Other days

100 YEARS AGO

Feb. 22, 1919

■ Chester D. Baskin and Charles F. Roberts, postal clerks on the Rock Island railroad, both of whom live in Little Rock, were arrested yesterday afternoon by D.F. Owens, deputy United States marshal, on a warrant charging them with having embezzled a registered package, containing $13,000 in currency. The package was mailed on February 7 from Wister Okla., to a bank at Hartford, Ark., where the currency was to be used in paying employees of a mining company.

50 YEARS AGO

Feb. 22, 1969

FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that the Pulaski Businessmen’s Association’s effort to stop Muhammad Ali from appearing at the University of Arkansas campus “is a gross interference with free speech and academic freedom.” The businessmen had written to Dr. David W. Mullins, president of the University, expressing displeasure with the scheduled appearance of Ali and urged him to prevent Ali “or any other un-American activity to reach our campus.”

25 YEARS AGO

Feb. 22, 1994

■ Those chants of “We’re No. 1” heard on the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus aren’t coming just from Bud Walton Arena. Besides basketball, the UA is No. 1 in something generally associated with hamburger toppings or the cravings of pregnant women — pickles. Under the direction of food science professor Ron Buescher, the UA conducts the most extensive university research in the country on the art and science of pickling. If that sounds insignificant, here is something to think about: Cucumber pickles are a $1.45 billion industry in the United States. … And when Americans consume large amounts of a product, it is a sure bet there will be companies competing to gain a larger market share. Toward that end, many companies rely on the UA for advice on how to improve their pickle quality.

10 YEARS AGO

Feb. 22, 2009

■ President Barack Obama, the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Little Rock Nine, a former U.S. senator, a former U.S. surgeon general and an Arkansas-raised poet are among names proposed for a new elementary school in west Little Rock. Obama, the nation’s first black president, was the name most frequently proposed among the approximately 50 nominations submitted to the Little Rock School District earlier this year — although the number of nominations made for a single person is not necessarily one of the criteria for selecting the school name. The Little Rock School Board has the responsibility for naming the new 900-student school that is to open in August 2010 on Cantrell Road and West Taylor Loop Drive. The board is to vote Thursday on a process for winnowing the proposals to a single recommendation that will be presented to the board for a final vote later this spring.