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Sunday, February 16, 2014

100 YEARS AGO Feb. 16, 1914

BATESVILLE - To live to be 60 years old without being on a railroad train and then on one’s first ride to be in a wreck is enough to make one decide that the means of locomotion nature has provided, assisted at times by the reliable horse and buggy, is sufficient for all future travel. That was the experience of Monroe Ray, a farmer 60 years old, who lives at Sulphur Rock. As a result, he has brought suit against the Iron Mountain for $20,000 for injuries alleged to have been received in a wreck of a passenger train on the White river division near this city December 27. “That was the first time I had ever ridden on a train,” said Ray. “And it will certainly be my last.This accident has taught me a lesson.” Rather than tempt providence by riding again on a train, he came all the way from Sulphur Rock to Batesville in a buggy to employ attorneys.

50 YEARS AGO Feb. 16, 1964

Gus Blass Department Stores at Little Rock and Pine Bluff have been sold to a group of Little Rock businessmen for an undisclosed price, after several weeks of negotiations headed by William Dillard. Dillard also headed a group which bought Pfeifers of Arkansas last Sept. 12, but Blass president Leonard Levy emphasized at a press conference Saturday that the stores will operate as “two highly competitive units.” Blass will not give Green Stamps, Levy said.

25 YEARS AGO Feb. 16, 1989

City Manager Tom Dalton received an unwelcome bouquet of dead flowers Tuesday, apparently from city firefighters. Two officers of the firefighter’s union said the union was not responsible for the bouquet. The Valentine’s Day card attached to the wilted flowers contained a message: “Yankee go home.” Dalton, who moved to Little Rock from Saginaw, Mich., is under fire for imposing a 2.5 percent citywide budget reduction, which is anticipated to cause layoffs of city employees.

10 YEARS AGO Feb. 16, 2004

FAYETTEVILLE - The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s suggestion that University of Arkansas at Fayetteville students push for voting precincts on campus has stirred some interest. The president of UA’s Young Democrats plans to bring up the topic at the group’s next meeting Feb. 24. Students talked about campus precincts in and out of classes this week and how they might address voter apathy among students.

Arkansas, Pages 16 on 02/16/2014