125 years ago

STEALING DIRT: The mention about the common practice of stealing dirt from the city streets to fill the lots of private citizens has born fruit. One citizen has been fined $1 and costs in the mayor's court. The city engineer tells the reporter that there is not nearly enough to make the fills according to the present scheme of grades. In some part of town those who have surplus dirt on their lots are holding it at 5 cents per yard, while others have no trouble getting it hauled away without cost.

MERIDEN, IOWA, LOSES PIONEER: The death of William Corbet, which occurred on the morning of the 13th last, removes from Cherokee county one of her early pioneers. He was born in Staffordshire, Eng., June 22, 1820, and removed to America in 1866, where about four years later, he took up a homestead near Meriden, and which he resided at the time of his death.

100 years ago

POLICE SEEK GAMBLERS: Armed with a search warrant and a big fireman's ax, with which he broke down the door which barred the stairway, Policeman Captain Newell and Patrolmen Sawyer and Britton about midnight last night made a raid on the rooms formerly occupied by the Century club on the fifth floor of the Chamber of Commerce building, but failed to secure any evidence which would prove that there was gambling going on there. The rooms are so cleverly guarded against a possible raid that it has been impossible to catch anyone in the act of gambling, although the police have made repeated efforts in the last year.

TWO FINGERS WORTH $2,000: Charging the Cudahy Packing company with negligence in that it allowed a minor to go to work in its scalding department without giving him instructions, and declaring that while working there Feodor Astpana was injured by a defective apparatus, Maurice Kroloff, has brought suit in the district court against the company for $2,000. Considerable trouble was found in getting a jury and it is possible a special panel will have to be called in for this term, as forty of the seventy named have been excused.

HOW MANY TEACHERS? Several new teachers have been added to the school pay rolls in the county this fall, not only in Sioux City, but also in the rural districts. Examination of the books shows that now 563 teachers are employed in Woodbury county.

50 years ago

AWARD ANNOUNCED: Sioux City last month was named one of the 22 finalists in the nationwide All-America Cities competition sponsored annually by the National Municipal League and Look Magazine.

MORE SNOW: The second snowstorm in a week dumped 6 inches of the white stuff on Sioux City, bringing the total fall to slightly more than 14 inches. A low of 15 below zero in Sioux City set an all-time record low in the 70-year history of the weather bureau for this date, breaking an earlier record set just days before of 9 below zero.

25 years ago

THIEVES MAR HOMECOMING: Walt Fiegel was busy Friday night, watching from the sideline as his East High football team won a state championship at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Back home in Sioux City, a thief or, more likely, thieves were busy taking advantage of Fiegel's absence. The homecoming was far from festive. When the coach walked into his home at 5118 Bushnell Ave. shortly after 6 o'clock Saturday morning, he was greeted by the evidence of burglary. Among numerous items missing were Fiegel's car, a microwave oven and television set. The car, a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon, was later recovered in a ravine a mile south of the city limits.

DEADLY SANTA SHOWING: Public outrage that the movie "Silent Night, Deadly Night" portrays Santa Claus as an ax murderer will not keep Plaza Theater officials form showing the R-rated film. Theater manager Mikki Paul has received several telephone calls from "angry, irate people -- mostly women" demanding the theater stop showing the film.

MILLIONAIRE TAKES CARE OF WISNER: Louis Dinklage, a cattle feeder and businessman, has left a large portion of his $8.4 million estate to aid Wisner, Neb. and Cuming County civic and education projects. During his lifetime, Dinklage used the Wisner Improvement Corp. to donate funds to purchase 30 computers for the Wisner-Pilger school, to construct a 335-seat fine arts auditorium for the school, to build the Dinklage Park swimming pool in Wisner and to provide $20,000 worth of improvement to Wisner's River Park.

AD: Thanksgiving favorites are on sale at Hy-Vee: Hy-Vee Regular Turkeys, 57 cents per pound; Farmland Maple River Boneless Hams, $1.48 per pound; O&C Durkee French Fried Onions, 2.8 oz., 73 cents; Hy-Vee Brown and Serve rolls, 2 packages for $1; Swanson's Chicken Broth, 14.5 oz. can, 39 cents; Grandee Spanish olives, 89 cents, and Wells' Blue Bunny Snack Dips, 8 oz. carton, 2 for $1.

These items appeared in the Journal Nov. 16-22, 1884, 1909, 1959 and 1984.