25 YEARS AGO by Beverly A. Brown
It's June 1974.

A new law in New York State allows drivers to go right on a red light if there's a sign allowing it.

Dr. Henry M. Heimlich develops the Heimlich maneuver.

In Switzerland, Elizabeth Taylor, 42, is granted a divorce from Richard Burton, 48..

Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikob defects in Toronto while on tour.

William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist is the speaker at Seattle University's graduation ceremonies. The programs reads "Commencement Exorcises."

In an Atlanta church, Alberta King, mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is shot and killed.

The Owego-Apalachin school budget is rejected in a second vote, 1,579 to 1,088.

More than 900 students graduate from Broome Community College.

Twenty-eight contestants enter the Little Miss Apalachin Contest at the annual Apalachin Firemen's Field Days. The winner is nine-year-old Kathy Young, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Young of Apalachin.

New York State give the Village of Endicott two plans to alleviate traffic problems on Main Street. One of the plans calls for tearing down the building in which Pat Mitchell's Ice Cream store is located. Endicott Mayor Joseph Caldwell say, "Knocking down Pat Mitchell's would be like demolishing St. Patrick's Cathedral."

IBM Endicott announces plans to hire 500 people by the end of the year. That would bring the total number of employees to 9,500.

Kopernick Observatory in Vestal is dedicated. A container of Polish coins and soil is sealed behind the cornerstone.

Six New York State Regents examination answer sheets are stolen in Brooklyn. Nine Regents exams are cancelled. Most local schools are giving their students Regents credit for the course.


The Hand of Man in Owego opens with a strawberry festival. The indoor farmers market is located in a former dress factory on Front Street. Owners Pat and Roger Hansen have restored the inside of the building to resemble a 19th Century general store. It will be open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday throughout summer and fall.

At Owego Free Academy, 304 students receive diplomas.

The Owego-Apalachin school budget finally passes on the third vote, 1,275 to 768. School officials are relieved.

We're listening to Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings, The Streak by Ray Stevens, You Make Me Feel Brand New by the Stylistics, and Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot.

Friday night TV shows include Sanford and Son, The Brady Bunch, The Brian Keith Show, Good Times, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Odd Couple.

If you're going to the movies you can see The Last Porno Flick (don't worry, it's rated PG), Where the Lilies Bloom, The Lords of Flatbush, Daisy Miller starring Cybill Shepherd, Old Yeller, and The Incredible Journey.