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

TMI STUDY: A citizens’ advisory panel on the Three Mile Island cleanup decided to study how the 1979 nuclear accident may have affected the health of area residents. The panel, set up by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was chaired by Lancaster Mayor Arthur E. Morris. (Oct. 12, 1984)

TRAIN TRAGEDY: A 48-year-old paving contractor was killed when an Amtrak train smashed into his car at a railroad crossing in Landisville. The accident happened on a Sunday afternoon on Oak Lane, just north of Main Street. The railroad crossing was not guarded with gates or flashing lights. (Oct. 15, 1984)

VILLAGE PLAN: St. Anne’s Home near Columbia was preparing to break ground for the first phase of a retirement village that was expected to lead, eventually, to 179 cottages and apartment units. St. Anne’s Village, as the project was called, was the first Catholic-affiliated retirement community in the church’s Harrisburg Diocese. The complex was to be located on a 30-acre tract just east of the nursing home, between Mountville and Columbia. (Oct. 16, 1984)

50 years ago

SOLID CITY: Downtown Lancaster had no reason to worry about losing business to suburban shopping centers, as long as it kept on its toes, according to a study by the City Planning Commission. “In the city,” the report stated, “retail sales have been rising continually to an all-time high in spite of the appearance of suburban shopping centers and increased congestion in the downtown.” (Oct. 13, 1959)

CUBS & ROSES: The Chicago Cubs agreed to sign a full working agreement with the Lancaster Red Roses baseball team. Local officials viewed the move as necessary to keep the local team in the Eastern League. Under the terms of a full agreement, the Cubs would train all local players at their spring base in Mesa, Ariz., and would also pay transportation expenses of any player coming to, or going from, the Lancaster team through the season. (Oct. 14, 1959)

WAGE HIKE: The Armstrong Cork Co. offered wage increases averaging 9 cents an hour to 2,400 floor plant employees. Floor plant workers were averaging $105 a week without the increase, according to the floor plant’s manager, M.D. Ford. That was about $15 a week above the average for the nation’s manufacturing industry, Ford said. Under the proposal, hourly wages would range from $1.95 to $2.93. (Oct. 16, 1959)

PARK SNACKS: The Long’s Park Commission announced plans to remove vending machines from the park. Officials said the machines had been a constant headache, were frequently jammed by slugs, required constant care and bred litter. The commission said it might eventually put a concession stand in the park to serve refreshments. (Oct. 16, 1959)

MONSTER TALK: Children of Lititz and Manheim were abuzz with rumors of a monster on the loose in the woods nearby. The monster was described as 7 feet tall and white all over, with a dog’s face, pink eyes and four or five arms. Skeptical parents put the whole thing down to pre-Halloween pranks, or too much television. But more than one mother reported that the monster was so real to her children that they were afraid to go out of the house at night. (Oct. 17, 1959)

75 years ago

BIRD FLEW: A woman in the 500 block of West Lemon Street was perplexed when she discovered a broken bedroom window and ruffled curtains, but no other disturbance in the room. While she pondered the situation, a pheasant flew from under a dresser and out the same window it had entered. (Oct. 16, 1934)

DIET TREND: “The trend in diets today is away from ‘fads’ and back to the more sane and sensible foods,” Mrs. Nancy Rowe, home economics expert and cooking school lecturer, declared during the second session of the Lancaster Newspapers Cooking School at Moose Hall. “One-day, two-day or 18-day diets and diets of only one or two foods are definitely out,” she said. (Oct. 17, 1934)

NEW ROAD: Thirty years of planning and negotiating ended as a half mile of road leading from Harrisburg Pike to the Oyster Point Road in East Hempfield Township was opened to traffic. The road passed the Landisville Camp Meeting grounds and the burial grounds of Landisville Mennonite Church. Plans for the road has stalled for years until the Landisville Civic Association decided to sponsor the project. (Oct. 17, 1934)

100 years ago

FAIR CROWDS: Crowds estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 turned out for the opening day of the county fair along Harrisburg Pike. Children were admitted free, and city schools closed at noon. Fair patrons went in almost every conceivable way. Most took the special trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but many walked while others went by teams and some by automobiles. The children were disappointed, however, when aeronaut Johnny Mack was unable to make a balloon ascension because of high winds. (Oct. 13, 1909)

UGLY SIGNS: City council received a report stating that overhead signs that had been done away with were coming back in more objectionable form. The report scored the signs as being cumbersome, ugly and, in some cases, cheap. The committee on municipal affairs had a photographer take pictures of the unsightly signs and planned to have the photos published. (Oct. 13, 1909)