Glancing Backward 11/15/2009

Today is Sunday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2009. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 15, 1959, Kansas farmer Herbert Clutter, his wife, Bonnie, and the couple's two youngest children, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 15, were found murdered in their home in Holcomb. (Two ex-convicts, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, were later convicted of the killings and hanged; the case was detailed in the Truman Capote book "In Cold Blood.")

Glancing Backward Locally:

75 years ago - 1934

"The Merry Widow" comes to the Keystone Theater tonight for a two-night engagement.

A number of University Club members from Sayre and Athens were guests last evening at the home of Mrs. Swindells on Third Street. Waverly members also gathered at the Tioga Point Museum in Athens for a talk by Ellsworth C. Cowles, curator of archeology, on "Spanish Hill."

Dance! Every Saturday night at McCarthy's Hall in North Towanda. Round and square - ladies 25 cents, gents 35 cents.

25 years ago - 1985

Penelec officials broke ground for a new Northeast Division headquarters in North Towanda.

The American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout" kicked off at Pat's Palace in Towanda.

Fifth and sixth grade students of Litchfield Elementary went on a field trip to the courthouse recently. The students were given a guided tour of the courthouse with most of the agencies giving brief descriptions of their functions.

Elsewhere on this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1979, the British government publicly identified Sir Anthony Blunt as the "fourth man" of a Soviet spy ring.

In 1984, Stephanie Fae Beauclair, the infant publicly known as "Baby Fae" who had received a baboon's heart to replace her own congenitally deformed one, died at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California three weeks after the transplant.

In 1988, the Soviet Union launched its first space shuttle, Buran, on its only flight, which carried no crew.

Ten years ago: The Clinton administration claimed victory in a seven-year struggle to persuade Congress to pay nearly $1 billion in back dues to the United Nations. Chinese and U.S. negotiators agreed to remove trade barriers, clearing the biggest hurdle to China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

Five years ago: The White House announced that Secretary of State Colin Powell was leaving President George W. Bush's Cabinet, along with Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. The U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Ivory Coast's hard-line government after its violent confrontation with France.

One year ago: World leaders battling an economic crisis agreed in Washington to flag risky investing and regulatory weak spots in hopes of avoiding future financial meltdowns. A wildfire destroyed nearly 500 mobile homes in Los Angeles. Gay rights supporters marched in cities coast to coast to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California. Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil supertanker, in the Indian Ocean.

Today's Birthdays: Judge Joseph Wapner is 90. Statesman Howard H. Baker Jr. is 84. Actor Ed Asner is 80. Actor John Kerr is 78. Singer Petula Clark is 77. Comedian Jack Burns is 76. Actress Joanna Barnes is 75. Actor Yaphet Kotto is 70. Actor Sam Waterston is 69. Classical conductor Daniel Barenboim is 67. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 64. Actor Bob Gunton is 64. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is 62.

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