historic Black River Church in Butler County. The church was organized in 1818 east of Hendrickson and is the oldest congregation in the county. This 1913 photograph shows the third structure occupied by the church, near Keener Resort on the west side of the river. This building burned in 1925 and was rebuilt as a concrete block church on the same site in the amount of $600. A fifth church was completed in 1953 on Hwy. JJ about a mile and a half of Hwy. 67. The church continues to operate as a house of worship today. A feature on the history and life of Black River Baptist Church along with many other interesting stories about people and places in our region will appear in the Daily American Republic's annual Progress magazine, scheduled for release on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Legendary Poplar Bluff High School alumnus, Eddie Moss, will celebrate his 70th birthday on Sept. 27. This week's throwback takes a look back at his accomplished sports history. Moss was a key member of the 1965 and 1966 Mules football conference champion teams. As a junior and senior, he was selected to the All-Conference team at three positions. Moss led the Mules basketball team in rebounding during the 1967 season and played Junior College football at Centerville in Iowa. He was a two-year starter at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau winning All MIAA (now OVC) honors both years. Moss was then drafted by NFL team, the Buffalo Bills and later played the position of running back with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Redskins. He is a member of the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Reprinted from the Daily American Republic Sunday, January 10, 1999 edition. James Wooten's eagerness to serve his country when he was a teenager allowed him to live a life of luxury in his retirement years. Wooten, of Poplar Bluff, was one of the last Civil War veterans living in the county when he died in March 1942 at the age of 94. Three of his granddaughters, Geraldine Carpenter, Alma Gulledge and Mary Temple, all of Poplar Bluff, have made sure Wooten will be remembered for eons. They have added his name to the then newly erected Veterans Memorial Wall in front of the Black River Coliseum. According to his discharge papers on record in the courthouse. Wooten served as a private in Company C of the 51st Regiment of the Missouri Infantry Volunteers "to serve one year or during the war" and was discharged Aug. 18, 1865, with "no objection to his being re-enlsted is known to exist. Said James A. Wooten was born in Perry Co. in the State of Illinois, is 18 years of age, 5 feet 4 inches high dark complexion, hazel eyes, black hair and by occupation, when enrolled, a farmer." According to a newspaper story about him on his 93rd birthday, Wooten served under Gen. John Logan.

From the September 8, 1997 edition of the Daily American Republic This week's throwback looks back on a story highlighting the R & R Rodeo Company out of Ellsinore. Harve and Donna Reynolds, along with their children, Monty and Amanda once leased roping and bucking stock to the southeast Missouri area community, high school and 4-H rodeos. The stock company was formed in 1986, a year after Harve Reynolds retired from the professional rodeo circuit.

Until February 1973, Piedmont's greatest claim to fame was its location near Clearwater Lake. All that changed Feb. 21, 1973 when Reggie Bone and a group of basketball players sighted a silent craft hovering in a field while returning from a basketball tournament in Dexter. That sighting touched off a flurry of world wide media attention for several weeks in 1973, making Piedmont "UFO Headquarters."

The 1989 student body of Poplar Bluff High School saw some radical policy changes take place that year. According to an article in the Daily American Republic from Wednesday, June 7, 1989, during a summer meeting, the R-I board okayed a student non-smoking policy to take effect in the fall for the 1989-90 school year. The article further notes "The group discussed for some time whether to go on allowing students to smoke, to ban student smoking all together or to phase it out…letting the students know that their smoking days at school are numbered." R-I also made the decision to "close" its campus in 1989. Students were no longer free to leave school property during their lunch hours as was previously allowed. A few pages from the 1989 "The Bluff" yearbook make up this week's Throwback Thursday gallery.

In November 1968, late Poplar Bluff resident, Linc Hinrichs, set out from Clearwater Dam on the Black River carrying over 2,000 pecans and a few hundred walnuts on the day of his 73rd birthday. Linc was determined to return the river banks' depleted natural habitat back to its original state. Armed with a bright red knapsack and a nail apron, he floated the river planting seeds in places that were likely to be around for a long time. Linc honored teachers, old friends and fishing companions by planting trees in their names. Before he finished planting in 1972, he had sowed seeds along the Current River beach in Arkansas from Clearwater Dam to six miles below Corning, Ark. and sowed from Silva, Mo. to Fisk, Mo. while floating the St. Francis. Poplar Bluff's version of "Johnny Appleseed" spent four years repopulating the area's river bank trees.

Seems as if Poplar Bluffians in 1929 snubbed their noses at the raucous all night parties New York City was known for in the "Roaring Twenties." According to this article from the May 9, 1929 Poplar Bluff Weekly Republican newspaper the town's citizens "retained a normalcy New York is striving for." Townsfolk at the time were scarcely aware of the looming national crisis soon to engulf the nation's banks and stock market later that year. Worries far greater than partying would be in the forefront of most Poplar Bluffians' minds. The stock market crash in October 1929 accelerated the global economic collapse leading up to the Great Depression. By 1933, nearly half of America’s banks had failed and unemployment affected roughly 30% of America's population.

The 1960s and 1970s saw NASA send nine space missions to the moon. During those decades astronauts from six of those missions landed safely on the moon's surface. The United States' Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar mission to land on the moon. The date was July 20, 1969. Following are images of front page coverage on the moon mission from the Daily American Republic newspaper in July 1969.

