MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1996
When he got his marriage license in Washington, D.C., Armstead Barnett created quite a stir. Asked for his address, he replied, “1600 Pennsylvania Ave.” Someone must have called the press, because when Barnett got back to work, he heard that it was on the news that ”Armstead Barnett was giving Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address as his own.” The commotion reached such proportions that Eleanor Roosevelt was obliged to hold a press briefing to advise the media that Barnett had every right to give that address: ”That’s the only address he’s got!” Armstead Barnett was an Africanamerican who worked as a butler in the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower White House, where he lived from 1938 to 1941. He is one of hundreds of African-americans who have played a vital, but often overlooked, role in American history as members of the White House domestic staff.
50 years ago — 1971
Robert I. White asked yesterday to be relieved as president of Kent State University where four students were shot to death in a confrontation with National Guardsmen last May 4. He plans to retire in September and return to teaching at Kent after a six-month leave. White, 62, has been president of the university since 1963.
75 years ago — 1946
VICKSBURG, Miss. – A more critical levee situation from Greenwood to Yazoo City has developed, Capt. K.E. Mclaughlin, liaison officer of the Mississippi River Commission’s office, announced late Monday afternoon. The levees are saturated to the top and a vigilant watch is going steadily along and will continue for several days, as the crest of 39.78 feet was reached at Greenwood.
100 years ago — 1921
KNOXVILLE – This winter has broken all records for mildness, so far as the records of the local weather bureau. These records extend over a period of 50 years. Forecaster Harry C. Metcalf in a statement says, however, that the winter is not over by the calendar. “There is ample time for much colder weather than we have experienced so far this season without breaking the minimum temperature record,” Mr. Metcalf said.