Glancing Backward, 1/15/10

Today is Friday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2010. There are 350 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 15, 2009, US Airways Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger ditched his Airbus 320 in the Hudson River after a flock of birds disabled both the plane's engines; all 155 people aboard survived.

Glancing Backward Locally:

25 years ago - 1985

It was a record year for Robert Packer Hospital's Obstetrical Department; for the first time in the hospital's history, more than 1,000 babies were delivered over the year.

Selected from Towanda Middle School to play in the Junior High Concert Band were Beth Bacon on bells, Jennifer Sackett on flute, Trenton Gingerich on baritone, Craig Williams on trombone, Tom Boyd on clarinet and Dan Lacek on saxophone.

The Camptown United Methodist Women will be packing Valentines boxes for shut-ins.

50 years ago - 1960

The Pennsylvania Holstein Association named Richard Packard, 20, of Granville Summit, as its Holstein 4-H Boy for 1959.

Howard J. Miller, Wyalusing Valley High School teacher, was honored at a banquet at the West Shore Country Club at Camp Hill for his 30 years of service in teaching vocational agriculture in Pennsylvania.

The Ulster Farms Inc. creamery has been sold to the Sandford Creamery Co. of the Garden State Farm Inc. of Midland Park, N.J. Sandford presently operates the creamery at East Smithfield.

75 years ago - 1935

Captain Robert T. Bennett, in charge of work at the Salvation Army in Towanda, resigned. Capt. and Mrs. Archibald McCormick, now at Tamaqua, will take over the work in Towanda and will be assisted by Lieut. William Spencer.

Celebrating his birthday today is John Brutzman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Brutzman of Towanda, outstanding journalism student at Penn State, and editor of The Collegian.

Seen About the Borough: Women studying the spring fashion sheets and wondering if they are going to look any funnier in the new hats than they do in the ones they're wearing now.

Elsewhere on this date:

In 1559, England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

In 1777, the people of New Connecticut declared their independence. (The tiny republic later became the state of Vermont.)

In 1844, the University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.

In 1850, pioneering Russian mathematician Sonya Kovalevsky was born in Moscow.

In 1929, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.

Ten years ago: Masked gunmen opened fire in a hotel lobby in Belgrade, killing Serbian warlord Zeljko Raznatovic, better known as Arkan, who had been indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal for alleged atrocities in Bosnia and Croatia.

Five years ago: Wilbert Rideau, an award-winning black journalist who'd spent nearly 44 years in Louisiana prisons for the 1961 death of a white bank teller, Julia Ferguson, was found guilty of manslaughter in a fourth trial by a racially mixed jury and set free.

One year ago: In a farewell address to the nation, President George W. Bush said while his policies were unpopular, there could be little debate about the results: "America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil."

Today's Birthdays: Actress Margaret O'Brien is 73. Singer Don Van Vliet (aka "Captain Beefheart") is 69. Actress Andrea Martin is 63. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 53. Actor James Nesbitt is 45. Singer Lisa Lisa (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) is 43. Actor Chad Lowe is 42.

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