25 Years Ago

It's April 1974.

French President Georges Pompidou dies.

At the Academy Awards, "The Sting" wins seven Oscars including Best Picture. Glenda Jackson and Jack Lemmon win for best actors. Ten-year-old Tatum O'Neal wins for best supporting actress. As David Niven is speaking, a streaker runs across stage. Niven remarks, "Isn't is fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off his clothes and showing his shortcomings."

Patricia Hearst, 20, announces that she has renounced her former life and joined the Symboinese Liberation Army who kidnaped her 58 days ago.

In California, 200,000 people attend the Jam I rock festival to hear Earth, Wind & Fire; Black Sabbath; Deep Purple; and Seals & Crofts.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, a Swedish group named Abba wins with a song called Waterloo.

With his 715th home run, Hank Aaron breaks the home run record set by Babe Ruth.

President Nixon signs legislation to raise the minimum hourly wage to $2.30 by January 1976.

Israel's Prime Minister Gold Meir resigns after five years in office.

Westar I, the first commercially owned satellite, is launched. It will provide voice, data, TV, and telex transmission services.

Patricia Hearst (a.k.a. Tania) participates in a bank robbery in San Francisco.

Frank McGee, former host of the Today Show, dies at the age of 51.

Lt. William Calley's sentence is cut in half from 20 to 10 years for the My Lai Massacre.

William "Bud" Abbot, of the Abbot & Costello comedy team, dies at the age of 78.

Nixon releases 1,308 pages of edited transcripts in response to the House Judiciary Committee subpoena.

Elizabeth Taylor, 42, and Richard Burton, 48, decide to end their marriage.

Actress Agnes Moorehead, Endora on TV's Bewitched, dies in Minnesota.

Matthew McHugh, a 35-year-old lawyer from Ithaca, announces his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 27th district.

About 8,000 fans fill the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena for a Grand Funk concert.

Easter day temperatures reach into the high seventies. At night, violent thunderstorms rip through the area causing power outages. A tornado touches down in Berkshire.

Local gas prices range from 44.9¢ to 58¢ a gallon.

The Tioga County Boys Club admits their 1000th member.

Top tunes include Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver, The Lord's Prayer by Sister Janet Mead, and Bennie and the Jets by Elton John.

Wednesday night TV shows include Chase, The Cowboys, Kojak, and Doc Elliott.

Movies playing in local theaters include Cinderella Liberty, The Great Gatsby, Blazing Saddles, Serpico, The Candidate, Disney's Alice in Wonderland, The Way We Were, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Happy Easter!