100 years ago Sept. 26, 1923
• The annual Butler County Fair opened today with a good number of rural people participating in the day’s events. The large program of horse racing will start this afternoon and run through all four days of the fair. The carnival has attracted considerable attention at the fair, with scores of people going to the grounds each night.
All of Poplar Bluff’s banks are closed this afternoon and will close each of the next two days at 1 p.m. so employees can attend the fair. Additionally, many of Poplar Bluff’s stores will reportedly close Friday (Sept. 28) so their employees also may attend the fair.
• At the Stoddard County Courthouse in Bloomfield, Dan Mathis of Bell City was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary in the shooting death of Bell City merchant Charles Vollmer. Mathis’s attorneys plan to appeal the verdict.
75 years ago Sept. 26, 1948 — No editions available.
50 years ago Sept. 26, 1973
• Jerry Lee Cluck, a 25-year-old ex-convict from Malden and Dexter, has been charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Linda Susan Adams Coulson.
Authorities report Coulson was going to testify at a hearing for Cluck in New Madrid County earlier this month, where Cluck faced burglary and stealing charges in connection with an Aug. 15 burglary at a tavern in Gideon. Coulson reportedly was going to implicate Cluck in the burglary.
• Three Rivers Community College vice-president Jack D. Vincent reports 1,056 students have registered for the fall semester at TRCC. This compares with 947 students enrolled last fall and 1,0007 students enrolled in the fall of 1971. Of those 1,056 students enrolled this fall, 227 of them are enrolled in the newly-developed Continuing Education program.
Among the classes under the Continuing Education banner are Practical Accounting for Business, Practical Estate Planning, Real Estate and Old Testament Literature.
• A bond issue for the Twin Rivers R-X school district was defeated Tuesday (Sept. 25) despite winning the support of a majority of the school district’s voters.
While more than 56% of the district voted in favor of the bond issue, a two-thirds majority was required for its passage, said R-X superintendent Joe Hillis.