Look Back ... to stranger danger in Anniston in 1949
Apr. 13—April 13, 1949, in The Star: From a Page 1 brief: "A 'sex maniac' who reportedly annoyed young girls at school [in Anniston] yesterday is being sought by city police. Described by officials at North Noble School as a 'slender, black-haired man,' he is said to have attempted to entice at least two students to enter his car during the noon recess. Police are checking several clues to the identity of the man, whose automobile carried Georgia license plates, they said today." Also this date: Preservation of the two-party system of government in the United States and unity in the Democratic Party in Alabama were urged by Vice President Alben W. Barkley in a milestone Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner held last night in Birmingham at the Tutwiler Hotel. The dinner was sponsored by members of the Democratic Party in Alabama who did not join the "states' rights" bolt against President Truman last fall. Members of the crowd paid $15 per plate, filling three dining rooms and other areas of the plush hotel.
April 13, 1999, in The Star: As its trustees continue to mull a move to Fort McClellan, Marion Military Institute is applying to the U.S. Department of Education for eligibility to acquire land and buildings here for free or at drastically reduced cost — on grounds that it might be a "public agency." As a way to show its support to the "pro-Anniston" contingent among Marion stakeholders, members of the authority charged with developing McClellan today are expected to approve a resolution to encourage Marion to pick up and move to the fort. Also this date: In an attempt to keep people from cranking the volume up to 11 on publicly audible music, the Anniston City Council yesterday passed a noise ordinance to keep the lid on recent complaints about bone-jarring tunes. Borrowing from an identical law in Montgomery, the new rule sets discretionary limits on sound coming from cars, homes and businesses and mandates distance limits on how far away it should be heard. "It's tough, but it's a good ordinance," said Anniston Mayor Gene Stedham.
Assistant Metro Editor Bill Edwards: 256-236-1551. On Twitter @bedwards_star.
