MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1997
When the Memphis Society of Entrepreneurs gathers Saturday, it will honor eight area executives, including Dunavant Enterprises Inc. chairman William B. Dunavant Jr., who has been selected Entrepreneur of the Year. Dunavant, 64, and the others were chosen for their business savvy and success as well as their contributions to Memphis and the Mid-south. Jabie Hardin, R. Brad Martin, Frank M. Norfleet, Robert M. Solmson and Patti Upton are being honored for their achievements. And the late Ira J. Lichterman and William A. Loewenberg will be inducted into the society posthumously.
50 years ago — 1972
The House Judiciary Committee heard a specialist in race relations
state today that neighborhood schools appear to be more a convenience for parents than an educational asset for children. Thomas F. Pettigrew, a Harvard sociologist, testified in what he called “the strongest possible terms” against the various anti-busing proposals the committee is now considering. 75 years ago — 1947
The American Legion, with its 20,000 posts and 3,500,000 members, is going to try out a nationwide Child Welfare Program in Memphis in a manner that may set a pattern for numerous other cities. It was announced yesterday that Memphis Post No. 1, operating with national headquarters of the Legion in Indianapolis, will hold a Child Welfare Forum at Ellis Auditorium on the night of Thursday, May 22.
100 years ago — 1922
After having been advised by a physician that he was in no immediate danger, Jonas Felsenthal, 61, prominent merchant of Brownsville, Tenn., dropped dead in the Union Station at 8:30 o’clock last night just as he was preparing to board Louisville & Nashville train 104 to return to his home and his business. Feeling that his health was in a poor condition and fearing that he might be suffering from some organic trouble, Mr. Felsenthal made the trip to Memphis expressly to consult a specialist. He was told, according to relatives here, that there was no cause for alarm. 125 years ago — 1897
PITTSBURGH – Towboats today departed from Pittsburgh with 2,750,000 bushels of coal for towns on the Lower Mississippi River.