Looking backward

10 years ago

Feb. 15, 2013: The Champion Town Board agreed with a recommendation by engineer Gregor K. Smith of Bernier, Carr & Associates to begin treating the town water system with a blended phosphate solution that is a corrosion inhibitor and will sequester the iron and manganese content to reduce the water’s hardness.

25 years ago

Feb. 15, 1998: The owner of the two Beaverite Products Inc. plants in the town of Croghan offered to sell them to employees, who gratefully accepted, workers said.

50 years ago

Feb. 15, 1973: Watertown’s new snow blower tackled the job of clearing snow from Washington Street after the 6-inch snowfall overnight. The City Council authorized the purchase of the $27,784 vehicle frm SMI Inc., Watertown, last November.

75 years ago

Feb. 15, 1948: Pack 68, Lowville cub scouts will hold their annual blue and gold dinner and a regular pack meeting. Guests at the dinner will be Clayton S. Ingison, Watertown, scout executive for the Jefferson Lewis Council of Boy Scouts, and Joseph E. Young Jr., Watertown, field scout executive for the council.

100 years ago

Feb. 15, 1923: Carthage: A Valentine party was given last evening in the Salvation Army hall by Capt. and Mrs. Edward Ronan. Abou 15 children and a number of adults attended the party. During the evening various games that appealed to the young and old were played. Refreshments were served and Valentines were disributed.

125 years ago

Feb. 15, 1898: Adams: A volunteer choir rendered music which added interest to the meeting and due notice is given that the said choir with recruits will hold forth in the future and give variety to the exercises of the grange.

150 years ago

Feb. 15, 1873: Having proved that Chaumont Bay, as a harbor, is superior to nay for the purposes desired by the Boston R.R. Co., there are still other important reasons for the road coming here, not found on other routes. To reach Chaumont they would naturally come down the valley of the Black River to Watertown, and thence here. Coming to Watertown, the first city in size and enterprise of Northern New York, it would bring it nearer to Boston than New York.

The world

1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.

1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to 15 terms of life in prison.

2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.

2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million and 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.

2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

2021 – Sixty people drown and hundreds are missing after a boat sinks on the Congo River near the village of Longola Ekoti, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.