Butler County’s 1924 ballot included a controversial measure for farmers — a stock law preventing cattle from ranging freely across the county. A group of landowners formally requested their urban neighbors butt out, prompting others to encourage Poplar Bluff residents to use their votes and restrain the destructive herds.
No issues available: Oct. 26, 1924; Oct. 27, 1974.
SATURDAY
75 years ago
Oct. 26, 1949
• Missouri Pacific passenger and mail trains resumed their routes today. The beleaguered Poplar Bluff Post Office got its first rail-borne mail delivery in 47 days, after making do with rented trucks and a decreased delivery schedule. Local postal authorities told the Daily American Republic that strike difficulties had “just about been ironed out” and things were returning to normal.
50 years ago
Oct. 26, 1974
• A 16-year-old Dexter confessed to robbing a service station. The robbery occurred early this morning when the suspect entered the Fina Service Station with a .22-caliber rifle and a paper sack over his head. He escaped with between $75 and $100 but was later picked up in front of a Dexter pool hall by state troopers.
SUNDAY
100 years ago
Oct. 27, 1924
• A Neelyville policeman caught two suspects on Oct. 25, then lost one after taking them to the movies. Winfred Stith of Poplar Bluff and Elmer Johnson, no address given, are the prime suspects in an armed robbery and car theft case.
Poplar Bluff taxi driver Rube Shaw was robbed and tied to a fence in Dunklin County on Oct. 9 by two passengers, who stole his money and car. He spotted Stith and Johnson in Poplar Bluff yesterday and pointed them out to the police. The pair fled caught wind of the investigation and fled.
They were apprehended in Neelyville the same afternoon with a suspected stolen car. To kill time while waiting for Poplar Bluff authorities to pick them up, the Neelyville policeman took both suspects with him to see a movie, where Johnson gave him the slip. He remains at large.
75 years ago
Oct. 17, 1949
• The Brown-Mabry Post of the American Legion enlisted to join the Poplar Bluff police on patrol this Halloween.
Halloween vandalism was a problem at this time, the DAR stated. Police Chief Lester Massingham said older boys caused most of the damage and promised all such cases would be turned over to juvenile authorities this year.
Between legionnaires and policemen, 75 men will patrol the streets. The Jaycees are holding a Halloween parade and other entertainment, hoping treats will discourage tricks, and the city instated a 10 p.m. curfew for all children on Oct. 31.
MONDAY
100 years ago
Oct. 28, 1924
• Butler County’s proposed stock law has generated friction between urban and rural residents.
The law in question would prohibit farmers from letting cattle roam. Last week about 200 farmers opposing the law petitioned city residents to abstain from voting, insisting damage by cattle should only be settled between individuals. Today another farmer, George O’Kane, submitted a letter to the editor with a different take: free-ranging cattle were a nuisance to farmers and urbanites alike, and Poplar Bluffians had every right to vote for the stock law.
“We wish we could say something nice about the range cow; the only thing we can think of is that one is not as bad as two of them. Satan has two cloven hoofs. This old reprobate has four,” O’Kane quipped.
Ranging herds of damaged fences and blocked roads, he continued, framing them as an embarrassment to the region’s multi-million dollar infrastructure investments.
75 years ago
Oct. 28, 1949
• Civic and business leaders broke ground on a $2.9 million power plant yesterday at Green Forest, four miles west of Poplar Bluff. The ceremony at the future M&A Electric Power Cooperative facility was an informal affair sandwiched into a tight building schedule. Sixty attended.
The 10,000-kilowatt plant and 144 miles of transmission lines are concurrently under construction.
50 years ago
Oct. 18, 1974
• Firefighters shoveled an estimated 2,000 bushels of grain to reach a bin fire on Oct. 26. Just as many bushels of milo (also called grain sorghum) went up in smoke.
The fire began overnight in a drying bin at the Don Metz farm, located south of Poplar Bluff. Neighbors loaned fire crews their trucks so they could remove milo from the top of the bin and reach the burning grain beneath. The lost grain was estimated at $5,500. No injuries were reported.
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