25 Years Ago

 It's January 1979. Fidel Castro marks his 20th year in power.

 In Philadelphia, the annual New Year's Day Mummers Parade is postponed due to rain and fog.

 Conrad Hilton, 91, founder of  Hilton Hotels, dies.

 Vietnam captures Phnom Penh.

 Richard Blackwell's list of the Worst Dressed Women includes Dolly Parton, Suzanne Somers, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Bette Midler.

 Actor Jack Soo, 62, best known as Det. Nick Yemana on TV's Barney Miller, dies of esophageal cancer.

 Actor Ted Cassidy, 46, who played Lurch on The Addams Family, dies from complications following open heart surgery.

 The Civil Aeronautics Board orders airlines to create special seating sections for cigar and pipe smokers.

 The world's second test tube baby is born in Glasgow, Scotland.

 John Wayne, 71, undergoes a nine-hour operation for stomach cancer.

 The Shah leaves Iran and the Ayatollah Khomeni, vows to return to Iran and establish a provisional government.

 An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hits Iran.

 In Washington, 60,000 people participate in the March for Life.

 The Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl, beating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31.

 Willie Mays is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 Former Texas Governor John Connally, 61, announces that he is running for President.

 Pope John Paul II visits Santo Domingo. It is his first foreign trip.  Former Vice-President and Governor of New York State Nelson Rockefeller, 70, 
(pictured below during a visit to Owego in 1970), dies of a heart attack in New York City.

Jim Raftis (right) interviews Governor Nelson Rockefeller (left) during a visit to the Tioga County Fair in August 1970. Rockefeller died 25 years ago this month.  (more photos below)

 About 40 refugees from southeast Asia are expected to arrive soon in Broome County.  As many as 200 could settle in our area this year.

 Wilson Hospital installs a CT scanner, a computer-run X-ray machine which scans the entire body.

 A New York Poll shows that 62% of New Yorkers approve of restrictions on smoking in public spaces.

 A new Columbian Mutual building is under construction on the Vestal Parkway.

 A gallon of gasoline costs more than 70 cents and is expected to cost more than 
80 cents in a few weeks. 

 Kimberly E. Gaylord of Apalachin is chosen as the new "Voice of Hope" to 
represent Tioga County's unit of the American Cancer Society.

 In Greene, about 5,000 people attend an open house at the newly renovated 
Sherwood Hotel.

 Skyline Amusement Park will open this year as Mountain Top Amusement Park.

 At Owego Free Academy, a 17-year-old student is stabbed during a fight with another student.

 Monday night TV shows include Little House on the Prairie,The Tim Conway Show, Mork and Mindy, How the West Was Won, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Lou Grant.

 Movies playing in local theaters include Watership Down, California Suite, Every Which Way But Loose, Superman, ForceTen from Navarone, The Class of Miss MacMichael starring Glenda Jackson, Pinocchio, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Bermuda Triangle.

 And this year's Dine-A-Mate costs $10. Happy New Year! 

More photos taken in 1970 of Governor Nelson Rockefeller at the Tioga County Fair: