1990 – 25 years ago
• Boxes of books and cookies sent to soldiers in Operation Desert Shield by Rochester Vietnam veterans have arrived. John Griffin, who helped lead the effort, said a letter was received from an Air Force chaplain in Saudi Arabia thanking everyone for the wonderful gifts received.
• Barlow Foods is hiring full-time and part-time positions. Starting pay is $4.75 an hour. Holiday Inn is hiring a night audit position from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Wage is $6.15 an hour.
1965 – 50 years ago
• A Christmas truce declared by both the allied armed forces and the Communist Viet Cong is in place for 30 hours.
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• Mrs. Burdette Wohlful, of rural Eyota, was able to talk to her son, Airman 2.C. Richard Behnken, who is serving in Vietnam. The call, part of a special project to connect families with servicemen, was sponsored by Local 7203 of the Communications Workers of America.
1940 – 75 years ago
• Santa Claus joined forces with the stork when he brought a son to Dr. and Mrs. Hugh Trimingham. The baby was born at Saint Marys Hospital on Christmas day. A Christmas day baby was also born to Mr. and Mrs. Fritz Sprenger, of Zumbro Falls. Their baby girl was born at the Lake City hospital.
• Erwin Briese has been commissioned as captain of the Rochester Minnesota defense force. Briese was commissioned by Gov. Harold E. Strassen. They will begin to accept enlistments at an upcoming meeting at the armory. Other companies will be at Owatonna, Austin and Winona.
1915 – 100 years ago
• Superintendent of Rochester schools Mr. H.A. Johnson stated that the Holmes school annex is now ready for occupancy and that the first and second grades will report for class at that place Monday when school resumes after Christmas vacation. The building is comprised of four big rooms. Two of these will be used as play-rooms and the remaining as class rooms for little tots.
• Frank Kellogg, a former Rochester man, was asked if he thought former President Theodore Roosevelt would be a presidential candidate for the 1916 election. Mr. Kellogg said he could not speak for the colonel and didn't have the slightest idea if Roosevelt would be a candidate for presidency on any ticket. (Incumbent Woodrow Wilson would win in 1916)
From news services
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Ten years ago: Pope Benedict XVI marked his first Christmas as pontiff, calling for concrete actions to back up "signs of hope" in the Middle East and urging peace in Darfur, Sudan and the Korean peninsula. Opera singer Birgit Nilsson died in her native Sweden at age 87.
Five years ago: The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, crisscrossed the country, making a Christmas visit to coalition troops at some of the main battle fronts in a show of appreciation and support in the tenth year of the war against the Taliban. A female suicide bomber attacked an aid center in Pakistan, killing at least 45 people. The West Bank town of Bethlehem bustled with its biggest crowd of Christian pilgrims in years. Former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez died in Miami. Olympics documentary filmmaker Bud Greenspan, 84, died in New York.
One year ago: The black comedy "The Interview" opened in 331 locations in the U.S., culminating in the truly unprecedented move by a major studio to release a film in theaters and on digital platforms simultaneously.
Today's birthdays: Actor Dick Miller is 87. Author Anne Roiphe is 80. Actress Hanna Schygulla is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer John Edwards (The Spinners) is 71. Actor Gary Sandy is 70. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 69. Pro and College Football Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka is 69. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 67. Actress Sissy Spacek is 66. Former White House adviser Karl Rove is 65. Actress CCH Pounder is 63. Singer Annie Lennox is 61. Reggae singer-musician Robin Campbell (UB40) is 61. Country singer Steve Wariner is 61. Singer Shane MacGowan (The Pogues, The Popes) is 58. Baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson is 57. The former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, is 57. Actress Klea Scott is 47. Rock musician Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) is 44. Singer Dido is 44. Rock singer Mac Powell (Third Day) is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ryan Shaw is 35. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 33. Pop singers Jess and Lisa Origliasso (The Veronicas) are 31.
