Day in history for December 1, 2001

1851 -- 150 years ago

In less than two years, in all probability, the railroad will be completed from Rock Island to Chicago, but plank roads also will be necessary to the prosperity of the city.

1876 -- 125 years ago

The ferry boat went into winter quarters at the boat yard.

1901 -- 100 years ago

Contracts were let for the erection of Spencer Memorial Church at 43rd Street and 7th Avenue, Rock Island.

1926 -- 75 years ago

The first Rock Island baseball players signed for 1927 by Manager Joe Kernan were Harvey Thompson and Robert Peden.

1951 -- 50 years ago

The old brick building housing the Port Byron fire station, erected more than a century ago, is having its face lowered. Upper stories of the Dorrance building are being removed. Improvements call for a new roof and repairs to the first story.

1976 -- 25 years ago

If you're maimed, mutilated or deformed, stay off Kewanee streets or you'll be in violation of the law. The ordinance banning deformed persons from the city's streets, although adopted about 1915, sat unnoticed until recently, so there's little chance a handicapped person would be arrested. But it's typical of aging edicts, born in an era of dirt streets and wooden sidewalks, which face revision as Western Illinois towns move to elevate their ordinances to modern sophistication.

Back: Available days in December 2001