Butler County Historical Society

Lace up: Registration open for Walk-Tober 2025 The Walk-Tober 2025 competition invites walkers of all levels to track their mileage for prizes and bragging rights. Additionally, Poplar Bluff residents can learn local history through guided downtown walking tours.

SHANE: What’s up with the old street posts? Downtown Poplar Bluff has interesting street signs.

SHANE Discover the hidden history of Poplar Bluff’s Old Brick Mill at ... Uncover the rich history of Poplar Bluff’s Old Brick Mill, from its early days as a bustling factory to its legacy preserved at the local museum, featuring artifacts and stories from the community’s past.

SHANE: Rosa Henderson put Poplar Bluff on the blues map Jazz and blues singer Rosa Henderson recorded the hit ballad "Poplar Bluff Blues" in the 1920s, a flirtatious, confident song that eventually put the city's name in the Blues Hall of Fame.

PB native and distinguished journalist and author, Gregg Jones, will speak at 1 pm on March 22nd, at the Libary. A reception in his honor will be held at 6 pm that evening at the Poplar Bluff Museum. Mr. Jones' talk will feature his latest nonfiction novel, Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II.

🗓️Saturday, March 22nd
🕐1PM
📍Main Branch

Gregg Jones, born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School's Class of 1977. Jones has authored four nonfiction books, with his latest work, Most Honorable Son: A Forgotten Hero’s Fight Against Fascism and Hate During World War II, published in 2024. Most Honorable Son is a biography of Ben Kuroki, the first Japanese American combat hero of World War II. Ben Kuroki was a twenty-four-year-old Japanese American farm boy from Nebraska who flew fifty-eight combat missions, fighting the Axis Powers during World War II while battling racism, injustice, and prejudice on the home front. The book is touted by the Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author, Jonathan Eig, as "prodigiously researched and expertly crafted — an unforgettable work of history."

Copies can be purchased at both branches of Poplar Bluff Library. Mr. Jones will sign copies of his book immediately following the speaking event.

Borrow the book on Libby!
Audiobook -
https://molib2go.overdrive.com/missouripldc-poplarbluff/content/media/10754142
E-book-
https://molib2go.overdrive.com/missouripldc-poplarbluff/content/media/10251213