Paul Clifton Hays Jr.

Paul Clifton Hays Jr. was born May 12, 1913, in Nashville, Tennessee, and spent most of his life in Poplar Bluff. Even as a teenager, Hays had a strong interest in antiques, Native American artifacts, old books, stamps, and local history. A 1928 newspaper feature described the fifteen-year-old's extensive collection and historical research. He later graduated from Purdue University in 1935 with a degree in electrical engineering. During World War II, Hays volunteered for the U.S. Navy and served with the Seabees, seeing service with both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant commander. Later in life he remained deeply interested in history and genealogy and was active in both the Butler County Historical Society and the Genealogical Society of Butler County. He established the first fully funded scholarship program at Three Rivers Community College in memory of his father. Two Bluff yearbooks in the Historic Poplar Bluff collection, dated 1929 and 1931, originally belonged to Paul Hays Jr.