Local History

50 years ago: Circulation manager of the Journal, Norman Schow, left for New York City to attend a seminar at Columbia University.

10 years ago: George Glotzbach donated an original Wanda Gag lithograph called “Squash and Flowers” to the Ulmer Museum, in Germany.

5 years ago: Kirk Gregg, Nancy Noyes Silcox, David Benson, Wanda Gag and Terry Steinbach were inducted into the the ISD 88 Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish presented Sigel Township farmer Ron Seitz with the Service to Agriculture Award at the Brown County Farmers Union Convention.

And elsewhere…

Today is Saturday, Sept. 21, the 264th day of 2019. There are 101 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Sept. 21, 1985, In North Korea and South Korea, family members who had been separated for decades were allowed to visit each other as both countries opened their borders in an unprecedented family-reunion program.

On this date:

In 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy.

In 1912, magician Harry Houdini first publicly performed his “Water Torture Cell” trick at the Circus Busch in Berlin.

In 1970, “NFL Monday Night Football” made its debut on ABC-TV as the Cleveland Browns defeated the visiting New York Jets, 31-21.

In 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

In 1987, NFL players called a strike, mainly over the issue of free agency. (The 24-day walkout prompted football owners to hire replacement players.)

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo crashed into Charleston, South Carolina (the storm was blamed for 56 deaths in the Caribbean and 29 in the United States).

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act denying federal recognition of same-sex marriages a day after saying the law should not be used as an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against gays and lesbians. (Although never formally repealed, DoMA was effectively overturned by U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 2013 and 2015.)

In 2008, baseball said farewell to the original Yankee Stadium as the Bronx Bombers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

In 2017, Facebook said it would provide congressional investigators with the contents of 3,000 ads that had been bought by a Russian agency; it had already released the ads to federal authorities investigating Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Ten years ago: Record flooding hit the Atlanta area, leaving neighborhoods, schools and even sections of roller coasters submerged in several feet of water.

Five years ago: Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Manhattan and cities around the world to urge policy makers to take action on climate change.

One year ago: President Donald Trump directly challenged by name the woman accusing his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying that if the attack on Christine Blasey Ford had been as bad as she claimed, then she would have filed charges.

Today’s Birthdays: Author-comedian Fannie Flagg is 78. Author Stephen King is 72. Actor-comedian Bill Murray is 69. Movie producer-writer Ethan Coen is 62. Actor Rob Morrow is 57. Actress Cheryl Hines is 54. Country singer Faith Hill is 52. AActor Luke Wilson is 48. TV personality Nicole Richie is 38. Actress Maggie Grace is 36.

Thought for Today: “The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have done and what we might have been on the one hand, and the thing we have made and the things we have made of ourselves on the other.” — H.G. Wells, English author (born this date in 1866, died 1946.)

Copyright 2019, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.