__100 years ago today__
Aug. 1, 1923
• It was announced that a mystery man would be appearing on Poplar Bluff residents’ door steps. The article stated that if a resident answers the door in a proper manner, the mystery man will gift them an item worth $7.50. Looking back, that must have been a rather expensive item considering $7.50 in 1923 estimates to about $131.73 in the year 2023. No further details were given about the mystery gifts aside from the value of the item.
• A man by the name of H. J. Jefferds filed suit against the Missouri Pacific Railroad for the death of his beloved cow. Jefferds said his cow had been hit by a train on the south side of the city. He filed suit for the amount of $180, which was over double the worth of the cow itself.
• In St. Louis, the New Missouri Pacific Hospital officially opened for the first time. The hospital cost $1 million dollars to build.
__50 years ago today__
Aug. 1, 1973
• The Radio Cab Company’s taxi drivers went on strike in Poplar Bluff. The employees decided to begin their strike after the owner of the company, B. H. Bremerman, changed the pay system to an entirely lease-based system. Bremerman insisted his employees be charged 16 cents per mile, an additional 40 cents per hour, and the employees start purchasing their own gas and oil. One of the employees said his normal take home pay would be $14 in a day, and under the new lease system he would only be bringing in $5. The taxi drivers held white picket fences outside the front of the building.