MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1997
Anne-clifton Bowling wore the right accessory to “An Evening Aboard the Titanic” 1997 Le Bonheur Gala Saturday night at The Pyramid. She had on an orange life jacket. The party coincided with the Wonders series exhibition “Titanic.” Michael J. Vails, who was dressed as the Titanic’s whitebearded Capt. E. J. Smith, greeted guests as they entered The Pyramid. Michael, a man of many faces, portrayed Napoleon Bonaparte at the opening party for “Malmaison at the Dixon,” a 1993 exhibit featuring Napoleonic room settings at Dixon Gallery and Gardens.
50 years ago — 1972
Memphis State basketball coach Gene Bartow yesterday confirmed his first signing of the recruiting season, acknowledging that 6-8 Charles Swedberg of Odessa, Texas, had agreed to a Missouri Valley Conference letter-of-intent. Swedberg scored 1,173 points during his three-season schoolboy career with Odessa Permian High and averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds as a senior. He was named to the All-district 5AAA and All-south Plains teams this past season.
75 years ago — 1947
WASHINGTON – The income tax collector, a tough customer sometimes, has won an argument with six waiters that 10 percent of the check is about right for a tip. Internal Revenue Commissioner Joseph D. Nunan Jr. claimed the waiters had been holding out on their taxes, not reporting all of their income from tips. So he added up the cost of the meals they’d served and claimed taxes and penalties on 10 percent of that, contending that 10 percent is the traditional tip and they must have received it.
100 years ago — 1922
The tar on the wood block pavements and the asphalt gave able evidence yesterday that the hottest day of the season had arrived and folks must mind their step where the tar is thickest. The maximum temperature yesterday was 82 degrees, which is only 8 degrees below the highest on record for any April day since the institution of the local weather bureau. That was 90 degrees on April 5, 1893.
125 years ago — 1897
The Flower Lake crevasse has widened to 1,000 feet and water through it is flooding thousands of acres. The stage at Memphis today is 36.3 feet, a fall of 0.10 of a foot in the past 24 hours.