50 years ago this week
Tuscaloosa was scheduled to get a limited intracity bus service on a trial basis by independent operator Boyd Wilson. The City Commission assured Wilson that a franchise for the proposed bus line would be granted.
Tribute was paid to John E. Walker and Truman S. Gray Sr. at their last regular meeting of the County Board of Revenue. Gray would be succeeded by Charles Allen in charge of District No. 1; Paul Kuykendall would succeed Walker in District No. 3.
President George LeMaistre announced plans for a new main office for the City National Bank to be built on Ninth Street across from the Stafford Motor Hotel on property purchased by the bank the year before.
City electricians were working on the traffic light system that would allow the Tuscaloosa Fire Department to block off the downtown area when a fire alarm is received from the central business district. The lights would flash amber to signify the possible approach of fire engines and indicate that motorists should pull over to the curb until the lights return to normal operation after less than 90 seconds. Fire Chief Pete Mathews said the 90-second interval should allow sufficient time for the fire engines from headquarters to reach any destination in the downtown area.
The 1965 Festival of the Arts, sponsored by the University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa Fine Arts Council, featured writer Eudora Welty, flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya and Metropolitan Opera baritone George London, among others.
According to a circuit court ruling, Tuscaloosa County's Oak Hill Nursing Home would be allowed to remain open. The operator was ordered to correct 22 unsanitary conditions within 30 days. Though it violated health department regulations, the judge said a dog could remain in the nursing home provided it was given a bath once a week, but the cats had to go. Cats carry more diseases communicable to man than dogs, he said.
Circuit Solicitor Fred Nicol was sworn in as circuit judge.
25 years ago this week
Mal Moore, the University of Alabama's quarterback coach and offensive coordinator in the later years of coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant's tenure, was in town to meet with new Tide head coach Gene Stallings and was expected to announce shortly that he would rejoin the Tide staff.
More than 20 Central High School students protested the dismissal of counselor Arthur Howard from a federally funded program encouraging low-income students to attend college. Howard was dismissed on the grounds that the amount allocated for counselors in the budget was almost depleted.
A second look was being taken at Tuscaloosa's proposed ordinance to restrict smoking in public places when concerns surfaced over developing a law that was unenforceable and too intrusive in people's lives.
After a back-slapping reunion of dozens of former Alabama players, coaches and trustees, Gene Stallings spent his first day on the job as head football coach familiarizing himself with the situation at UA, meeting the players and working on assembling a staff. He named one assistant coach, Jim Fuller, and said he would have the remainder of his staff in place within two weeks.
Northport's city employees would get Martin Luther King Day off but faced the possibility of having to give up another holiday later in the year.
Farm Fresh Catfish Co. would close its Greensboro processing plant, but more than half its workers were expected to be hired by Southern Pride Catfish Co., also in Greensboro.
Demolition was under way of the building which formerly housed Perry's Pride Inc. at 2128 University Blvd., diagonally across the street from Tuscaloosa City Hall. Perry's Pride was one of the area's oldest full-line dairy products firms, founded in 1922 by J.S. Perry at the corner of Sixth Street and 22nd Avenue. It later moved to the University Boulevard location for a number of years before operations were moved to Huntsville and Dothan, leaving the building vacant. In 1978, Beatrice Foods Co. of Chicago purchased the company.
10 years ago this week
Injuries sustained in his football career played a part in the decision of UA quarterback Spencer Pennington to choose baseball over football.
According to the attorney for the Sumter County Circuit Court clerk, records were in order and ready to be turned over for a state audit. The office had been fined $50 a week since March 2003 for failure to turn over the records. Also, the clerk had failed to pass along money her office collected for other county agencies since September 2003.
Two candidates announced plans to run for mayor: Sammy Watson and Walter Maddox. Incumbent Al DuPont had yet to announce whether he would run for re-election.
The Northport City Council vowed to support Warrior Baseball as well as the girls association, along with the Northport Wildcat Football team.
The Crimson Tide gymnastics team jumped from its lowest ranking in more than a decade back into the top five after its victory the week before over Iowa State with a score of 194.925.
Five years ago this week
Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart turned down a job offer from Georgia.
Deaths this week included Charlie O. Sealy Sr., at 90. Sealy founded Sealy Management Co., one of the largest apartment management companies in the state.
Crimson Tide junior linebacker Rolando McClain announced that he would forgo his senior year to enter the 2010 NFL draft.
University of Alabama trustees joined their counterparts at the Department of Mental Health and approved sale terms for the Bryce Hospital campus. Trustees agreed to buy nearly all of the campus for $72 million and voted to spend another $10 million on environmental cleanup and historic preservation.
One year ago this week
A five-day estate sale for the historic Searcy House downtown began in anticipation of the 104-year-old home's demolition. The building was sold the previous July to a lone bidder who later signed over the purchasing rights to First Baptist Church.
Six animal-sized oxygen masks were donated to the Northport Fire Department.
Brumfield's, a restaurant that specializes in different burgers, opened in the Shops of Lake Tuscaloosa.
Bo Davis returned to Tuscaloosa as defensive line coach hired by coach Nick Saban. Davis coached at Alabama as the defensive line coach from 2007 to 2010 and was on Saban's previous staffs at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.
Deaths this week included the Rev. William McKinley Branch, Greene County civil rights icon, at 95.
Pickens County's Jamarcus Brown was named the Class 1A back of the year by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association.
Jalapenos Mexican Grill co-owner Jheovanny Gomez was named Member of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.
Compiled by retired News librarian Betty Slowe.