Other days

100 YEARS AGO

Dec. 13, 1922

JUDSONIA — Appropriation has been made for funds to construct a new bridge across the Little Red river at the foot of Main street, which will connect this city with the territory south of here. It also will shorten the route to Little Rock by about 12 miles. The bridge will cost about $50,000.

50 YEARS AGO

Dec. 13, 1972

TEXARKANA — Texarkana TV Cable Company has awarded a contract to Commco Construction Company of Austin, Texas, for the construction of the cable system at Texarkana, according to Curtis Roberts, general manager. Work has begun on installation of steel cables to support transmission lines. The system will serve both Texas and Arkansas sides of Texarkana.

25 YEARS AGO

Dec. 13, 1997

■ The Central Arkansas Library System dedicated the Fred Darragh Center of Intellectual Freedom on Tuesday at the new main library. The center will work to inform the public about contemporary issues, stimulate intellectual discussion and promote civil discourse in central Arkansas, library officials said. It will offer distinguished lecturers, hold public forums and acquire materials on intellectual freedom and civil liberties. Darragh, 81, is a lifelong resident of Little Rock who has a strong interest in civil liberties. He was awarded the 1979 Humanitarian Award from the Arkansas Council of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was the American Civil Liberties Union’s 1986 Arkansas Civil Libertarian of the Year. He also was a delegate to the 1979 White House Conference on Libraries and served on the board of the Central Arkansas Library System and as chairman of the Arkansas State Library Board.

10 YEARS AGO

Dec. 13, 2012

JONESBORO — Arkansas State University has received a National Endowment for the Humanities challenge grant of $500,000 to restore several buildings at the Historic Dyess Colony in Mississippi County. One of the buildings is the boyhood home of singer Johnny Cash. Challenge grants require a 3-to-1 match, meaning that ASU must raise an additional $1.5 million to receive the National Endowment grant. About $500,000 has been raised toward the required match, said Ruth Hawkins, director of ASU’s Arkansas Heritage Sites. ASU has five years to raise the remaining amount, she said. The funds will be used primarily to convert a theater in the Dyess Colony Center into a visitors and welcoming center, Hawkins said. … The resettlement colony was created in 1934 by the federal government to give impoverished farmers an opportunity to grow crops during the Great Depression era. “The grant brings us much closer to being able to tell that story, as well as the impact that growing up in Dyess had on … Johnny Cash,” Hawkins said.