Southeast Missouri earned a grim record in 1974. Of the 16 Memorial Day weekend traffic fatalities statewide, eight occurred within the 14 counties of Troop E.
100 years ago
May 28, 1924
• Police Chief H. Hendrickson issued a formal notice today prohibiting children from shooting air rifles and slingshots in city limits. The city ordinance against firing guns in town covers “any cap gun, spring gun or air gun” and projectiles from pebbles to bullets. Juveniles breaking the rule can expect to be arrested and fined.
75 years ago
May 28, 1949
• A Dexter citizen has been chosen to lead the Southeast Missouri Press Association. Vane Brannock of the Dexter Messenger was elected chairman during the SMPA’s 57th annual conference in Poplar Bluff. Men and women of the press from DeSoto and Festus were chosen for other board positions.
During the conference, the SMPA adopted resolutions protesting a proposed postage hike for newspapers, urging lawmakers to raise the maximum legal advertising rate, and discouraging the Post Office Department from stifling competition with private printers through low envelope prices.
50 years ago
May 28, 1974
• Of Missouri’s 16 traffic fatalities over Memorial Day weekend, half occurred in Troop E.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported all the accidents happened at night. The first deaths were a woman and her mother, who were involved in a head-on collision near Cape Girardeau after mistakenly driving on the wrong side of I-55 without headlights. The wreck occurred at 8:15 p.m. Friday, May 24.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, May 25, a pedestrian was fatally injured by a car on Highway 60 east. The victim was Johnny Ward, 25, of Poplar Bluff. At 3 a.m. the same morning a St. Louis man died near Fruitland when a car struck the truck he was a passenger in.
Most tragically, an entire family of four was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 61 near Hayti. The Gibson family of Memphis, Tennessee, collided with a two-ton truck hauling a car at 4:20 a.m. May 27. The Gibson’s car was traveling in the passing lane of the two-lane highway. The victims were Raymond and Verna Gibson, both 28, and their children Tarsha, age 3, and Keeta, 8 months.
Nationally, 1974 saw a marked decrease in Memorial Day fatalities. There were 374 traffic deaths in the 78-hour holiday window this year, compared to 486 in 1973. Experts credited lower speed limits and limited travel due to fuel shortage fears.
• A report by the Daily American Republic finds the average amount of consumer debt in Butler County is $1,100 per household. This is debt tied to purchases made in installments like appliances, furniture and cars. This translated to an average of 16 cents per dollar earned (after taxes) spent on payments. County-wide, the total amount of consumer debt was over $13 million.
Better wages in 1973 were believed to have fueled spending, though inflation has begun straining personal finances.