MOMENTS IN TIME
• On Dec. 27, 1900, prohibitionist Carry Nation smashes up the bar at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kan. Nation became famous for carrying a hatchet and wrecking saloons as part of her anti-alcohol crusade. After the incident at the Carey Hotel, her fame increased as she continued her saloonsmashing campaign and spoke out in favor of temperance.
• On Dec. 28, 1869, the Knights of Labor, a labor union of tailors in Philadelphia, held the first Labor Day ceremonies in American history. In 1894, Congress designated the first Monday in September a legal holiday.
• On Dec. 29, 1940, London suffers its most devastating air raid when Germans firebomb the city. The next day, a newspaper photo of St. Paul's Cathedral standing undamaged amid the smoke and flames seemed to symbolize the capital's unconquerable spirit during the Battle of Britain.
• On Dec. 30, 1903, a fire in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago kills 591 people. There were no fire escapes or ladders, and an asbestos stage curtain that could have contained the fire to backstage turned out to be made of paper. All 30 fire exits were locked.
• On Dec. 31, 1972, Roberto Clemente, future Hall of Fame baseball player, is killed when the cargo plane in which he is traveling crashes off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente was on his way to deliver relief supplies to Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake.
• On Jan 1, 1951, the Zenith Radio Corp. of Chicago demonstrates the first pay-perview television system. The company sent movies over the airways via scrambled signals, and the 300 families who participated in the test could send telephone signals to decode the movies for $1 each.
• On Jan. 2, 1941, the Andrews Sisters record "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on Decca Records. The song, which became a classic World War II hit, was heard in the Abbott and Costello film "Buck Privates." The Andrews Sisters were the most popular "girl group" of their time.
