Did Hammie Shane leave behind a hidden fortune? A century-old mystery resurfaces

Did a rural outlaw stash a fortune in St. Louis? One Caruthersville lawyer is trying to find out after habitual lawbreaker Hammie Shane named him the sole beneficiary of his will before dying in 1925. Money was also a concern in 1950 as the Poplar Bluff City Council debated whether the fire department should respond to calls outside city limits.

In 1975, Butler County anticipated aftershocks of the 1950s’ baby boom.

100 years ago

Feb. 18, 1925

• Even from the grave, Pemiscot County troublemaker Hammie Shane has triggered an investigation. This time, officials are following a rumor that he had $40,000 in a St. Louis bank.

Shane, a habitual outlaw whose exploits made headlines (and Dash to the Past segments) multiple times, was killed in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies last week. His only possessions were a moonshine still, a Browning machine gun, ammunition, a bulletproof vest and his clothes. In the days before his dramatic death, he allegedly visited his attorney, B.A. McKay, in Caruthersville and made him his sole beneficiary, telling him about the money. McKay is investigating the claim.

Shane received $80 a month in government compensation for injuries he sustained in World War I, but the origin of the supposed $40,000 is unknown. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics calculated its equivalent is over $730,000 today.

75 years ago

Feb. 18, 1950

• The next Poplar Bluff City Council meeting will weigh whether the fire department should answer calls outside city limits. Pressure on the issue has mounted since a passenger car crashed into a fire truck while responding to one such call, totaling the truck and injuring all nine people involved.

Council members are divided, according to the Daily American Republic: one side believes responding to calls beyond the city is burdensome to taxpayers, and the other says such calls should be answered “within reason.”

The decision was previously left to the department itself. Chief Sam Knight told reporters the wrecked truck was replaced by $35,000 in donations, many from outside Poplar Bluff. Furthermore, “the city had lost little in rendering this service” to other communities and was often reimbursed, besides receiving aid from other departments on occasion. Finally, many taxpayers live outside city limits, contributing to the local economy through sales taxes.

50 years ago

Feb. 18, 1975

• Census data predicts Baby Boomers are about to create their own baby boom in Butler County and beyond. The Planned Parenthood Federation and U.S. Census Bureau said a “tidal wave of prospective parents” born between 1950-1955 are starting families.

The number of Butler County residents ages 21-24 increased by 77% within the decade, and now sits at 3,159 people. Each year there are about 100 marriages and 140 children born.

Nationally, the average growth of the early-20s demographic is 37% and marriages are rising at a similar rate.