The following article is reprinted from the Thursday, May 29, 1929 edition of the The Poplar Bluff Republican. Final touches were placed on the new court house building yesterday and today with erection of the two electric light standards at the sides of each of the four entrances. These beautiful granite standards were placed in position and wired by the City Light Plant force and the two Main street side lights were turned on last night. They are very beautiful and lend attraction to the fine building. County Highway Engineer Scarborough, who has been in charge of work of removing surplus dirt from the court yard, has succeeded in taking most of the surplus off with only $200 which was made available by the Chamber of Commerce and county court each subscribing $100. Before he started this job, contractors estimated the cost of improving the yard would be around $4,500. It is believed that with $1,000 to spend, the yard could be completed, sodded and flowers planted at different places. With the lights erected at front doors, and the yard smoothed off in the manner that Scarborough has directed, the county courts building is much more attractive.

Poplar Bluff, Missouri is known as an All-American City. Faith, family and patriotism are the foundations of this great community. Citizens enjoy coming together each year to celebrate our nation's birthday with a parade and fireworks. They also gather gratefully in honor of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Services.

From the Daily American Republic archives Monday, July 14, 1997. A look back at a feature story on one of our area's natural treasures...Alley Spring. EMINENCE, Mo. — Alley Spring was never successful as a mill. Its success came first as a state park and now as a popular visitor spot in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. In the early 1900s Alley Spring was the center of a busy farming community that included a grist mill, blacksmith shop, general store and saw mill. Located on the north side of Jacks Fork River, Alley Spring had seven owners in 30 years before becoming a state park in 1924, according to ONSR historians. It was one of the first six state parks in Missouri. Those visiting Alley will find a spring with an average daily flow of 81 million gallons. The mill still contains some of the original or replica equipment used during its milling days. Alley Spring is six miles west of Eminence on Highway 106.

The July 3, 2004 Black River Festival parade in Poplar Bluff was a celebration of patriotism and freedom in support of military personnel at home and fighting the war in the Middle East. Spectators came out in force to show their American pride and enjoy the floats, bands and parade participants.

From the July 7, 2011 edition of the Daily American Republic we take a look back at the stick horse parade and horse judging events at the Butler County Fair in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

This week, Neelyville Tigers alum, Cody Birdsong, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 32nd round of the MLB Draft. Poplar Bluff Mules alum, Kameron Misner, was drafted 35th overall in the MLB first round by the Miami Marlins. Take a look back to both men's high school years in this week's throwback.

How did Mansion Mall in Poplar Bluff get named?

The Poplar Bluff High School class of 1996 enjoyed many fun activities at its Project Graduation celebration which followed commencement Tuesday, May 21. Please note: names of students in the photos were not available at the time of printing on May 22, 1996.

Reminisce as you look back at the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Poplar Bluff HIgh School prom.

In 1892, Poplar Bluff photographer, Walter H. Kennedy, compiled this collection of images preserving a glimpse into the lives and businesses of the people residing in our city during the late 19th century.

Reprinted from the Daily American Republic Sunday, April 16, 1995 edition. This look back on the 1995 Poplar Bluff Rotary Club's annual Easter egg hunt at Kiwanis Bacon Park.

It's been a more than a decade since incessant rains flooded the southeast Missouri area during 2008. Little did our communities know then that a winter storm dubbed the worst in history would soon follow the flood, ravaging the central part of the United States ultimately devastating our region further. Since that time, our towns and riverways have endured a barrage of tragic flooding in the years of 2011 and 2017. We may face adversity at times in our communities, but we never fail to rally together and conquer anything standing in our way.

May will mark The Black River Coliseum's twentieth year as Poplar Bluff's premiere event center. The building was originally designed to serve a number of purposes, including meeting rooms, a near-Olympic sized swimming pool, a fitness center and a full-sized kitchen facility. The Coliseum continues to host hundreds of events and concerts annually and currently houses the Poplar Bluff Municipal Court and the Poplar Bluff City Council chambers.

In 1949, the citizens of Butler County gathered in Poplar Bluff to celebrate the county's 100th birthday. The Centennial Jubilee was marked with dinners, parades, train rides, costumes and contests. The photos shown here were pulled from the Daily American Republic archives with no additional information or identifiers on any of the citizens and/or events pictured. We ask our readers to look closely at these vintage images in hopes of properly identifying these treasured photos from a cherished community event. If you have any information regarding the photos in this gallery please contact our office by email at www.news@darnews.com Enjoy this week's throwback to the past.

Photo of the first 'Cow Day' held in Poplar Bluff as first published in The Weekly American, now the Daily American Republic, June 13, 1929 edition.

“There were two little boys on the roof screaming that their mother, father and two little brothers were drowning. They were just terrified.” FAIRDEALING — A Fairdealing family escaped tragedy Saturday night when neighbors pulled them from a rain-swollen creek after their truck was swept off a low-water bridge near their home. Steve Cunningham, his wife, Pam, and their four sons said they were returning home from visiting relatives about 11:30 p.m. when their 1980 Chevrolet pickup was washed off a concrete bridge at Crawford Creek...

FREE ACCESS The National Weather Service calls it the weather event of the decade, but for local residents, the 2009 ice storm probably still seems even more significant. The full brunt of that weather front left over 1 million people without power across nine states, including entire communities, like Dexter and Corning. The area saw as much as 2 inches of “catastrophic” icing and another 2-10 feet of snow accumulation between Jan. 26-28, 2009...