This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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 1917, 1942, 1967 and 1992 — 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.
1917
Jan. 29 • Twenty Union Pacific passenger trains finally arrive in Ogden after being marooned by snow on the Wyoming desert. It is reportedly the worst storm in the railroad's history.
• More than 250 cases of whiskey are confiscated at the wholesale liquor store of C.H. Reilley because all of the bottles are short by 2 ounces.
• Burglars break into Ogden High School and batter open the safe in Principal J.E. Beeson's office, escaping with $300.
Jan. 30 • Margaret Sharrock Elliott, of 1165 Kensington in Salt Lake City, receives news that her son, James, has been killed in action on the Somme while serving with the British army.
Feb. 1 • Many families in northern Utah are living in a single room because of the desperate shortage of coal to heat the rest of their houses.
Feb. 2 • Two women in the Germania Café, 100 S. West Temple, engage in a brawl over a kitten. Miss Jane Barrett, the "lady cop-ette," arrives and arrests the two women or a charge of screaming profane language.
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1942
Jan. 30 • It is confirmed that Ernest R. Gargaro, 22, of SLC, was killed at Pearl Harbor.
• Student body heads of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University enlist in the U.S. Navy together. Both Paul E. Felt, 20 (the U.), and Val J. Sheffield (BYU) apparently planned the act to show that their patriotism overcame school rivalry.
Feb. 2 • Hundreds of Japanese, German and Italian residents of Utah report to post offices to re-register. The protests made during the first registration in 1940 are absent.
Also this week • A 10-pound bag of Utah potatoes costs 29 cents. "How Green Was My Valley," starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, opens at the Centre Theater. Admission: 30 cents.
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1967
Jan. 30 • To show his support for U.S. troops in Vietnam, Richard Dean Womack, 23, 1076 E. 200 South, decides to sit in a tree in front of the Beehive House at the corner of South Temple and State Street. He remains there for several days.
Feb. 1 • The North West Council of the Community Action Program urges the hiring of 15 more police officers. Although the crime rate in 1966 rose by 11.5 percent, the police force lost 95 men during the past five years.
Feb. 2 • The Utah Legislature ponders reducing the level of presumed intoxication from .15 to .10 or even .05 blood alcohol content.
Feb. 2 • A go-go dancer accused of dancing topless onstage at the PeCon Lounge, 12 W. 300 South, is charged with obscene conduct.
Also this week • At Buttrey Foods, T-bone steak is 89 cents a pound. "A Fistful of Dollars" starring Clint Eastwood opens. At 5:30 p.m. every weekday, Clint Walker stars in the series "Cheyenne." And "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees is STILL at the top of the charts.
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1992
Jan. 28 • According to a Ernst & Young survey of housing costs, Salt Lake City is the most affordable place to live in the U.S., followed by Denver and Houston.
Jan. 29 • The Utah State Legislature debates returning to "bestiality" laws to the Utah Criminal Code, making it a crime against nature for anyone to have sex with an animal, "meaning any vertebrate creature, including fowls but excluding human beings."
Jan. 30 • The Salt Lake Valley faces the longest stretch of smog inversion since 1931.
Also this week • "All 4 Love" by Color Me Badd tops the charts.