1975: Happy birthday from the horse's mouth

The front page was improved by a photo of Trigger the horse in 1975. The retired rodeo mount celebrated his 19th birthday with a party hat and homemade cake.

Headlines revolved around plans for a new sewer in Poplar Bluff in 1950, and a mining venture that dug through local pocketbooks in 1925.

100 years ago

Feb. 7, 1925

• A million-dollar mining venture in the Ozarks filed for bankruptcy today. Investors in Poplar Bluff, St. Louis and even Utah are feeling the fallout.

The Ozark Iron Ore Company entered into bankruptcy proceedings with liabilities under $250,000, compared to its $1 million in stocks and bonds. Most of the assets are real estate, and despite promising reports from mineralogists, over 11,000 acres of land in Butler, Wayne and other counties remains untouched; the ore and clay in these areas are believed to be high quality, but no infrastructure was put in place to mine them. Land development never progressed beyond bond sales.

The corporation’s bond issuing permit was revoked last summer after it failed to submit financial statements. Five St. Louis men have been indicted for making false affidavits about the solvency of Ozark Iron Ore Co.

It’s uncertain at this time how many Poplar Bluff residents invested in the company.

75 years ago

Feb. 7, 1950

• The Poplar Bluff City Council took the first steps to update its sewer system last night.

The city moved to apply for federal grants on the $800,000 project, and entered a verbal agreement with Russell and Aven consulting engineers of St. Louis to draw up preliminary plans.

The current sewer plant was described as “antiquated.”

50 years ago

Feb. 7 1975

• Trigger the horse celebrated his 19th birthday with a party hat, cake and a front-page photo op. Owner Mary Pennington baked the retired rodeo horse a chocolate cake, which he devoured with gusto — Trigger reportedly grew up with hogs and “learned to eat anything,” though Pennington drew the line when he tried to munch on the birthday candle.

When he wasn’t competing, Trigger carried the American flag in Poplar Bluff parades for many years.