Other days

100 YEARS AGO Oct. 21, 1923

■ A petition for contempt citation was filed yesterday in Chancery Court in the case of the Inter-City Terminal Railway Company against the Broadway-Main Street Bridge Commission. It is alleged by the commission that the company has not complied with the law in paying the tax for operation of the buses over the Broadway Bridge.

50 YEARS AGO Oct. 21, 1973

■ Harry Houdini, the great magician and escape artist died October 31, 1926, and reportedly said before his last breath that if he was able, he would return to the earth one day during Halloween season. In an effort to speak with Houdini during his expected visit, the Little Rock Magic Circle will hold a seance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arkansas School for the Deaf. That’s October 27, four days before Halloween, but Col. F. M. Seymour, director of the Circle, said last week that “if you work hard enough around that period you might be able to get him.” Anyway, colonel Seymour said, Houdini did not say that he would return exactly on Halloween. The Magic Circle is sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Magicians. It is composed of youngsters and teen-agers who do magic shows for charity organizations.

25 YEARS AGO Oct. 21, 1998

■ The nine former students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, and Arkansas will receive $57.8 million in federal funding under the budget bill grinding through Congress. The House was scheduled to vote on the massive funding package for fiscal 1999 Tuesday night. The Senate is expected to pass it today. Much of the bill will pay for scientific research and educational, environmental, cultural and infrastructure projects. But because it’s the last piece of legislation considered by the 105th Congress, other items, such as awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Little Rock Nine, are also included in the bill.

10 YEARS AGO Oct. 21, 2013

PINE BLUFF — Picture downtown Pine Bluff as a beautiful face covered with acne. That’s how some city leaders describe the scene at the city’s core. There are grand old buildings, but they sit in decay. Sidewalks are cracked and worn, and there isn’t much in the way of natural beautification, either. But a master plan — one that would transform the downtown area into a lush green space filled with ornamental trees, park benches and floral displays — is in the works. Downtown beautification was one of several projects included in a 2011 fiveeighths percent tax initiative approved by voters to improve the city. A beautification task force has been working for months on design plans for the project, said Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth.