50 Years Ago COURTESY NIGHT OBSERVED BY MERCHANTS—The importance of courtesy in the Westminster shopping center was given emphasis at the "Courtesy Night" meeting held Monday evening by members of the Retail Merchants Association when they entertained about 250 employees in the Westminster Methodist church. The affair was held in the lecture room of the church with the program chairman John R. Byers in charge. Greetings were extended by President A. Willis Wampler, Jr., He told the group that the purpose of the meeting was for the employees to become better acquainted and more community-minded relative to retail merchandising. Progress in the past 25 years and the use of automobiles have changed trends in retailing, he said. Westminster, the county seat, is centrally located, has large free parking space and well-stocked stores with comparable merchandise and prices, making it a convenient shopping center for a wide area, he declared. Democratic Advocate, April 1, 1949.

75 Years Ago CAT SHORT CIRCUITS ELECTRIC LINE—On the Jacob W. Dubs farm, near Lineboro, a curious incident occurred Friday morning. The Glen Rock Light and Power Company, whose lighting system runs across the farm, suffered a bit of inconvenience and loss as the result of the foolish prank of a large Maltese cat. The animal climbed one of the poles, to the very top in fact, and came into contact with several wires thus causing a short-circuit. The pole was set afire, and several feet of it burned before the current was turned off at Glen Rock. Damages were repaired by the Light Company in short order. The cat was found hanging over the cross-arm of the pole, partly resting upon the wires, and "dead as a door nail," for 11,000 volts had passed through it's body. Democratic Advocate, April 4, 1924.