Coyotes are adaptive, intelligent, social and everywhere — but in 1924, only three of those adjectives applied. Thus, it was front page news when two so-called pet coyotes pup were shipped to Deputy Sheriff Clyde Hogg, courtesy of his brother out West. In other news, South Poplar Bluff residents protest sewer conditions and a Wisconsin man learns not to let hitchhikers drive.
100 years ago
Aug. 2, 1924
• Today coyotes are commonplace and unfairly regarded as nuisances. A century ago, one Butler County officer decided they were pets.
Deputy Sheriff Clyde Hogg of Poplar Bluff received two coyote pups, apparently by mail, from his brother Walter in Colorado. The Poplar Bluff Interstate American reported they resembled collie puppies.
Coyotes (Canis latrans) are now common throughout North America, thriving in woods, grasslands and cities, but for centuries they were unknown to U.S. citizens outside the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. According to the publication “Nature,” coyotes moved into new environments as settlers decimated wolf and bear populations. They crossed Texas’ eastern border in the 1940s. In 1924, Missourians only knew coyotes by association with “the famous species of western wolves familiar to all readers of western pioneer stories,” as the PBIA noted.
American wolves were often portrayed as vicious. The article reassured residents, “They (the coyotes) are less ferocious, much more timid and are more easily domesticated than the wolf of the woods... The coyotes are already losing their wildness and Hogg says one would think from a mere glance at them they were dogs.”
Today, coyotes are one of many wild animals prohibited as pets. If you find healthy coyote pups in the wild, modern guidelines advise leaving them alone for their parents to retrieve. Contact a licensed wildlife rescue if the pups are orphaned or injured.
75 years ago
Aug. 2, 1949
• The Poplar Bluff City Council approved a preliminary survey for a new sewer system in the southern part of town. The decision was spurred by South Poplar Bluff property owners represented by attorney Arch Tedrick, who reported “the seriousness of the present lack of sewers in the area,” and reminded council members of a previous petition on the problem and requested action.
The council authorized City Engineer Frank Scarborough to bid out the survey to local engineering firms. Property owners agreed to cover the estimated $250 price tag.
Good news came when County Health Officer Dr. Edward Cline and District Engineer A.R. Baron reported local dairy industry conditions were improving rapidly. Previously, city doctors and residents complained about “the milk situation” in Poplar Bluff and requested updated health standards. The city’s present milk production ordinance was drawn up in 1932; the State Division of Health described it as antiquated and recommends the city meet the Missouri’s 1949 guidelines. The new city ordinance is up for passage at the next meeting.
50 years ago
Aug. 2, 1974
• A Wisconsin man was robbed by a Missouri hitchhiker near Poplar Bluff.
Eugene Gilbert of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, told the Missouri State Highway Patrol he picked up a hitchhiker in St. Louis and eventually let him drive south on Highway 67 while Gilbert slept. He awoke to find his car parked on the highway shoulder north of Poplar Bluff and his wallet missing. It held around $150. MSHP is investigating.
• City workmen installed new trash cans in downtown Poplar Bluff. The street commissioner’s office reported the new cans, unlike the old ones, will be empty of advertising. They’ll instead display anti-litter posters.