Saturday 75 years ago
Aug. 12, 1948 – A new kind of steak is all the rage in Seattle. Going for 35 cents a pound, Seattle housewives are cooking up whale steaks for their families tonight.
The Air Transport Associates Inc. flew over 5,000 pounds of whale meat into Seattle. A local seafood expert stated that “the meat is as tender as a tenderloin and as juicy as a suckling pig.”
The whaling station exclaimed there is plenty more if the demand is high. The demand of course depends on how many people can get over the psychological hurdle of consuming whale meat.
(Whale hunting and whaling stations have been outlawed since 1986, and some species of whale are still endangered to this day due to whale hunting.)
Aug. 12, 1923, Aug. 12, 1973 — Unavailable
Sunday 100 years ago
Aug. 13, 1923 — An investigation begins after a group of bandits rob a bank in Naylor. Deputy Sheriff Fred Myer took to the scene with a pack of bloodhounds in an attempt to chase their trails.
Even after a full day’s search, the dogs were unable to track the scent past the cotton gin five blocks from the bank. It was believed that the bandits were residents of the Naylor community.
Aug. 13, 1948, Aug. 13, 1973 — Unavailable
Monday 100 years ago
Aug. 14, 1923 — A runaway mine car was believed to have caused a massive gas explosion in a Wyoming mine. The explosion entombed 200 men within the mines. Only one body had been recovered for the day.
A rare cloudburst erupted in Salt Lake City, taking the lives of 11 people and costing thousands of dollars in property damage.
Aug. 14, 1948, Aug. 14, 1973 — Unavailable
Editor’s note: This is part of a regular series looking at today in Poplar Bluff’s history through the pages of the Daily American Republic and its early predecessors.