This Week In History, 3-27-08

Destructive flood waters lashed through the Ohio River basin the first of the week and spread toward the Mississippi.

At least 10 persons met death along the murky course of the Ohio, and the climbing waves temporarily had driven many thousands from lowland homes.

At Parkersburg, residents in the lower sections of the city were forced to move to higher ground. Only a small part of the city was inundated.

With these reports in hand, four national organizations immediately set out to rush relief into the hard-pressed Ohio Valley area. They joined state and local agencies which were already heroically functioning.

  1957, 50 years ago

President Dwight Eisenhower has told a news conference that a tax cut for business was a reserve weapon, which could be used to give lagging businesses a shot in the arm.

In admitting he was thinking of a tax cut as a possible stimulant for business, the president also said that he looked for business to pick up around the middle of the year.

The president could not propose a tax cut to be acted upon by the second session of the 85th Congress, which will adjourn in August, or thereabouts.

If a tax cut is to come, it will be recommended to the first session of the 86th Congress, which meets in 1959, and if it decided to cut taxes, it would probably not cut them retroactively. That means the earliest tax cut would affect 1960.

  1982, 25 years ago

Broadway comes to Calhoun County starting Thursday evening, when the 1983 Calhoun High School Choir “Follies” opens in the gym. The theme of this year’s production is “On Broadway,” and for several weeks now some 150 students have been rehearsing song and dance routines. The follies will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, starting at 7:30.

Master of ceremonies is David Albaugh, a senior. The follies is different from other choir performances in that it is one of the few shows performed by a choral group that has, at different times in the show, all of the 150 members singing and performing choreography together.

There will also be performances by class groups, solos, and special numbers for the dancers, who have been selected from the choir personnel.

The Follies has always been a big event for the high school and community. The “On Broadway,” theme, with all songs selected from Broadway musicals, provides a great variety of music.