The need for speed
25 years ago — 1993
Republican County Commissioners ignored charges of partisan politics and racism Monday and elected Jayne Creson to replace the late Richard C. ‘Sonny’ Mashburn as county clerk. Creson, 57, said she was not seeking the office on a partisan basis but will be a candidate for a fouryear term in the 1994 GOP Primary. She was elected to the $74,000-a-year position with seven votes — one more than required. Katherine Kirk, office administrator under Mashburn and wife of Commissioner Cleo Kirk, got the other four votes.
50 years ago — 1968
Snow which all but paralyzed the city yesterday is expected to melt today and tomorrow and no more is forecast. The Weather Bureau said it was the second heaviest snowfall on record for Memphis. The total was 16.1 inches, although because of some melting and packing, accumulation was 13 inches. A rapid drop in temperature compounded the misery last night as bridges and viaducts iced over and the accident rate soared.
75 years ago — 1943
WASHINGTON — The War Labor Board last night turned down insistent labor demands for higher wages in the steel industry and served warning on United Mine Workers President John L. Lewis. The threat of a strike in the steel industry has been growing for the past seven weeks.
100 years ago — 1918
Mr. and Mrs. McKay Van Vleet will entertain with a brilliant dinner party this evening at the Memphis Country Club in honor of Miss Marietta Dunscomb and her fiancé, Sam Rembert.
125 years ago — 1893
The financial condition of the city has created an air of deep depression at City Hall. Mr. Clapp, president of the board of commissioners, has lapsed into a state of apathy bordering on coma. The city is flat broke and the commissioners intended to go to Nashville and ask the legislature to raise the tax rate and approve a $150,000 bond issue for the city. “It is embarrassing,” said Mr. Clapp. “I see no point in going to Nashville, unless the rest of the commissioners go with me. Even then there is little hope of our getting satisfaction.”