1989 – 25 years ago
• A laser light demonstration, a drum and bugle corps show and a walking tour of the Pill Hill area of southeast Rochester are some of the new events that will be part of this year's Rochesterfest Celebration. The Grand Marshal will be Jim Fowler, host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
• A good turnout for the Rochester school and city election resulted in the school referendum passing 6,773 to 6,242. Property taxes will be increased by 9 percent to add $4.8 million to the school district's general fund in 1990.
1964 – 50 years ago
• A director will be hired to formulate and direct a research program at the new $14 million Rochester Methodist Hospital. Dr. Gerald Needham, chairman of the hospital's board, has suggested a long range nursing study committee be appointed to evaluate and determine the hospital's role in the changing trend of nursing education. Some nursing staff changes have occurred because the student nurses are no longer a part of the hospital work force.
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• Portions of the exemplary lives of the famed Drs. William J. and Charles H. Mayo were recounted during a moving one-hour program in Mayo Civic Auditorium Arena. For many of the senior citizens in the audience of about 3,000, the Mayo Recognition Day program brought back many fond memories of Rochester's No. 1 citizens.
1939 – 75 years ago
• Placing of the dog catcher under control of the board of public health and welfare and a request for an ordinance to tighten regulations for dogs was the main issue at the City Council meeting. A suggestion has been made that dogs taken off private property of the owner be leashed.
• Airmail service was inaugurated unofficially in Plainview by "Flying Mail Carrier Irishman" Paul Scanlan and "Flying Dutchman" Fred Sonnenbert of the Rochester Post Office. Flying in Mr. Scanlan's plane, the two carried the first airmail letter into the southeastern Minnesota village northeast of Rochester. They landed half a mile east of Plainview.
From news services
Ten years ago:A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into morning traffic in Golden, Colorado, crushing one car and killing a family of three. Col. Robert Morgan, commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, died in Asheville, N.C., at age 85. Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones posted a record 11-1/2-length victory in the Preakness (however, the horse failed to win the Belmont Stakes).
Five years ago: General Motors told about 1,100 dealers their franchises would be terminated. CIA Director Leon Panetta defended the agency against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's charge that she was misled in 2002 about the use of waterboarding on detainees. Pope Benedict XVI ended his Mideast visit at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Former basketball star and accomplished jazzman Wayman Tisdale died in Tulsa, Okla. at age 44.
One year ago: Under mounting pressure, President Barack Obama released a trove of documents related to the Benghazi attack and forced out the top official at the Internal Revenue Service following revelations the agency had targeted conservative political groups. Congressional Republicans and Democrats challenged Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation of national security leaks and its failure to talk to The Associated Press before issuing subpoenas for the news service's telephone records; Holder defended the inquiry while pointing out he had removed himself from any decision on subpoenas.
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Today's birthdays: Playwright Sir Peter Shaffer is 88. Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 78. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 78. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 77. Singer Trini Lopez is 77. Singer Lenny Welch is 76. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 74. Actress Gunilla Hutton is 72. Country singer K.T. Oslin is 72. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, is 66. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 66. Actor Nicholas Hammond (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 64. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 62. Baseball Hall-of-Famer George Brett is 61. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield is 61. Actor Lee Horsley is 59. TV personality Giselle Fernandez is 53. Football Hall-of-Famer Emmitt Smith is 45. Singer-rapper Prince Be (PM Dawn) is 44. Actor Brad Rowe is 44. Actor David Charvet is 42. Actor Russell Hornsby is 40. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 40. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 36. Actor David Krumholtz is 36. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 33. Rock musician Brad Shultz (Cage the Elephant) is 32. Rock musician Nick Perri is 30.
