MID-SOUTH MEMORIES

25 years ago — 1995

Union, S.C. – A judge on Friday barred TV cameras from Susan Smith’s trial on charges she drowned her two young sons, saying small-town witnesses might be intimidated by the attention. “There is an absolute likelihood that broadcast coverage in the courtroom would interfere with the due process of this trial and pose a risk to this case,” Circuit Judge William Howard said. Howard had allowed live TV coverage as well as still cameras for all previous hearings. But he agreed with Smith’s attorney, David Bruck, who said broadcasting the trial in this small town would make witnesses afraid to share intimate information necessary for his client’s defense.

50 years ago — 1970

Preliminary census figures released yesterday show Memphis has 620,873 residents, about a 25 percent increase in population over 1960. Shelby County has 718,777 residents, a gain of about 14.6 percent. The 1960 census gave Memphis a count of 497,524 persons. Mayor Henry Loeb said the census figures “pinpoint the city’s growth in comparison with so many cities that are not so fortunate as we are. Along with this material growth, which is coming in so many ways, we need to grow in spirit.”

75 years ago — 1945

Generous citizens in the Mid-south continue to make contributions to The Commercial Appeal Heroes Phone Fund. The money is used to defray the cost of calls made by soldiers to their families from Kennedy General Hospital. The fund totals $8,296.

100 years ago — 1920

Workmen have started tearing down the old I.M. Hill residence at the northeast corner of Court Avenue and North Third Street. Its timbers will be removed to the plantation of Will Dockery, who acquired the property as an investment several years ago. The Hill residence was erected prior to the Civil War when the fashionable set of Memphis lived in that area.

125 years ago — 1895

The parlors of the Nineteenth Century Club were aglow with roses yesterday as members tendered a reception to the great bandleader, John Philip Sousa, who is in Memphis to present a series of concerts. Mr. Sousa delighted the ladies with his grace and courtly manners. He gave a brief talk on music.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Rufus Thomas performs at the WDIA Starlite Revue at the Mid-south Coliseum on July 1, 1972. He roused the audience of 12,000 with his performance.