Looking Backward
The north
10 years ago
March 7, 2000:Students at General Brown Central School, Dexter, are hoping to make the World War II Memorial project in Washington, D.C., a bit more meaningful for north country veterans of the war. About 55 juniors and seniors in the school's history club will begin their fundraising campaign next week for the nation's $100 million project.
25 years ago
March 7, 1985:Four north country bridges structured like the one in Greenwich, Conn., that collapsed two years ago are being braced in what state Department of Transportation officials say is a precautionary, not an emergency, move. Built with a similar design are bridges at Route 283, Felts Mills; Route 11, Gouverneur, and two at Route 37 at the St. Lawrence/Franklin county line.
50 years ago
March 7, 1960:A raid by the combined forces of state police from Canton and Gouverneur, and the Gouverneur village police, netted the leader of a poker ring and eight other poker players in a deserted house at 64 River St., Gouverneur.
75 years ago
March 7, 1935:Anticipating a general walkout of the kitchen force as a result of the hiring of a new chef and headwaiter, manager W.R. Lippincott of the Hotel Woodruff had a new crew ready to start work. The walkout took place, and the new crew assumed its duties.
100 years ago
March 7, 1910:The awarding of the contract for the construction of the Shaunnessey Knitting Co. mill, on Moulton Street, has been deferred for two or three days. It is expected that the name of the successful bidder will be announced during the latter part of the week, and that the construction will be shortly commenced.
125 years ago
March 7, 1885:During the four years that Father Gregory has had charge of the Catholic church at Croghan, $10,000 has been raised and applied on the indebtedness of the society, leaving the amount now due on the church at $2,300. This will soon be paid.
The world
Today is Sunday,March 7, the 66th day of 2010. There are 299 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:On March 7, 1850, in a three-hour speech to the U.S. Senate, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts endorsed the Compromise of 1850 as a means of preserving the Union. (Critics bitterly denounced Webster for endorsing a compromise which included a provision for returning runaway slaves to their owners.)
On this date:
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone.
In 1926, the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place, between New York and London.
In 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge.
In 1965, a march by civil rights demonstrators was broken up in Selma, Ala., by state troopers and a sheriff's posse.
In 1975, the U.S. Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present.
In 1981, anti-government guerrillas in Colombia executed kidnapped American Bible translator Chester Allen Bitterman, whom they accused of being a CIA agent.
Ten years ago:Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore were the big winners in Super Tuesday primaries. The Nasdaq composite crossed the 5,000 mark for the first time before retreating.
Five years ago:President George W. Bush nominated John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, an appointment which ran into Democratic opposition, prompting Bush to make a recess appointment.
Today's Birthdays:Comedian Alan Sues is 84. TV personality Willard Scott is 76. Auto racer Janet Guthrie is 72. Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 70. Actor John Heard is 64. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Franco Harris is 60. Pro and College Football Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann is 58. Singer-musician Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 58. Actor Bryan Cranston is 54. Actor Nick Searcy is 51. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 46. Singer-actress Taylor Dayne is 45. Rock musician Randy Guss (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 43. Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 39. Actress Rachel Weisz is 39. Actress Jenna Fischer is 36. Actress Laura Prepon is 30.
Thought for Today:"Caveat actor." (Let the doer beware.) — Latin proverb.
