MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1995
Los Angeles – A forensic scientist Wednesday for the first time linked O.J. Simpson directly to the murder scene, saying DNA tests show a genetic match between his blood and splotches found near the slashed bodies of his former wife and her friend. The tests also show that small blood stains on a sock in Simpson’s bedroom had the same genetic blueprints as that of his former wife, said Dr. Robin Cotton, the laboratory director of Cellmark Diagnostics of Maryland. For the most part, Simpson ignored Cotton’s testimony, gazing instead at his notepad and periodically whispering with his lawyers. Still, his mood seemed glum as again and again, Cotton repeated his name, saying matter-of-factly that his blood samples matched those found at the crime scene. Outside the courtroom, Johnnie Cochran, Simpson’s lawyer, said he did not think Cotton’s testimony was “damaging at all.” 50 years ago — 1970
Los Angeles – About 1,000 persons — among them Vietnam War veterans, wives of prisoners of war and college students — turned out at a dinner to honor Texas millionaire H. Ross Perot as “Patriot of the Year.” Perot was honored by a student group called VIVA — Voice in Vital America, for his efforts to obtain the names of prisoners of war being held by Hanoi. Among those attending the dinner were Sen. George Murphy, R-calif., Gen. Jimmy Doolittle and Bob Crane, star of the television show, “Hogan’s Heroes.”
75 years ago — 1945
Wolf River’s receding backwaters have revived once more the State Highway Department’s worst bugaboo in West Tennessee — dirt slides along the Thomas Street road fill just north of the city limits. Crews yesterday worked steadily to keep the roadway and war-vital Highway 51 open to traffic. At one point the road surface was reduced to a width of only 24 feet, slowing traffic down to a one-way basis. 100 years ago — 1920
A spring musical that will attract the elite of Memphis society and musicdom is to be given this morning at Paisley, the home of Mrs. Robert Galloway. The event is a benefit for the Mary Galloway Home for Aged Women.
125 years ago — 1895
The “living picture” craze in its latest manifestations in New York goes to the last extremes of vulgarity and indecency. The so-called “art” that masquerades in the form of nude women is of the Sodom and Gomorrah school.