Day in history for September 1, 2004

1854 -- 150 years ago

W.A. Nourse of Moline is at the Island City Hotel showing his sewing machines. He invites ladies to watch a sewing machine in operation.

1879 -- 125 years ago

Marshall Hawes has sought a set of patented ``reversible lines,'' a new feature in harness construction.

1904 -- 100 years ago

Members of the Barrett chapter of Royal Arch Masons and their ladies enjoyed a trolley ride party through Rock Island and Moline, followed by dancing at the Watch Tower Inn.

1929 -- 75 years ago

Walter L. Jones, 19, drowned when he stepped into a hole while he was swimming in Rock River.

1954 -- 50 years ago

Ivan V. Kinney, of Rock Island, has been appointed manager of the newly-created Davenport district of the post office department's decentralization program. The district will include Rock Island, Henry and Whiteside counties in Illinois and a large area of Iowa extending as far west as Cedar Rapids.

1979 -- 25 years ago

A 10-year-old rural Port Byron youth escaped a masked man who attempted to kidnap him as he waited in front of his home for the school bus Friday morning. The boy, a sixth-grade student at Riverdale Elementary School, was alone, waiting for the bus about 8 a.m. on W. 221st St. N. Police and school officials asked that the boy's name not be released.

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