Day in history for February 16, 2003

1853 -- 150 years ago

We notice by the last issue of the Advertiser that ``the flourishing towns of Moline and Camden (Milan) are to be absorbed.'' Are they really? What a pity!

1878 -- 125 years ago

Thus far this season, J.S. Gilmore has packed 5,000 hogs.

1903 -- 100 years ago

Jackson, Hurst And Stafford, acting for the Rock Island Road, will this week begin closing up the options on the property at Pleasant Valley that the company proposes occupying.

1928 -- 75 years ago

Miss Ruby S. Miller, Moline, became Rock Island County's first woman attorney when she was admitted to the Illinois bar by the Illinois Supreme Court.

1953 -- 50 years ago

Fire destroyed equipment and burned out the interior of the Kautz Bakery building in the heart of Muscatine's business district. Ray Kautz Jr., manager of the bakery, estimated damage at nearly $200,000. Authorities describe the blaze as ``one of the worst'' in Muscatine history.

1978 -- 25 years ago

Skyrocketing utility bills have forced the Moline school district to cut back on building maintenance and seek up to $400,000 for repairs that can't wait any longer. Twenty-eight of its 36 schools have leaky roofs, many need new paint, and repair costs are expected to total between $300,000 and $400,000, according to Clifford Quick, chairman of the school board's building and grounds committee.

Back: Available days in February 2003