This weekend’s stories include not-so-smooth criminals, a push for school lunches and more developments in the truckers strike. Although the nationwide strike is petering out after federal concessions, many local drivers are unconvinced the measures will fix the problem — instead, they say, higher costs will be pushed to consumers.
Feb. 10, 1924 and 1974 — No issues available.
__Feb. 10, 1949__
• A local pilot is presumed dead after his plane crashed into a Louisiana lake on Feb. 5.
Lt. Wilbur Dale Vineyard, 25, and eight others were lost when their B-25 burst into flames and crashed into Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans. Heavy fog stymied search parties until the next day, when divers began combing the lake.
Vineyard was reportedly piloting the craft on a navigational training flight from Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, to Carswell Field in Fort Worth, Texas. His passengers included base personnel and air students.
He was born in Poplar Bluff in 1923 and served in World War II.
• The Daily American Republic finds new cars are delivered faster than ever. According to a survey of auto dealers, the wait time on vehicle orders is down to days or weeks instead of eight months to a year.
“It doesn’t take influence to get delivery of a new automobile in Poplar Bluff any more,” the article states.
__Feb. 11, 1924__
• Poplar Bluff police raided a hotel last night and arrested 24 people for gambling.
Chief C.M. Bolton led the operation after receiving a tip about a crapshoot game beneath the Crown Hotel. Police blocked the hotel basement’s only exit and arrested all the players without incident. The men entered a guilty plea the next morning in police court and were collectively fined $348.
Gambling was largely outlawed in the United States after 1910 and wasn’t reintroduced until the 1930s, according to an article distributed by the Public Broadcasting Service.
__Feb. 11, 1949__
• A church-run home for seniors is pleading for donations as it faces demolition.
The Faith Rest Home in Poplar Bluff houses 16 people between ages 66-105 and is operated through contributions by the Assembly of God Church. The land it occupies on Sixth and Poplar is in danger of being sold for commercial purposes, and the church is asking for donations to buy the property itself.
The church states Faith Rest Home was never meant to turn a profit, but to give seniors with nowhere to go a clean, comfortable place to live out the rest of their lives.
__Feb. 11, 1974__
• The nationwide truckers strike appears to be ending, but most independent rigs in the region remain parked. The Independent Truckers of Southeast Missouri will meet tonight and take a vote on whether to resume work, according to leader Paul Duckett. There is controversy among drivers on whether the Nixon administration’s concessions are acceptable, since they will push costs down the line to consumers instead of fixing the conditions that led to the strike in the first place.
• Escaped prisoner Terry Lee Hayes, 19, is arrested in Dexter on Saturday night, Feb. 9. He fled custody through the second-story window of Doctor’s Hospital in Poplar Bluff two days ago while undergoing treatment for hepatitis. The Butler County Sheriff’s Department reports a new charge of escape will be added to his original burglary charge.
__Feb. 12, 1924__
• A new Kiwanis Club committee looks into providing hot school lunches for malnourished students.
The committee was formed during the club’s annual luncheon. Dr. William Spaulding opened the program with a presentation on childhood nutrition and cited survey results from unidentified schools measuring students’ weight and development, as well as the contents of lunch boxes. These reportedly ranged from well-balanced meals to a handful of crackers.
Spaulding also underlined the work of Miss Davidson, a Eugene Field teacher who has provided her class with soup, apples and baked potatoes on at least one occasion.
He stressed the importance of school physicians and nurses but recognized the school board currently lacks the funds to hire any.
__Feb. 12, 1949__
• A 15-year-old Indiana boy is in custody after a stick-up and car theft in Poplar Bluff.
Yesterday David L. Hestetler entered the Haag Sporting Goods Store and asked Mrs. Fred Haag, the owner’s wife, if the store had a pistol that would fit some rounds he had. She presented him with a gun, waited on another customer, and turned back to find Hestetler had loaded the gun and was pointing it at her. He fled the store and stole a parked 1948 DeSoto. Authorities arrested him without incident in Mountain View after he ditched the vehicle.
Hestetler is wanted in Elkhart, Indiana, for violating parole. He was arrested on that warrant in Pocahontas, Arkansas, but police released him because Indiana authorities declined to drive that far to take custody of him.
He will be tried in Poplar Bluff. Officials are undecided on whether to send the case to juvenile or adult court.
__Feb. 12, 1974__
• The Independent Truckers of Southeast Missouri narrowly vote to prolong their strike until at least tomorrow, even though the nationwide truckers strike is largely concluded.
Truckers voted 85-82 to remain off the roads at the conclusion of a three-hour meeting at AlEdco’s Restaurant on Highway 67 north. An observer said an earlier vote could have yielded a different result, and blamed the change in mood on several produce haulers complaining they would not receive any benefits from the 6% surcharge being granted to other drivers.
Leader Paul Duckett told attendees he believed the strike was a success and “no violence” was seen in Butler County due to cooperation with law enforcement. (A handful of arrests were made among both strikers and truckers, but no injuries were reported.) He also announced former Missouri Gov. Warren E. Hearnes committed to represent state truckers at the national level.
• The DAR reports a hike on postage and shipping will cost an additional $75,100 to Poplar Bluff as a whole, bringing the new total to $550,400 in the next fiscal year.
Postmaster General E.T. Klassen said the price hike was needed to keep up with inflation, wage increases and large equipment expenses.