“How Time Flies” is a daily column in which we look back at what’s happening in our community and region through the Pantagraph archives.
100 years ago
27 August 1924: On Tuesday evening, Sept. 2, South Hill residents will celebrate the reopening of the fire station on South Main Street, known as No. 4, which has been closed for the past eight or nine years. A street parade, led by the Bloomington band, will form on the east side of the courthouse square at 7:30 p.m. and then move south on Main Street to Fire Station No. 4 to join in the celebration.
75 years ago
27 August 1949: At the City Council meeting Friday night (Aug. 26), Councilman Walter Benson proposed a 4% city tax on tickets to “all sporting events and other forms of entertainment” in Bloomington. Currently, only theater tickets have a 4% city tax. Benson suggested that at least a quarter of the tax revenue should be used for city recreational purposes. “I don’t like that,” he told a Pantagraph reporter after the meeting, “but we have to find money somewhere.”
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27 August 1974: The Bloomington City Council has taken a major step toward mandatory downtown sidewalk repairs costing an estimated $315,000. Corporate counsel David Stanczak has been hired to draft an ordinance and obtain legal descriptions that will lead to a mass mailing of letters around April 1 requiring downtown property owners to repair the sidewalks at their own expense within 30 days. If they are not repaired, the city plans to take over the task and bill adjacent property owners for the cost.
25 years ago
27 August 1999: The mood on both sides of the Pontiac Elementary School strike seemed somber and determined on Thursday (Aug. 26), the first day classes were canceled. Teachers said this was the first time they had struck in District 429. School board officials said they were trying to follow the direction of voters who approved tax caps in Livingston County this spring. “There is no magical way to generate more and more money except through taxpayers,” said school board Chairman Joshua Thompson.
From stilettos to sneakers: Pantagraph shoe ads through the years 👠
Moore & Lain’s – September 8, 1891
Boston Shoe Store – July 3, 1896
McLean Moore – April 2, 1909
WH Roland – 5 April 1909
Gerhart Shoe Co. – April 13, 1909
William Fahey – August 31, 1923
Gerhart’s – October 6, 1926
Carl’s – March 4, 1938
Hanger Boot Shop – April 26, 1938
Bunnell Bros. – May 6, 1938
Penney’s – May 31, 1946
Town & Country Shoes – December 17, 1948
War surplus shop – March 29, 1949
Schiff’s Shoe Store – April 4, 1949
Ship’s Shoes – April 26, 1949
Kinney’s – June 2, 1949
Schiff’s Shoe Store – June 2, 1949
Schiff’s Shoe Store – June 3, 1949
The Bootery – June 5, 1949
Livingston’s – June 5, 1949
Carl’s – June 5, 1949
Gerhart’s – June 5, 1949
Gerhart’s – 19 September 1954
Schiff’s Shoe Store – September 19, 1954
Livingston’s – January 2, 1956
Roland’s – February 22, 1957
Schiff’s Shoe Store – September 5, 1958
Branom’s Junior Boot Shop – September 7, 1958
The Bootery – September 7, 1958
Livingston’s – August 7, 1959
Carl’s – September 3, 1959
Barkers – December 1, 1960
Roland’s – June 6, 1963
Livingston’s – June 6, 1963
Marben’s – May 5, 1967
Murray’s – September 3, 1973
Roland’s – September 3, 1973
Mary Jane Shoes – September 6, 1973
Bergner’s – March 30, 1980
Read’s of Normal – August 21, 1981
Brown’s Sporting Goods – June 3, 1982
Hush Puppies – February 2, 1984
Brown’s Sporting Goods – August 9, 1984
Bergener’s – November 10, 1985
JC Penney – April 10, 1992
Bergner’s – May 26, 1999
Murray’s Shoes – June 2, 1999
Bergner’s – June 3, 1999
Compiled by Pantagraph staff