Photos & Video

The Poplar Bluff High School class of 1996 enjoyed many fun activities at its Project Graduation celebration which followed commencement Tuesday, May 21. Please note: names of students in the photos were not available at the time of printing on May 22, 1996.

The Poplar Bluff High School JROTC held its annual awards and change of command ceremony Friday morning. Awards were presented to the cadets for physical fitness, scholastic excellence and leadership. During the ceremony, Elizabeth Sherrell was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, replacing Skyler Zitnak as the battalion commander.

The Puxico High School Class of 2019 graduation ceremonies were held Friday, May 10.

Reminisce as you look back at the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Poplar Bluff HIgh School prom.

The Downtown Poplar Bluff BBQ Street Wars tripled the number of teams in its second year from seven to 21. Awards will be given out at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds from the event also help support DPB operations.

In 1892, Poplar Bluff photographer, Walter H. Kennedy, compiled this collection of images preserving a glimpse into the lives and businesses of the people residing in our city during the late 19th century.

Members of the Branson group Six performed Saturday to a sold out house at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the campus of Three Rivers College. The brothers performed classics by Frankie Valli, The Beach Boys and others. After the show, Barry, Kevin, Lynn, Jak, Owen and Curtis met with fans to take photos and sign autographs.

The eighth annual Sarah Jarboe White UCAN Walk held Saturday, April 27, 2019.

Approximately 400 Poplar Bluff High School students gathered for the 2019 Prom event on Saturday, April 27. Grand March began at 6 p.m. with the prom festivities starting directly after.

Wayne County residents met this week with members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss a five-year master plan for the Old Greenville Recreation Site. The Corps also announced the campground will reopen May 20, after two years of repairs and renovations.

May will mark The Black River Coliseum's twentieth year as Poplar Bluff's premiere event center. The building was originally designed to serve a number of purposes, including meeting rooms, a near-Olympic sized swimming pool, a fitness center and a full-sized kitchen facility. The Coliseum continues to host hundreds of events and concerts annually and currently houses the Poplar Bluff Municipal Court and the Poplar Bluff City Council chambers.

It's been a more than a decade since incessant rains flooded the southeast Missouri area during 2008. Little did our communities know then that a winter storm dubbed the worst in history would soon follow the flood, ravaging the central part of the United States ultimately devastating our region further. Since that time, our towns and riverways have endured a barrage of tragic flooding in the years of 2011 and 2017. We may face adversity at times in our communities, but we never fail to rally together and conquer anything standing in our way.

Reprinted from the Daily American Republic Sunday, April 16, 1995 edition. This look back on the 1995 Poplar Bluff Rotary Club's annual Easter egg hunt at Kiwanis Bacon Park.

Art for Animals, the ninth annual spring benefit for the Animal Welfare Alliance (AWA) Tail End party was held Friday at Holiday Inn in Poplar Bluff for final bidding in the silent auction. Area artists donated 5x7 original artwork to raise money for AWA. The non-profit provides $50 vouchers for qualifying pet owners to help with spay/neuter costs and has spent more than $70,000 on that project since 2009. With the cooperation of Poplar Bluff’s Animal Control officers, AWA also helps provide vaccinations for puppies and kittens in the city’s shelter. The organization sets aside half of all income toward construction of a no-kill shelter to serve this area.

A look at area Easter egg hunts

Aaron Lewis performs Wednesday evening at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff.

The annual Southeast Missouri Special Olympics were held Friday, April 12, at Fred Morrow Stadium on the campus of Poplar Bluff Junior High School.

First Friday Coffee is a monthly Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored event held each month at a local business. The purpose of the gathering is to bring the business community together in a social setting to enhance communication and support one another.

Juniors and seniors of Neelyville High School celebrate the downhill side of the school year with their annual prom. Students gathered with family Saturday at the Holiday Inn at Poplar Bluff for the grand march with the dance directly after.

The Friends of the Poplar Bluff Public Library held a "Incredible, Edible Book Challenge" in which each entry had to represent a book — look like a book, be inspired by the book or be a book title pun.

The Poplar Bluff Fire Department was called to the 800 block of Poplar Street on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, where a fire destroyed a home.

Poplar Bluff firefighters pulled a dog from a burning home in the 800 block of Poplar Street while battling a fire Tuesday.

The Vietnam Veterans Day Program Friday at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center.

In 1949, the citizens of Butler County gathered in Poplar Bluff to celebrate the county's 100th birthday. The Centennial Jubilee was marked with dinners, parades, train rides, costumes and contests. The photos shown here were pulled from the Daily American Republic archives with no additional information or identifiers on any of the citizens and/or events pictured. We ask our readers to look closely at these vintage images in hopes of properly identifying these treasured photos from a cherished community event. If you have any information regarding the photos in this gallery please contact our office by email at www.news@darnews.com Enjoy this week's throwback to the past.

The public was invited to Lake Road Elementary School on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, to spend time with students and teachers at the Blue Ribbon School.

The Xtreme Bulls and Bands event was held Friday at the Black River Coliseum.

The Three Rivers MSHSAA District Music Festival was held Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center, with students from several regional schools performing for the chance to compete at the MSHSAA state level in April.

Sacred Heart Catholic School in Poplar Bluff recently celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday by serving up green eggs and ham. The school's upper grades spend a portion of their school hours serving at the St. Vincent de Paul outreach and food pantry in Poplar Bluff.

The second annual Drug Free Youth Rally was held Friday, March 8, 2019, at the Black River Coliseum hosted by the Butler County Community Resource Council.

The inaugural End MS 5K run was held Saturday on the campus of Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.

Eugene Field's seventh annual Valentine King and Queen Coronation was celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 14, generating $850 for the elementary school's activity fund in conjunction with the Parent Teacher Organization. Students of each class selected a king and queen based on the characteristic of kindness.

The 14th annual Mason-Dixon Chili Society Chili Cookoff, a fundraiser event for the United Gospel Rescue Mission, was held Saturday at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff and drew the most competitors in its history.