What was making the news in the Newark Advertiser in 1924, 1974 and 1999
The Advertiser has once again opened its archives to see what was making the news this week 25, 50 and 100 years ago.
25 years ago - December 26, 1999
ABOVE: Youngsters at a playgroup got stuck into some extra Christmas activities in the run-up to the festive season.
Children who go to the North Muskham Playgroup made Christmas crackers and cards using coloured paper, glitter, card and glue.
* Revellers hoping to enjoy a millennium pub crawl in Newark town centre have been warned they could be left out in the cold.
Despite claims that the new millennium will bring the biggest New Year’s Eve celebrations ever, with pubs open for a possible 36 hours, the reality in Newark will be ticket-only parties, family gatherings and pubs closing early.
Many pubs will be closed to the public.
The stalls in Newark Market Place will be cleared, giving people a chance to gather, but the police were doubtful the huge numbers would turn up.
* There are hopes that Newark Parish Church will be packed on New Year’s Eve for a service marking the end of the millennium and heralding the new one.
Up to 1,000 people are expected at the 5pm service, which will involve about 20 churches of several denominations.
* A retired post office worker who remembers the dark days of the blackout during the second world war has decorated his house with thousands of lights.
Mr Harry Cook and his wife Ann have gradually increased the number of festive decorations at the semi-detached bungalow in Macauley Drive, Balderton, over the last six years.
* Southwell Workhouse is the only UK inclusion in a newly-formed coalition of international sites of conscience.
The coalition, which was officially formed at a conference in Italy, was set up by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York.
The museum wanted to bring together sites from around the world that are based on social issues.
50 years ago - December 28, 1974
ABOVE: A team of eight members of Southwell Minster Youth Club spent 24 hours taking part in a table football marathon.
Together with proceeds from carol singing, they made about £100 for Save The Children.
* The message for 1975 from industry in the region is one of expansion and growth, despite the uncertainties of inflation and employment.
The coal industry is predicting a boom year. There will be a large expansion in the textile trade, while engineering companies hope to overcome manifold problems and at least maintain the performances achieved in 1974.
Ransome Hoffmann Pollard is confident it will overcome its problems and this must be encouraging for its workforce of around 2,500.
* A total of 76 people missed their Christmas dinner at the Robin Hood, Newark, when it was established that 35 people had contracted food poisoning after a turkey meal at the hotel.
* Broken bottles and jagged tins left over from the Christmas festivities are a potential danger to refuse collectors, Newark District Council warns.
He is appealing to local people to surround such rubbish with cardboard or other wrapping and make sure it is in the middle of the dustbin or paper sack, and there will be no sharp edges likely to cut the collectors’ hands.
* Over the Christmas period the kitchens at Balderton Hospital cooked 40 turkeys and 100lb of Christmas pudding for the 350 patients and 300 meals-on-wheels dinners.
100 years ago - December 24, 1924
The spirit of Christmas was extended to some 150 children by Mrs B. Barnes, of the White Hind Hotel, who entertained them to a tea and concert.
Much trouble was expended in making the youngsters happy, and following the tea and entertainment a gift with a money box containing a coin was given to each child.
* Gaiety reigned supreme at the annual carnival dance of the Newark Thursday Football Club held in the Town Hall.
The ballroom was decorated with hanging streamers, balloons and lanterns and together with the picturesque original and amusing costumes of the dancers presented a brilliant scene.
* Donald Woolfitt, Newark’s young and gifted actor, who is now a member of Mr Matheson Lang’s Wandering Jew Company, delighted his friends and well-wishers at the Magnus School where he gave a dramatic recital.
The variety of his programme testified to his versatility and wonderful memory.
* A carnival dance was held in the Britannia Hall, Farndon, and was greatly enjoyed by upwards of 100.
Blanchett’s dance band, under the direction of Blanche Rigley, late of the Kinema, rendered delightful music and was one of the outstanding features of the evening.
* The Borough magistrates heard applications by a number of licensees for an extension of their hours from 3 to 4pm on Christmas Eve on account of the market.
The applications were granted.
* The closing of the school for the holidays was made the occasion for a Christmas party for the children of Laxton.
The centre of attention in the gaily decorated Parish Hall was a huge Christmas tree kindly given by Earl Manvers.
Beautifully ornamented and sparkling with frost in the light of its many tiny candles, it was a source of huge delight for the children and their parents.
