Hurty Drug Store closed this morning

A.M. Hurty has gone into voluntary bankruptcy and his drug store is now closed and in the hands of S.A. Wight who has been appointed receiver by the clerk of the Joplin district of Federal court. The store will remain closed and in charges of Receiver Wright until a trustee is appointed. The assets and liabilities are not definitely known at this time. It is hoped that Mr. Hurty will be able to settle his business affairs so he can again engage in the drug business here.

75 years ago

Jail visitor kills Carthage officer with officer's own pistol

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- E.O. Bray, 49 years old, acting county jailer, was shot to death at 9:30 Sunday morning by an assailant who came to the jail in company with a young woman and asked to see a prisoner who, it was learned had been released Friday.

The slayer seized the jailer's pistol from its holster as Bray was scanning the jail records to see if Bill Daggett of Joplin, whom the visitor had said he wanted to visit, was still in confinement. He shot the officer three times, two of the bullets piercing Bray's heart and the other lodging in the abdomen.

John Dyer, 17-year-old son of the regular jailer, George Dyer, was sitting at the desk at the time. He ran to the jail arsenal to get a weapon and the slayer fired at him but missed. A trustee who was attracted by the shot also was fired at. The slayer and his companion then fled.

50 years ago

Rescue crews digging today for two men

FORT SMITH, Ark, -- Work crews today dug sloping shafts toward a deep pit in which two men are buried beneath tones of dirt and debris, hoping to locate the victims without the loose dirt caving in a fourth time.

Lost in the 28-foot excavation since yesterday afternoon are Lee Otis Sivley, about 45, a Fort Smith fireman; and 18-year-old Donald Daggs, a construction worker from nearby Hartford, Ark.

Both men are believed to be dead.

The sides of the pit twice caved in yesterday within three hours. The two men were imprisoned by tons of dirt, broken concrete and splintered timbers. This morning, after digging for more than eight hours, a rescue team of 100 men found one of the victims. Before he could be brought to the surface, however, the soft walls of the hole gave way again, piling more dirt on the lost pair.