Poplar Bluff infrastructure was a recurring theme in today’s editions. The city reluctantly took over a controversial road project in 1924, and celebrated its efficient utilities in 1974 as demand reached new heights. Other headlines included a mysterious fire in Neelyville and rising polio numbers in Southeast Missouri.
100 years ago
July 25, 1924
• The Poplar Bluff City Council reluctantly agreed to take over a citizen-led road project on the East Side.
The project was originally pitched as a paved connector between B Street and a county road. It was downgraded to a gravel road due to funding concerns, enraging citizens who’d already donated with concrete in mind. Momentum stalled, and last night residents submitted a formal application for the city to take over the project.
The city council ultimately agreed, but the road will still be gravel, although one councilman complained, “Let the road continue a mudhole if we can’t build concrete.”
To avoid lawsuits, the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce will reach out to all donors and ask they formally waive objections to the materials.
Also at the meeting — and unrelated to the road work proposal — City Engineer E.C. Nickey tendered his resignation.
• A landmark Neelyville business went up in flames overnight. One community leader suspects arson.
A traveling salesman awaiting his train raised the alarm at 12:30 a.m. this morning. The D.M. Githens drugstore was fully engulfed when firemen arrived, and though they kept the fire from spreading, nothing could be saved from inside. The loss of structure and merchandise equaled $7,000 and was partially covered by insurance.
A local judge told reporters he strongly suspected arson, possibly by someone who had it out for Githens. An investigation is planned.
This was Neelyville’s third structure fire in a matter of months.
75 years ago
July 25, 1949
• Polio continues to spread in Southeast Missouri, from the Mississippi River to West Plains. The current total is 75 cases. Butler County has gotten off lightly so far, with only two cases reported all year. One was in March, and the other a Qulin case from earlier this month.
Headlines underlined the dread felt by local families. One article from Willow Springs reported three children in the same family were all infected, and one of them was in serious condition and partially paralyzed. In a press release, the Butler County Chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis announced three upcoming radio specials on polio research and methods for helping children recover.
50 years ago
July 25, 1974
• Poplar Bluff City Light and Water is keeping pace with high summer demand, according to its manager.
Communities across the country are grappling with the limits of their infrastructure. Meanwhile, City Light and Water is managing a peak demand of 3 million gallons of water per day, despite only having the capacity to store 2.1 million gallons of purified water. Manager Cecil “Cobb” Johnson explained a hefty water purification plant on the Black River makes this possible — it can process 5 million gallons per day, and water from the storage tanks is only tapped when demand is too high for the plant to manage. The tanks are refilled as soon as possible.
By contrast, Sikeston reported its demand is too great to keep its storage tanks filled. Sikeston Light and Water Co. has asked residents to curtail water use.
Poplar Bluff’s power consumption also hit new highs: a record 34,600 kilowatts were consumed on July 19. This is within the Southwestern Power Administration’s 39,500 kilowatt allocation for Poplar Bluff, and Johnson praised residents for “cooperating fully with energy saving practices” to stay within the limit.
Poplar Bluff’s energy cap will rise by an extra 14,000 kilowatts next year with the completion of a new power plant.