Glancing Backward, 1/21/12

Published: January 21, 2012

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Today is Saturday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2012. There are 345 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 21, 1908, New York City's Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance prohibiting women from smoking in public. (Although the measure was vetoed two weeks later by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr., at least one woman, Katie Mulcahey, was arrested and spent a night in jail after being unable to pay a $5 fine.)

Glancing Backward Locally:

25 years ago - 1987

Twenty-one teams from six counties will be competing for a share of the $3,700 available in this year's Scholarship Challenge, sponsored by radio stations WATS-WAVR.

Over 386 scouts and scouters converged on Camp Brule for their annual polar bear weekend. These boy scouts and their leaders represented 20 Boy Scout troops from the General Sullivan Council.

Mr. and Mrs. John Pagano, owners of Century Store, Franklindale, are celebrating their 14th anniversary.

75 years ago - 1937

Ray Shoemaker of Windfall is repairing the Lucy McDonald home in Granville Center.

The Citizens Water Co. will move the office on Feb. 1 to the ground floor of the Rialto Theater building on Main Street in Canton. J. Rolfe Maynard, the new secretary and manager, has moved his family here from Williamsport.

Dr. L.J. Smith, who sometime ago purchased the Minnequa Springs property, is erecting a garage and suitable buildings near the springs to bottle the water which will be shipped to Pittsburgh.

Elsewhere on this date:

In 1982, convict-turned-author Jack Henry Abbott was found guilty in New York of first-degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of waiter Richard Adan in 1981. (Abbott was later sentenced to 15 years to life in prison; he committed suicide in 2002.)

In 1997, Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for the first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.

Five years ago: Venzuelan President Hugo Chavez (OO'-goh CHAH'-vez) told U.S. officials to "Go to hell, gringos!" and called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "missy" on his weekly radio and TV show, lashing out at Washington for what he called unacceptable meddling in his country's affairs. Lovie Smith became the first black head coach to make it to the Super Bowl when his Chicago Bears won the NFC championship, beating the New Orleans Saints 39-14; Tony Dungy became the second when his Indianapolis Colts took the AFC title over the New England Patriots, 38-34.

One year ago: Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman seriously wounded in a shooting rampage, was transferred from the University Medical Center trauma center in Tucson to Texas Medical Center in Houston to undergo months of therapy. President Barack Obama visited Schenectady, N.Y., the birthplace of the General Electric Co., to declare that his job was "putting our economy into overdrive." South Korean special forces stormed a hijacked freighter in the Arabian Sea, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight Somali pirates. Keith Olbermann abruptly announced on his MSNBC program "Countdown" that it was his last broadcast for the network. Ed Mauser, the oldest living member of a 101st Airborne Division company that became known as the "Band of Brothers" during World War II, died in Omaha, Neb., at age 94.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Ann Wedgeworth is 78. World Golf Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus is 72. Opera singer Placido Domingo is 71. Singer Richie Havens is 71. Singer Mac Davis is 70. Actress Jill Eikenberry is 65. Country musician Jim Ibbotson (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 65. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 62. U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke is 62. Attorney General Eric Holder is 61. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is 59. Actor-director Robby Benson is 56. Actress Geena Davis is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon is 49. Actress Charlotte Ross is 44. Actor John Ducey is 43. Actress Karina Lombard is 43. Rapper Levirt (B-Rock and the Bizz) is 42. Rock musician Mark Trojanowski (Sister Hazel) is 42. Rock singer-songwriter Cat Power is 40. Rock DJ Chris Kilmore (Incubus) is 39. Actor Vincent Laresca is 38. Singer Emma Bunton (Spice Girls) is 36. Country singer Phil Stacey is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nokio (Dru Hill) is 33. Actress Izabella Miko (MEE'-koh) is 31.

Thought for Today: "I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate." - George Burns, American comedian (1896-1996).

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