Dash to the past: It’s a day for criminal capers, from local yokels plundering a moonshine still to juvenile stick-ups. Thankfully, no one is seriously hurt — or at least, not by criminal activity. An unfortunate Doniphan man is going to court after a faulty manhole cover put him in the hospital.
100 years ago
Feb. 15, 1924
• A man is suing the Missouri Pacific and City of Doniphan for $10,000, alleging he was permanently injured by a manhole cover.
Elmer Burkett of Doniphan claims he was walking near the Missouri Pacific train station on the night of Jan. 13 when he stepped on a defective cover and fell into the manhole, resulting in permanent harm to his spine. He also injured his right leg, fractured his kneecap and dislocated his elbow.
His attorneys are Sam M. Phillips and T.E. Tedrick of Poplar Bluff.
• After stumbling on a moonshine operation, two local men had the same thought: this illegal equipment would make a great souvenir.
While in the woods south of Fisk yesterday, two hunters found a concealed clearing and were spotted themselves by a pair of moonshiners, who bolted. The clearing held a copper cooker, copper worm, keg and other moonshine paraphrenalia, which the hunters took with them as souvenirs before realizing it looked rather incriminating. They changed plans and turned the gear over to the Butler County Sheriff’s Department instead.
The investigation in unlikely to proceed since neither man could describe the moonshiners to deputies.
75 years ago
Feb. 15, 1949
• Three desperate teenagers were arrested only an hour after robbing a Qulin store.
Brothers James and Loren Flowers, ages 19 and 15, and Bob Welch, 17, all of Cape Girardeau, held Danny’s Store manager Virgil Farris at gunpoint yesterday evening. They ordered him to clear out the contents of the safe — a total of $167.31 — and Welch struck him on the back of the head with his revolver as the trio fled. Dazed, Farris got to the telephone and called the Missouri State Highway Patrol with a description of the teens, their car and the last three numbers of the license plate. He was then taken to the Poplar Bluff Hospital and received five stitches to close up the back of his scalp.
The suspects stopped twice while trying to return to Cape Girardeau, once to get fuel with their stolen money, and again to argue with a school bus driver who sideswiped their car. They were spotted on Highway 25 by Patrolman Dale Crites and intercepted two miles north of Bernie. The three unsuccessfully attempted to ditch the cash and gun before arrest.
The car reportedly belongs to Welch’s father. Welch told deputies the Flowers brothers talked him into participating because their mother needed medical care and the family was about to be evicted. James Flowers claimed he’d been unable to find work for weeks. All three admitted to the crime, saying they wanted to plead guilty to the armed robbery charges and “get it over with.”
They denied involvement with other robberies in the area.
• “The robin, hardy red-breasted barbinger of spring who sometimes midjudges the advent of the vernal season pretty badly, has arrived in Poplar Bluff,” the Daily American Republic declares.
50 years ago
Feb. 15, 1974
• Two Poplar Bluff High School seniors are in the finals for a national scholarship. Steve Matthews and Howard Stafford will compete for two of the 3,100 scholarships distributed by the National Merit Scholarship Program this spring. The scholarships are for $1,000 each and many finalists are also up for renewable scholarships.
Matthews and Stafford met the scholarship requirements of high SAT scores and endorsement by PBHS officials.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average total of a four-year university degree in 1974 was $1,707, or around $10,600 in today’s money.