Courthouse is scene of robbery in 1925

In 1925, a brazen robbery at the Butler County Courthouse was solved in two hours; meanwhile, Dexter authorities lost their prime suspect in a fatal hit-and-run.

Local athletes and Boy Scouts made headlines in 1950 and 1975. The Mules basketball team prepared to end the season on a bang, and local scouts witnessed a citizenship ceremony.

100 years ago

Feb. 13, 1925

• A Poplar Bluff man is recovering after being robbed in the basement of the courthouse yesterday. Police called the crime “one of the boldest ever perpetrated in Poplar Bluff.”

Jeffory Higgins, age 71, went into the courthouse basement around 3 p.m. to use the men’s room and retrieve some packages. He was shoved down the stairs and overpowered by a woman named Irene Bailey, who grabbed his billfold and threatened to stab him. She escaped with $3, but was arrested two hours later. She ate the money rather than give it up.

Bailey also faces a liquor violation and a prior charge of stealing a revolver.

• A suspect in the hit-and-run death of Dexter preacher C.F. Kirkpatrick was released today.

J.C. Neeb and five passengers were detained after crossing the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois because their vehicle matched the description of a bloodied automobile spotted near the scene of the crime. Neeb was released this morning and the group continued home to Michigan.

Dexter police are still searching for the driver who killed Kirkpatrick.

(Editor’s note: C.F. Kirkpatrick was called C.F. Fitzpatrick in this edition.)

75 years ago

Feb. 13, 1950

• The Poplar Bluff Mules prepared for their final game of the season tonight — a match-up with Charleston, and the final appearance for five senior athletes. The departing students are co-captains Bob Manns and Tom Lawson, Bob Ross, Walton Johnson and Harold Keith.

Poplar Bluff High School hoped to end the season with 12 straight wins for its A team and 11 for its B team, a record last achieved three years ago.

50 years ago

Feb. 13, 1975

• Last week, 35 Boy Scouts from Poplar Bluff and Williamsville journeyed to St. Louis to participate in a naturalization ceremony conducted by U.S. District Judge H. Kenneth Wangelin. The United Methodist Church of Williamsville sponsored the trip.