MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1997
The area’s first high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes open this morning at rush hour for use primarily by vehicles with two or more occupants. Lone motorists wh use the lanes during the weekday 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. rush hour periods will be given tickets — initially just warning citations — letting them know they’re in the wrong lane. At other times, the lanes are open to general traffic.
50 years ago — 1972
Four Memphis policemen, a former policeman and two civilians were indicted by the Shelby County Grand Jury yesterday on bribery and extortion charges arising from a month-old investigation by the Shelby County attorney general’s office. The indictments climaxed 21⁄2 days of grand jury testimony from 10 other policemen, two investigators with the attorney general’s staff and eight owners and employees at North Memphis nightspots.
75 years ago — 1947
Looking every inch the most beautiful girl in America, or anywhere else, Miss Barbara Jo Walker stepped from an American Airlines plane at Municipal Airport last night and was wildly greeted by upwards of 300 proud and excited fellow Memphians. A driving rain arrived simultaneously with the lovely Miss America, but it went almost unnoticed as Memphis’ darling smiled at the crowd and was swept into the arms of her father and mother.
100 years ago — 1922
WASHINGTON – The will of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, filed here today for probate, leaves his entire estate, real, personal and mixed, to his wife, Mabel Gardiner Bell, absolutely and without condition. No schedule of the value of the estate has been filed.
125 years ago — 1897
NASHVILLE – Memphis Day at the Centennial was a crowning success. Every feature of the celebration approximated
even the most sanguine expectations. The only serious drawback to a day of perfect pleasure was the intense heat. It was pronounced one of the hottest days ever suffered on the Centennial grounds. Despite this fact, however, the Memphians enjoyed themselves and facetious remark was dropped from many tongues that the presence of so many Memphians was responsible for the “hot times.” The official returns will probably show the attendance to have been over 10,000.