Riverside road rage prompted calls for new bridges in 1924, as traffic between Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri overwhelmed Mississippi and Ohio river ferries. Other news today included a presidential congratulations to Butler County and a spotlight interview with a local lemonade icon.
• Heavy traffic from Cairo, Illinois, has commuters calling for a tri-state bridge across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The Three States ferry company currently makes six daily trips from Cairo to Wickliffe, Kentucky, and Birds Point, Missouri — yet demand is still high enough to support multiple smaller companies shuttling from Illinois to East Cairo and Holloway’s Landing in Kentucky.
Earlier this week, cars attempting to board the ferries created a traffic jam so severe the police were called to straighten things out and defuse road rage.
Growing regional highways are expected to exacerbate the situation. Pavement will soon link Poplar Bluff and Cairo, and Kentucky began its own road building plan recently. Lawmakers from all three states introduced bills in congress for a government survey on the feasibility of a Y-shaped bridge.
• On the eve of the Butler County Centennial Jubilee, the Daily American Republic printed a special letter on the front page: well-wishes from President Harry Truman to publisher John Wolpers and DAR readers.
“August 17, 1949
Dear Mr. Wolpers:
I am glad to have the news from you that Butler County is about to celebrate its one hundredth anniversary and that you are going to publish a special centennial edition of the DAILY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. I wish you would convey to the citizens of Butler County my greetings and best wishes. I wish I could be there in person to celebrate with you.
Very sincerely yours,
Harry Truman”
• When life gives you lemons, it better give you thousands. Roy Hayden needs every single one to keep dishing up his signature drink.
Hayden founded Hayden’s BBQ in 1948. He told the DAR he’d used the same pink lemonade recipe for decades: lemons, sugar and cherry syrup. One lemon goes in every cup of lemonade, and Hayden’s popularity is illustrated by his orders. During peak season he juices 2,000 lemons every week. He wears out several citrus squeezers each year.
“It’s the only place in Poplar Bluff that serves real, fresh lemonade, and probably the only place in the state that does it,” he said.
The cost of citrus forced him to raise the price of a regular lemonade from 15 to 30 cents, he lamented. However, it remains his biggest seller. He felt it was a tradition for many.
“I take pride in my lemonade, and that’s what makes it good,” he said.
Hayden’s BBQ remains in business today at its original Maud Street location.