This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Editor's note • Every Saturday, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Kirby pulls out long-forgotten pieces of history to give readers a glimpse of life, crime and misadventure in Utah that week in 1916, 1941, 1966 and 1991 — showing just how much we've changed, and how much we haven't. Recognize a relative or have a story to share? Visit Facebook.com/DisturbingHistory or email rkirby@sltrib.com.

1916

Dec. 24 • A stick of dynamite explodes outside the home of J.E. Jennings, 425 E. South Temple, causing minor damage. It is believed to be the work of International Workers of the World, protesting the prosecution of Joe Hillstrom, who was executed the year before.

• A blizzard raging for two days blocks nearly all traffic, including trains, wagons and cars. Some Utah communities are completely cut off from supplies. Residents in Eureka are burning their porches to keep warm.

Dec. 25 • In Garland, the bank, a pool hall and the office of Utah Power & Light burn to the ground. The volunteer fire department is delayed responding because of the ongoing blizzard.

• A nitroglycerin bomb is discovered by a man sweeping the sidewalk outside the home of Utah Gov. William Spry at 368 First Ave. in Salt Lake City. The bomb — which contained scrap iron and would have shredded anyone nearby — is disarmed. It's suspected the IWW used the Christmas Eve explosion on South Temple as a diversion to plant this bomb.

• A Sixth Avenue streetcar drags a man along Main Street after he fell on the pavement and his head became wedged between a part of the car and the ground. He survives.

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1941

Dec. 22 • While wrapping a package at Sears & Roebuck, 306 S. Main, Mrs. Paul Gilmore has the end of her thumb cut off by a drunken customer who was unhappy with the manner of the wrapping.

Dec. 24 • Salt Lake City Judge Frank E. Moss gives temporary Christmas liberty to 42 jail inmates. Contrary to tradition, City Prosecutor Bruce R. McConkie objects to the motion. Two of the inmates return, drunk, within 24 hours, pleading to be let back in.

Dec. 25 • Snow and ice delay travel through much of northern Utah. Ten people are injured.

• Thrilled with his new Christmas pellet gun, Melvin Rogers, 11, 714 Blair St., promptly shoots his 4-year-old sister Margaret in the face with it. She is taken to the emergency hospital, where the pellet is safely removed.

Dec. 26 • Salt Lake City sounds its air raid siren in a previously announced drill. Most residents fail to hear it.

Dec. 29 • In last-minute compliance with a federal order, Japanese, German, and Italian "aliens" in the Salt Lake area turn in more than 200 radios and 300 cameras.

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1966

Dec. 27 • Local police agencies are scratching their heads over who scaled a fence at Camp Williams, pried open a steel bunker door and stole 400 pounds of "plastic" explosives and 6,000 feet of primer cord.

Dec. 28 • Beverly Mace, 34, wounded in the Dec. 21 Lally's Tavern shooting by serial killers Myron Lance and Walter Kelbach, dies.

Dec. 29 • An early-morning fire on the fifth floor of the Deseret Building — 100 South and Main in Salt Lake City — results in $50,000 in damage before the fire department can put it out.

• Near Syracuse, 16 rail cars attached to a runaway Union Pacific locomotive jump the tracks and smash into local businesses. Damage is estimated at $250,000.

Also this week • "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan nears the top of the charts. Walt Disney's "Follow Me, Boys!" starring Fred MacMurray and Vera Miles opens at the Capitol Theater.

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1991

Dec. 27 • When they are refused permission to throw a party at 2628 W. Sable Ave., five teenage boys set the house on fire.

Dec. 29 • During an argument over a stiletto that his son received as a Christmas gift, a Salt Lake man is stabbed in the stomach in the family's front yard in the 900 South block of Windsor Street.

Dec. 30 • Kennecott refinery crews work to transfer sulfuric acid from three railroad cars that jumped the track near 2100 South and 9200 West. Each car carries 35,000 gallons of acid, but none of it leaked into the ground.

Also this week • "Hook," starring Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, opens in Utah theaters. A half-gallon of ice cream costs 98 cents. Top sirloin steak is $1.69 per pound.