New Madrid County evacuees return home in 1950

In 1950, New Madrid residents trickled back to their homes as floodwaters receded. Many evacuees had lived in Red Cross tents since January and decided not to await the all-clear from officials. Other notable headlines from this weekend included railroad crossing dangers, organ donations facilitated by the Lions Club, and a unique guilty plea.

No issues available: Feb. 8, 1925; Feb. 9, 1975.

SATURDAY

75 years ago

Feb. 8, 1950

• Residents of New Madrid County are returning home as the Mississippi River recedes. Approximately 12,000 people evacuated the Birds Point-New Madrid spillway area last month as the river rose over 50 feet, and the United States Army Engineers contemplated whether to destroy the levee and divert floodwaters into the Bootheel lowlands, saving cities but washing away farms. This measure was not taken.

Many have stayed with relatives and in Red Cross tent cities for weeks. Officials haven’t sounded the all-clear for residents to return, but as one farmer said, “The engineers have said nothing and we are going back. You know, it’s home, and the weather has been pretty hard on my family, living in a tent.”

50 years ago

Feb. 8, 1975

• Naylor and Neelyville have applied for an ambulance. Both cities are on the fringes of the Poplar Bluff emergency services zone, and first responders can take 25 minutes to arrive. Local leaders wish to co-sponsor an ambulance to serve areas south of Highway 160 between Oxly and Coon Island, and signed agreement for the Ripley County Court to purchase the ambulance while the City of Naylor builds a garage to house it.

SUNDAY

100 years ago

Feb. 9, 1925

• Hubert Boyt arrived to the Poplar Bluff Police headquarters to plead guilty for fighting and pay his fine — before the police were called.

Boyt’s restaurant, the Bee Hive, was raided for liquor on Feb. 7. Officers found nothing. Boyt stated he’d known they were coming and also knew who tipped them off.

“When he comes back here, he is going to get whipped,” he announced.

Sure enough, the anonymous tipster stood outside the Bee Hive today, ominously sharpening a knife. Boyt knocked him out with one punch (by his own account) and preemptively paid his fine. The police court judge, named Johnson, charged him a light $1 as thanks for his cooperation.

75 years ago

Feb. 9, 1950

• Two vacationing couples met with tragedy yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Clement Miller and Mr. and Mrs. Toby Block, all of Chicago, were en route to Hot Springs, Arkansas when their car was struck by an oncoming train at a Poplar Bluff crossing. The accident occurred shortly after noon. Both men were killed by the impact and their wives remain in critical condition today.

The Highway 67 crossing has a cross arm but no flashers, and is the site of multiple accidents.

MONDAY

100 years ago

Feb. 10, 1925

• Poplar Bluff and the Frisco Railroad may collaborate to build a footbridge across the Black River, providing an alternate route for hundreds of pedestrians taking a shortcut across the active Frisco railroad bridge.

One city official estimated 200-300 people cross the rail bridge every day. The nearest bridge for pedestrians is “a mile out of the way,” The Daily Republican noted, so men, women and children opt to cross the rails between trains. Frisco conductors report frequently stopping their engines to avoid hitting people.

75 years ago

Feb. 10, 1950

• The Butler County Court announced more resources will soon be available for Red Cross distribution. County Judge J. Raley said storage arrangements are being made with Poplar Bluff’s city government and surplus food will be delivered from Portageville.

There are 5,000 unemployed families in Butler County. Current welfare laws state the county Welfare Division can’t aid families with employable members, even if they’re unable to find work. Simultaneously, the burden of care for indigent persons rests with the county and no provisions are made for homeless persons arriving from other places.

“We hope the use of the surplus commodities we can get will help relieve this situation,” Raley said, but noted there may remain “suffering in the county no agency is prepared to relieve.”

50 years ago

Feb. 10, 1975

• The Poplar Bluff Lions Club and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are collaborating to make a statewide eye donor program possible. Early this morning, a patrol plane flew a pair of donated eyes from Poplar Bluff to the University of Missouri Medical School at Columbia — the second postmortem donation made possible by local Lions.

“The Poplar Bluff Lions Club, like many other state Lions Clubs, has a special medical container used in transporting eyes to the clinic, a $450,000 facility built by donated Lions Club funds,” the Daily American Republic explained.

The chairman of the States Lions Eye Tissue and Eye Bank, Haywood Snipes, said more than 100 pairs of eyes have been donated by Missourians. The Columbia facility is one of the first in the country.