1975: Successful heart surgery saves baby's life

English has several flammable money idioms. You can burn through money, have money to burn, or feel it burning a hole in your pocket. An incident in 1925 could’ve sparked a new saying along the lines of, “Don’t keep your cash in a coal bin.”

In feel-good news, a family in 1975 celebrated their premature daughter’s return home after a delicate heart surgery. Other headlines include brazen jewel thefts, new rules about milk, and victory for the Advance Hornets.

No issues available: March 15, 1925; March 16, 1975.

SATURDAY

75 years ago

March 15, 1950

• The Missouri State Highway Patrol is stepping up enforcement of school bus stop laws. Troop E’s first fine of the new campaign went to Joseph A. Louvier, a 28-year-old salesman from St. Louis, who illegally passed a school bus stopped for students on Highway 67. Louvier pleaded guilty and paid $19.50 in court today.

50 years ago

March 15, 1975

• A premature baby was saved twice by modern medicine. Now, the McClure family is showering six-month-old Claudia DeAnn with affection as she recovers from heart surgery.

Claudia and her twin sister were born prematurely on Sept. 21, 1974, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol flew them to the University of Missouri Medical Center in Columbia. Her sister passed away after eight days. Claudia survived and was adopted by Claudie and Pat McClure of Poplar Bluff; she also gained a 14-year-old brother, Marty, who changed his morning routine to give her a bottle before school.

The day after a well-attended baby shower in Claudia’s honor, her parents noticed her breathing was labored. Doctors treated her for pneumonia for two and a half weeks before further tests revealed a heart defect. The 5-month-old, 6-pound baby was flown back to Columbia in February so surgeons could seal a blood vessel that failed to close before birth. The surgery was a success and, after living in a motel for a month, her parents finally brought Claudia home for the second time.

“She deserves a lot of spoiling,” said Pat McClure.

Claudia is eating well, her mother added, and has a light physical therapy routine to prevent fluid buildup in her lungs. The family was assured Claudia would start growing normally and should soon catch up to other children her age.

SUNDAY

100 years ago

March 16, 1925

• Mr. Duncan, co-owner of the Charlton & Duncan store, had wads of money and a dilemma. Where could he safely stash the store’s earnings overnight? He didn’t have the combination to the safe, but he found an unobtrusive hiding place: the store’s coal bin. Surely, no one would look there for valuables.

Duncan was, unfortunately, correct. His business partner F.B. Charlton fired up the furnace this morning and fed it with about $400 of cash and checks before realizing what he was shoveling.

The blunder is even more costly than a previous robbery — the money lost then was partially recouped by insurance. Of the assets that went up in smoke today, Charlton said most were cash and can’t be recovered.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator said $400 was equal to over $7,300 today.

75 years ago

March 16, 1950

• A 71-year-old woman was hospitalized after a stove explosion. Maude McFarland, a well-known community member, was badly burned after throwing commercial soot remover into a home heating stove. It came into contact with open flames and caused an immediate explosion. The room was damaged and McFarland sustained burns to her face, arms and legs, but doctors said her condition wasn’t critical. She was transferred from a local hospital to St. Louis.

MONDAY

100 years ago

March 17, 1925

• Officers are racing to find suspects who robbed a Poplar Bluff jewelry store in broad daylight, without masks.

Perkins Jewelry Co. clerk Lawrence Perkins said two well-dressed young men entered the store around noon and asked about watch chains displayed in the window. When Perkins turned around to retrieve them, one of them pulled out a pistol and held him at gunpoint. Lawrence was tied up and left in a store room while the bandits bagged about $4,000 worth of diamonds, watches, jewelry and cash. They were gone by the time Lawrence freed himself. He described them thoroughly to police and believes they fled in a red Oldsmobile with Illinois plates. Sheriff’s deputies immediately raced out of the city in search of the car.

Store owner J.H. Perkins is still calculating the loss. He was out for lunch during the robbery, leaving Lawrence, his nephew, in charge. The store lacks burglary insurance.

75 years ago

March 17, 1950

• The Poplar Bluff Standard Milk Ordinance goes into effect on March 20, marking “a definite step forward” according to the Butler County Health Center.

Health officer Dr. Edward Cline said so far, local milk producers and pasteurization plants are complying with the new rules: accepting regular health inspections and product tests, getting permits, and only doing business with other licensed facilities.

Cline expected milk quality in Poplar Bluff to improve steadily over the coming months. He encouraged consumers to help enforce the new system.

“A law that is intended to protect the health of the public is everyone’s business and its enforcement should be everyone’s interest,” he said.

50 years ago

March 17, 1975

• The Advance Hornets seized the Missouri Class 1-A crown, simultaneously ending the longest winning streak in high school basketball history.

The Hornets went up against the Northeast Nodaway Glasgow Yellowjackets in Columbia on March 15. The Yellowjackets arrived at the championship with a 64-game winning streak. After three periods of neck-and-neck scoring, Advance unleashed a 19-point burst and won the game 59-30. The Hornets’ highest-scoring players were David Tropf (15 points) and Danny Long (12 points).