25 Years Ago

It's May 1980. The fire burning in an abandoned coal mine in Centralia, Pennsylvania, covers more than 100 acres.

Yugoslavia's president Josip Tito, 87, dies.

Pope John Paul II's six-nation tour of Africa is touched by tragedy when nine people are killed and many injured in a rush to attend Mass.

Richard Burton begins rehearsal in New York for a new production of Camelot.

Tonight Show host Johnny Carson signs a new three-year contract with NBC that will reduce the show from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, but Carson will appear four times a week instead of three. 

Edmund Muskie, 66, is sworn in as the 58th Secretary of State.

The American father-son team of Maxie and Kris Anderson complete the first non-stop, coast-to-coast balloon crossing. Their balloon, the Kitty Hawk, traveled from San Francisco to Quebec in five days.

Actor Hugh Griffith, 67, dies. He won an Oscar for his performance as Sheikh Iderhim in Ben Hur.

Rosalynn Carter ties a yellow ribbon around a maple tree on the White House lawn to initiate a national campaign of support for the American being held hostage in Iran.

Shawn Weatherly, 20, of South Carolina, is crowned Miss USA.

Mt St. Helens erupts. The explosion - which rips the top off the summit - could be heard more than 100 miles away.

Pope John Paul II celebrates his 60th birthday.

The movie The Empire Strikes Back is released in limited cities

Actress Marlo Thomas marries talk show host Phil Donahue.

George Bush drops out of the Presidential race and congratulates Ronald Reagan on his campaign for the GOP nomination.
 

In Owego, Emery M. Mullen, 74, founder of Mullen's Card and Stationery Store on Lake Street, dies.

In Kirkwood, the Link Division of The Singer Company wins $97 million contract to build two B-52 flight simulation trainers for the Air Force. It is the biggest contract in the company's history.

The Rockefeller family gives more than 500 acres of land to New York State, including the homestead where John D. Rockefeller was born.

Twelve American flags are flying in courthouse square in Owego in support of the hostages in Iran.

Stack's Fine Furniture store on the corner of Lake and Front Streets in Owego is for sale. The business was founded in 1959 by the Stack family, and sold in 1977 to a businessman who now wants to get out of the furniture business. He is selling the business for $80,000 and the building for $110,000.

Movies playing at local theaters include The Black Stallion, Night Games, Where the Buffalo Roam, Foxes starring Jodie Foster, The Nude Bomb starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Love at First Bite with George Hamilton, Manhattan with Woody Allen, The Long Riders, The Gong Show Movie, Enter the Dragon, Lady and the Tramp, and Meatballs.

NBC cancels The Big Show; United States; Hello, Larry; and The Best of Saturday Night Live. The network plans to add five new shows to its fall schedule: Harper Valley PTA with Barbara Eden, Flamingo Road, Thursday Games, Speak Up America, and Hill Street Blues.

Top tunes include Funky Town by Lipps Inc., Call Me by Blondie, Coming Up by Paul McCartney, and Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer by Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes.

And a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes costs 95 cents.