Look Back ... to a hospital 'open house,' 1949

May 11—May 11, 1949, in The Star: The birthday of Florence Nightingale, May 12, will be observed in Anniston and the nation as National Hospital Day. Approaching the end of its fifth year as a community hospital and as the successor to Garner Hospital, Anniston Memorial Hospital has rendered care and service to more than 20,000 separate bed patients and more than 10,000 emergency or ambulatory patients in less than five years. "Open house" will be held at the hospital Thursday afternoon and evening, and the lobby of the hospital will be specially decorated for the day, and students in the school of nursing will act as hostesses for the day. They will also visit with prospective students and their families to inform them about the program. Also this date: Near Talladega yesterday a 41-acre field of eroded, practically worthless land was reclaimed over the course of eight hours, thanks to a "land reclamation school" conducted by the Extension Service at Auburn. The field is part of the 600-acre farm of the Presbyterian Orphanage, the work being directed by Talladega County Agent O. V. Hill and Extension Engineer J. B. Wilson. The orphanage's director is the Rev. J. E. Stauffer, a Presbyterian pastor formerly of Anniston.

May 11, 1999, in The Star: The Anniston City Council last night voted 4-1 to allow city taxi services to raise their rates for the first time since 1990. The new ordinance allows taxicabs to charge $1.50 for the first tenth of a mile (up from one dollar) and ten cents for each additional tenth of a mile. Thomas Carmichael, a driver for Andy's City Taxi, explained why the raise was necessary. He said he might get $100 for a good 12-hour shift in Anniston, but $20 goes for gas, then he splits the remaining $80 with the owner of Andy's, William A. Anderson. "Forty dollars in 12 hours," that's lower than minimum wage, said Carmichael.