Looking Backward
The north
10 years ago
Feb. 7, 2000:Alexandria Bay Mayor Bernard L. Coffey said two proposals could play an important role in broadening development in a community that has relied on tourism to drive its economy. One is to create a scuba-diving park on the St. Lawrence River waterfront, likely near Casino Island. The other would be to extend a proposed fiber-optic line from Clayton into Alexandria Bay.
25 years ago
Feb. 7, 1985:The Army is planning a new main entrance to Fort Drum. It also has asked state officials to help connect a new road to Route 342 and Pearl Street, which will serve as the main access roads to the base. The Army also is eyeing a direct link from the new base headquarters to Route 11.
50 years ago
Feb. 7, 1960:Although the St. Lawrence River ice between Cape Vincent and Wolfe Island is not too thick in spots, some hardy Canadians have been making the mile-long crossing between the island and the mainland. At least one car has made the trip, and some islanders have been seen walking to the mainland.
75 years ago
Feb. 7, 1935:Establishment of a monster Army Air Corps Frontier Base at some point along the St. Lawrence River in Oswego, Jefferson or St. Lawrence counties is envisioned in a bill before the House Military Affairs Committee. Under the plan the country would be divided into 10 Frontier Bases, with one or more Army Corps sites in each, and upon which the government would spend not to exceed $19 million.
100 years ago
Feb. 7, 1910:Out for a lark, two women members of the high school faculty, dressed in male attire, paraded the streets with two young men, arrayed in women's clothes. They had been invited to the home of Professor Charles K. Moulton, Ten Eyck Street, who did not know of the scheme. The superintendent of schools, having heard of the fiasco, is deliberating what action he will take.
125 years ago
Feb. 7, 1885:The Rome road is shipping great quantities of ice from the St. Lawrence River to the interior of the state.
The world
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Today is Sunday, Feb. 7,the 38th day of 2010. There are 327 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Feb. 7, 1984, space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered space walk, which lasted nearly six hours.
On this date:
In 1857, a French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel "Madame Bovary."
In 1904, a fire began in Baltimore that raged for about 30 hours and destroyed more than 1,500 buildings.
In 1943, the government announced the start of shoe rationing, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person for the remainder of the year.
In 1971, women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum, 12 years after a previous attempt failed.
In 1974, the island nation of Grenada won independence from Britain.
In 1983, Elizabeth H. Dole was sworn in as the first female secretary of transportation by the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Ten years ago:With an astonishing comeback to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Tiger Woods gained his sixth straight PGA Tour victory, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1948 to win six in a row.
Five years ago:President George W. Bush proposed a $2.57 trillion budget that would erase scores of programs but still worsen federal deficits by $42 billion over the next five years.
One year ago:A miles-wide section of ice in Lake Erie broke away from the Ohio shoreline, trapping about 135 fishermen, some for as long as four hours before they could be rescued.
Today's Birthdays:Author Gay Talese is 78. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) is 75. Actor Miguel Ferrer is 55. Reggae musician Brian Travers (UB40) is 51. Comedy writer Robert Smigel is 50. Actor James Spader is 50. Country singer Garth Brooks is 48. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 48. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 48. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 45. Actor Jason Gedrick is 43. Actress Essence Atkins is 38. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland is 35. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 32. Actress Tina Majorino is 25.
Thought for Today:"Priests are no more necessary to religion than politicians to patriotism." — John Haynes Holmes, American clergyman and reformer (1879-1964).
