On this date in ...

1918: A large box with the ends broken in arrived at the American Express office at Union Station in Albany with a 1916 Fatherland calendar written in German protruding from one of the openings. Not wanting to take a chance on anything German, the office contacted the police who then brought the box to the local office of the U.S. Justice Department. They examined the box’s contents and discovered several pictures of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, as well as photos of members of his household and the German military, maps and various documents. The intended recipient of the package, Maurice Maerclin of Delaware Avenue, said it was sent to him by his brother in Chicago.

1968: Patients would have breakfast in the old building and lunch in the new when ambulances would move them Sept. 17 from the old to the new Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, located on a “beautiful, park-like site on the northeastern edge of the city” staffed by about 270 employees. The new 130-bed, $4,350,000 facility would replace the “obsolete” facility with the same name which had opened Memorial Day 1894, according to Drew J. Thomas, executive director of the hospital.

1993: State lawmakers who opposed a bill to tighten controls on New York funeral homes were rewarded with $100 campaign contributions from an industry group. Advocates for good government and even some of the lawmakers who received the checks at their offices said the contributions appeared to be an improper attempt to influence state government. The checks from the New York State Funeral Directors Association were accompanied by a letter explicitly linking the lawmakers’ votes with the contribution. Fifty-six senators and Assembly members voted against the measure.

Want to read more about the Capital Region’s past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today’s events? See http://blog. timesunion.com/history/