MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1995
Memphis school board president Tajuan Stout Mitchell said Thursday the city school system has no plans to surrender its charter as part of any schools restructuring plan being discussed by the County Commission. In comments sharply critical of the commission, Mitchell said, ”The Memphis Board of Education I feel certain will not surrender its charter.” Mitchell said she will ask the board Monday to adopt a resolution opposing any plan to abolish the city system and asking the Shelby County legislation delegation and other legislators “not to support such arbitrary and capricious recommendations from the Shelby County Commission.” As part of discussions dealing with state law and a court ruling that the county have a school board elected countywide, commission chairman Julian Bolton has called for development of a plan to divide the city and county into three school districts which would have separate boards under an umbrella county board.
50 years ago — 1970
Earth tremors raced along the Mississippi Valley last night, shaking residents of six states, but apparently causing no injuries and little damage. Dr. Fred E. Followill, director of the University of Mississippi seismological observatory at Oxford, said the earthquake registered between 4 and 4.25 on the Richter scale at 8:14 p.m. Father William Stauder, in charge of the seismograph at St. Louis University in St. Louis, said the tremors were in the “mild” category, but may have gone as high as 4.5 on the scale. Father Stauder put the center of the earthquake at 140 miles south of St. Louis and Dr. Followill located the epicenter on a line between Kennett, Mo., and Dyersburg, Tenn. — on the New Madrid Fault.
75 years ago — 1945
Higher salaries for Tennessee teachers were predicted by Gov. Jim Nance Mccord in an address before, 2,500 delegates of the Western Section of the Tennessee Education Association yesterday morning. “We plan to spend more on rural education than ever before,” the governor told the teachers at Ellis Auditorium.
100 years ago — 1920
CHICAGO — John Bungo of West
Hammond today broke all records as a consumer of food, and the town has proclaimed him the world’s champion. After boasting of an appetite that would make the fat boy in “Pickwick Papers” look like a piker John agreed to give a public demonstration of his capacity in Kosciusko Hall if some affluent promoter of indoor sports would provide the food. His terms were agreed to, and he was escorted to a seat at a table so richly laden with provender that his eyes fairly glistened with anticipation, like those of a connoisseur at Belshazzar’s feast. Here is what John put away at one sitting: 27 feet of pork sausage, five pounds of raw beefsteak, three hen’s eggs with shells on, four dried herring, one loaf of rye bread (buttered), one hot mince pie and one gallon of beer (home brew). Having washed down the last morsel, John strolled over to a hot stove, soaked up a little heat, buttoned up his coat and remarked “Well, I guess I’ll go downtown and get a little something to eat.”