A local bowling alley proprietor saved his liquor license request from rolling into the gutter during a 1974 city council meeting. Council members were split on the implications of granting licenses when local ordinances had yet to catch up with new state laws.
100 years ago
Sept. 4, 1924
• The Carter County court decided to pursue a highway. The proposed route will link Ellsinore with Williamsville in Wayne County; Carter County will build to the boundary line and connect with an existing road to Williamsville.
75 years ago
Sept. 4, 1949 — No issues available.
50 years ago
Sept. 4, 1974
• The Poplar Bluff City Council grappled with a new state liquor law during its session last night.
Council members ultimately voted 3-1, with one abstaining, to transfer a liquor license from Hickory House Restaurant owner Luther Hunt to Bluff Lanes owner Sidney Friedman. The vote followed a lengthy discussion about a current city ordinance, the location of Bluff Lanes and accessibility to minors.
A new state law expanded access for liquor-by-the-drink licenses, allowing more businesses to sell bottled and canned beer, but Poplar Bluff’s ordinance limits local licenses to one per 1,000 residents. City Manager David Pence said the ordinance would need to be updated if more people applied for licenses. Friedman’s attorney, Clinton Summers, pointed out this was a speculative discussion with no bearing on the present request.
A council member objected to the license on the grounds Bluff Lanes was too close to First Christian Church to legally sell alcohol. Summers presented a map showing the bowling alley was 321 feet from church property, outside the 300-foot zone dictated by state law.
Friedman explained he needed the license to remain competitive with other establishments. He further assured the council, “As a past president of the Missouri Bowling Proprietors Association, I can tell you that no members... sell any type of liquor while the junior leagues are bowling.”