Local woman chases cherry pie dreams in national contest

A Poplar Bluff woman is on a mission to become the best cherry pie baker in the country. Phyllis Ann Wood won a state pie competition and advanced to the nationals in 1950, bearing Missouri’s hopes of pastry dominance.

Also in the headlines today were fruit tree woes, an extortion arrest and the generosity of the Mingo Job Corps.

100 years ago

Feb. 20, 1925

• Southeast Missourians were anxious today over the fate of their fruit trees. A stretch of unreasonably warm weather caused widespread concern the trees would bud early, leaving them vulnerable to frostbite later. Horticulturists assured Daily Republican readers that low nighttime temperatures would keep the trees dormant.

75 years ago

Feb. 20, 1950

• Phyllis Ann Wood is off to do her state proud. The Poplar Bluff woman was named Missouri’s champion cherry pie baker and progressed to a national competition in Chicago, where she’ll represent her state in a national cherry pie contest tomorrow.

An editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch express high hopes for her success, reading in part: “May all her pie crusts be as light as her heart, and all their fillings as sweet as her smile.”

50 years ago

Feb. 20, 1975

• A St. Louis man was arrested for attempted extortion and robbery in Perryville. Robert Huff, 32, is accused of threatening the wife of First Bank of Perryville manager Weldon Huber and demanding $22,000 in exchange for her safety. Huber was instructed to leave the money at a dead drop. City and county officers determined Mrs. Huber was safe, then staked out the drop and caught Huff after a brief high-speed chase.

• The Mingo Job Corps cleared ground at Hendrickson Park at no charge to the city. Corpsmen used heavy machinery to remove brush from a future parking area and other facilities.