This weekend’s headlines are dominated by two themes: the upcoming Butler County Centennial Jubilee, and unusual vehicular incidents. The latter includes a speeding train derailment, piecemeal car thieves and a fraternity fire truck.
No issues available: Aug. 24, 1924; Aug. 25, 1974
Saturday
75 years ago
Aug. 24, 1949
• No party is complete without footwear. The International Shoe Company is hosting an open house and guided tours during the Butler County Centennial Jubilee, showing visitors how shoes are made at its Merva Road plant.
Visitors will see the factory process from tanned leather to finished shoes. In the cutting room, leather is cut into shoe parts which are sewn together in the fitting room, then lasted and attached to outsoles in other areas of the factory. The tour ends with inspections of the finished product and a museum of 100-year-old shoes, presented by International’s shoe museum curator C.H. Mareness.
The Merva plant is “one of the most modern plants in the country” with fluorescent lights and air conditioning, the Daily American Republic reported.
50 years ago
Aug. 24, 1974
• The first week of school is complete in the Poplar Bluff district. Classrooms opened Aug. 19 for 6,000 kindergarten and elementary students and their 306 teachers.
Sunday
100 years ago
Aug. 25, 1924
• Thieves picked over multiple cars last night and made off with hundreds of dollars in parts.
Tires, hubs, spark plugs, batteries, fans and springs were all stolen from Energy Coal and Construction Company’s vehicles overnight between Aug. 24-25. The business was the hardest hit, but several private vehicles were also jacked. The missing parts included new tires, seat cushions, a back window and a carburetor. All were parked at residences or on the street overnight. Police are investigating.
75 years ago
Aug. 25, 1940
• Poplar Bluff’s polio emergency has ended, health officials said, and its isolation ward is closing after two weeks of treating patients.
It’s uncertain how many patients the ward served, but eight remained yesterday. The two most severely ill children were transferred to St. Louis and the remaining cases, considered much milder, were sent to Cape Girardeau for long-term treatment. The Butler County Infantile Paralysis Committee also sent Poplar Bluff’s single iron lung to Cape alongside the patients.
The BCIPC thanked the staff of the Poplar Bluff Hospital for operating the polio ward, which was opened as cases in Southeast Missouri mounted and hospitals in larger cities reached capacity.
Monday
100 years ago
Aug. 26, 1924
• A broken rail sent a speeding passenger train off the tracks in Perry County this morning, injuring 32 people.
The accident occurred around 7:30 a.m. close to the town of Menfro, as a Frisco train called the Memphian sped to St. Louis at 40-50 mph. The engine and coal car passed over the broken rail without issue but the baggage car and two passenger cars were hurled from the rails. One of the cars crashed into a ditch, and the other embedded itself in a nearby house; no occupants were reported injured. Four hundred feet of track were torn up.
Passengers were thrown from their seats and struck by broken glass. A relief train rushed around a dozen victims to Cape Girardeau — numbers varied, but between three and six were reported to be in serious condition.
A second passenger train took the remaining riders to St. Louis.
75 years ago
Aug. 26, 1949
• Final plans for the Butler County Centennial Jubilee were hammered out last night at the Dunn Hotel. The Centennial Celebration Board discussed tent rentals, parade adjustments and increased electricity requirements for the festivities.
They also decided to provide special seating and free transportation for the elderly along the parade route so senior citizens wouldn’t have to fight the crowds.
The board also requested city residents leave their cars parked at home whenever possible to alleviate traffic during the multi-day event. The celebration begins Aug. 31.
50 years ago
Aug. 26, 1974
• A fraternity fire truck accident injured 22 students near Southeast Missouri State University yesterday. The fire truck, owned by the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity, overturned on a corner with 30 people aboard. Seven remain hospitalized and 15 were treated and released. Faulty breaks are blamed.