Following are summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and New Era. This column appears on page B1 of the printed newspaper each Monday. The items are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at the Lancaster County Library, 125 N. Duke St.

25 years ago

SINGING PRAISES: U.S. Rep. Robert S. Walker basked in the warm praises of three fellow members of the “Conservative Opportunity Society” at a reception and rally at the Brunswick Motor Inn in downtown Lancaster. Reps. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Vin Weber of Minnesota and Connie M. Mack III of Florida told the crowd that the lawmakers were in the forefront of a bold new conservative movement that was reaching out to Americans through C-SPAN, which was broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House of Representatives. (Sept. 22, 1984)

BOWIE SIGNS: Sam Bowie, a 7-foot-1 native of Lebanon, became the third-highest-paid rookie in National Basketball Association history when he reached a contract agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers. Terms of the six-year deal were not revealed, but the Oregonian newspaper reported that it totaled $5 million. Only Akeem Abdul Olajuwan and Ralph Sampson, his Houston Rockets teammate, had heftier rookie contracts, at $6.3 million and $5.3 million respectively. (Sept. 26, 1984)

NEVER GIVE UP: Actress Patricia Neal brought her “never-give-up” message to about 60 residents of the Whitehall-Leader Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Abbeyville Road. Neal, 58, leaned on a cane with her left hand. The use of her right leg was impaired by a series of strokes nearly 20 years earlier. “I had three massive strokes. I wasn’t expected to live., but I did,” she said. “And here I am.” (Sept. 26, 1984)

50 years ago

CROSSWALK: The crosswalk on North Queen Street at Penn Square was being painted with a red luminous paint for a double purpose — to publicize the Lancaster County United Campaign and as an experiment in traffic safety. The red crosswalk was being decorated with white circles containing United Campaign symbols. The city’s traffic engineer said that if the painting proved effective for traffic safety, similar work might be done at other intersections. (Sept. 22, 1959)

ESCAPE: A short-term prisoner escaped from Lancaster County Prison by piling three benches end on end to scale a 25-foot wall. The 24-year-old inmate was serving 3 to 6 months for clipping off the 1959 registration tab from another motorist’s auto license. The day after his escape, the inmate showed up at the prison’s front gate, dressed as a woman, and turned himself in. “I picked a disguise as a female because my mother always dressed me in ladies’ clothing for Halloween,” the inmate reportedly told the warden. (Sept. 24 and 26, 1959)

75 years ago

DRUG CHARGES: A 27-year-old East Petersburg woman was arrested on charges of purchasing, possessing and self-administering narcotics. Police said the suspect was not a registered drug addict, but was married to one. She admitted to obtaining narcotics from a North Duke Street physician, police said, and the doctor admitted to selling the woman narcotics without a prescription. (Sept. 24, 1934)

100 years ago

FULTON HONORED: Thousands of people turned out to celebrate the unveiling of a memorial tablet honoring inventor Robert Fulton, whose steamboat the “Clermont” had sailed successfully up the Hudson River in 1807. The celebration took place at Fulton’s birthplace in southern Lancaster County. Among the dignitaries attending the event was Gov. Edwin Stuart. The Lancaster, Oxford and Southern Railroad carried four trainloads of people to the festivities. Thousands of others arrived by team and scores traveled by foot. More than 50 automobiles also brought people to the site. (Sept. 21, 1909)