MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1993
Memphis police have begun using a rolling toxicology lab to conduct roadside drug tests on drivers in a program that officials say is the first in the United States. The Drug One van, a surplus Fire Department ambulance, is staffed by DUI Task Force officers and doctors from the University of Tennessee, Memphis, said Deputy Police Director Eddie Adair. During the 90-day pilot program, Memphis drivers can be quickly tested for the presence of impairing levels of cocaine and marijuana. The program, which began here last weekend, could spread nationwide.
50 years ago — 1968
HONG KONG — Chiang Ching, wife of Mao Tse-tung, has been called a loose woman. Others insist she is emotionally unstable. Still others call her “the Lady Macbeth of Peking,” “the high priestess of a living god,” or “the new empress dowager.” But whatever they call her, nearly all agree that she is a remarkable woman. Last winter there was a seven-week period when not an official word was heard of her and some of the world press trumpeted the news of her fall. Those headlines lied. Chiang Ching is back, playing the female lead in a near-classical tragedy.
75 years ago — 1943
JACKSON, Tenn. — Commending the residents of Jackson and Madison counties for recognizing the great future of aviation, Memphis Mayor Walter Chandler dedicated the Kenneth D. McKellar Airport here yesterday afternoon. Senator McKellar has long been a champion of legislation favorable to the aviation industry.
100 years ago — 1918
Vice in Memphis must be controlled or Park Field soldiers will be forbidden to visit here. That was the ultimatum issued to city and state law enforcement officers by War Department officials visiting Memphis this past week. The officials said that every Park Field soldier knows at least a dozen places in the Memphis business district where whisky can be bought and that the streets abound with immoral women.
125 years ago — 1893
Capt. W.L. McLean, a prominent citizen of the village of Idlewild, was thrown from a wagon yesterday and most painfully injured. He was with a large group of young people returning from a barbecue at John Greer’s home near Buntyn Station.