Crime pays, at least temporarily, on this date. Two counterfeiters multiplied their money in 1924 by rewriting a $1 bill, and gunmen orchestrated a successful stickup on a New Madrid bar in 1949. In 1974, Poplar Bluff plans a new power plant to handle the growing demand on utilities.
__April 4, 1924__
• Two Tennessee counterfeiters were arrested in Poplar Bluff for passing a phony $10 bill — in reality, a $1 edited with acid and ink.
Earl Mitchell and Tolice Woods of Friendship, Tennessee were arrested last night after exchanging the fake bill for cigarettes and change at W.P. Clark & Sons Grocery on Fifth and Cherry streets. The store’s owner, Leo Clark, examined the bill after his wife completed the transaction and discovered the $1 denomination had been bleached and carefully rewritten. Police joined Clark on an hour-long hunt for the men and apprehended them near Bartlett Street.
The suspects told conflicting stories but claimed they won the counterfeit while gambling that day. Almost all of Clark’s money was recovered.
• The Butler County Auto Company in Poplar Bluff is among the top three Ford dealerships in its sales district. The Poplar Bluff business received a telegram this morning congratulating them on pulling ahead of Blytheville, Arkansas, in a contest by Ford, selling 46 cars in one month. The dealership awaits word on the final numbers of T.M. Garage in Jefferson City, the other top competitor.
__April 4, 1949__
• Three gunmen cleared out a bar and its patrons of cash, billfolds and watches overnight. The 61 Club north of New Madrid was held up at 2:15 a.m. by three men, who tied up four patrons and took their belongings. They also stole $700 from the proprietor and escaped.
New Madrid County Sheriff’s deputies and Missouri State Highway Patrol are investigating as far north as Cairo, Illinois today.
__April 4, 1974__
• The Poplar Bluff City Council certified the April 3 election results and approved the construction of a new diesel generator plant on North Second Street at its last meeting.
Contracts were secured with three firms for the construction: two St. Louis companies for electrical wiring and piping, and an Oklahoma supplier for a 500,000 storage tank. The bids equal $411,760.
The new plant will be built in two phases: the first is a 14,000-kilowatt generator to offset periods of heavy utility use through 1981, and the second is a 20,000-kilowatt turbine to supply local power needs through 1990.
Poplar Bluff currently buys electricity from the Southwestern Power Administration. SPA’s peak is 39,500 kilowatts and local growth is steadily approaching that limit. Peak summer use in 1973 reached 31,500 kilowatts, up 1,300 from the previous year.