In 1924, suspected car thief Dessie Brown and two others were arrested in Arkansas. They are charged in connection with an attack on a Poplar Bluff man and the theft of his vehicle. In other news on this date, Poplar Bluff hosts striking union leaders and installs new warning sirens.
__Oct. 3, 1924__
• Three people were arrested in Arkansas in connection with an assault and auto theft on Oct. 1.
Victim Clarence Johnson told deputies he’d let his friend Dessie Brown drive his car, and an unknown friend of hers knocked him out from the back seat. They dumped him on Highway 67 north. Late last night, police in Jonesboro, Arkansas arrested Brown and two others, one of them believed to be her husband Roland Roberts.
Johnson, who is still recovering from a concussion and lacerations, is confident he can identify the passenger if he sees him.
• Butler County is full of nuts — hazelnuts. The Daily Republican reported local Boy Scouts recently discovered “the finest hazelnut patch in the country” and published directions. Unfortunately, landmarks like the Bumpus store and the red barn are long gone.
__Oct. 3, 1949__
• Leaders of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen met with their striking brethren in Poplar Bluff today. J.J. Reilly and W.S. Robinson reported morale was good and “the strikers are 101 percent behind us.”
Reilly and Robinson are touring Missouri and other states as negotiations with Missouri Pacific continue. Proposals to end the strike are expected in St. Louis today.
__Oct. 3, 1974__
• Poplar Bluff is prepared for anything. The City Light and Water Department just installed three rotating sirens ready to blare “fire, attack and storm warnings,” the Daily American Republic stated.
The sirens are located around town. Only one can deliver “the wavering sound used for enemy attack.” The other alarms are an alternating pitch for extreme fires and a long blast for incoming tornadoes. All three are radio-controlled from the fire department.