Day in history for May 16, 2000

1875 -- 125 years ago

Burglars ransacked the Rock Island home of Judge Spencer and made off with a gold watch, $50 in currency and $10 in coin.

1900 -- 100 years ago

The Davenport city council voted to increase the salaries of the police department. Hereafter the chief of police will receive $1,100 a year, and the night captain $75 a month.

1925 -- 75 years ago

An interstate gas war was threatened in Rock Island when eight Iowa marshals stationed themselves at city oil stations to keep Iowans from purchasing gas in Illinois.

1950 -- 50 years ago

A uniform price of $3.45 (per hundredweight) for grade A milk delivered by producers to the Quad-Cities market has been announced for the month of April. This is a drop of 20 cents from the producer price in March, and an increase over the $3.36 set for April 1949.

1975 -- 25 years ago

Al Sowash of Andalusia has been voted the Quad-City man with the best moustache. Sowash spent three years cultivating the twirling handlebar whiskers that won him a cash prize at the contest sponsored by the Wells Fargo Lounge. ``I grew my stache because it looks sexy,'' says young Sowash. ``The only bad thing about having a moustache is that when it rains all the wax washes out and the whole thing turns limp.''

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