Looking back: May 6, 2013 

1988 (25 years ago)

• "More space is being filled at The Plaza of Roanoke Salem, which was recently remodeled - and renamed."
• "In its second layoff within four months, the General Electric plant in Salem will eliminate 135 jobs because of 'fierce global competition.' "
• "When Salem had finished playing the team with the worst record in the Carolina League on Thursday night, the biggest question had been answered. It seemed true that the Bucs were worse than the weather, Salem dropped both ends of a double header ... in games that began on a raw, blustery afternoon and ended in a cold rain."
• "While buses ferried passengers in and out of the ground-level concourse as usual, the second-floor mezzanine of the Valley Metro's downtown terminal gave itself over to the arts on Thursday evening. The ninth annual City Art Show officially opened."
• "The final days in the campaign for Roanoke City Council have created suspense that had been lacking for weeks."
• "Workers can expect higher deductibles, shorter hospital stays and closer scrutiny of their medical bills as Western Virginia employers try to contain the soaring prices of health care and insurance."

1963 (50 years ago)

• "A bath and tennis club will be opened in Montclair Estates the latter part of June. ... It will be called Montclair Bath and Tennis Club."
• "A steam-puffing, bell-twanging, whistle-screeching locomotive made its inaugural run over the half-mile of tracks at Lakeside Amusement Park Saturday."
• "City Council Monday night gave tentative approval to the establishment of a park [Bowman Park] in the Williamson Road area of Northwest Roanoke over the objection of a local historian that the action would result in the desecration of an old cemetery."
• "Roanoke Electric Steel Corp. is operating the nation's first continuous steel casting plant on a production basis, it was announced Tuesday."
• "There's one bad intersection in the Roanoke area that has no stop sign. And racing fans like it that way. It can be found in the center of the infield at the Roanoke Raceway, scene of the new thrill craze crazy 8 racing."
• "With the unfreezing of the city's property tax now a fiscal fact, several merchants and professional men appeared before the tax study commission Wednesday night to seek some sort of spring thaw in the special licenses they must pay to operate in the city."
• "Earl Scruggs' 2,500 or more miles of touring took him to Roanoke Thursday for an appearance with his partner, Lester Flatt, at the American Theatre. "
• "A brilliant meteor passed over Roanoke early Friday morning and the Astronomers Club is looking for people who observed it."

1938 (75 years ago)

• "An audience of nearly a thousand including some 200 white people, thrilled last night to the music of the Trade School Singers of Hampton Institute, presented by the Norfolk and Western Male Chorus on the occasion of their third anniversary and as part of the local celebration of National Music Week."
• "Entries for the resumed Roanoke Metropolitan golf tournament, starting over Blue Hills Saturday, were put to bed last night as 113, a surprising and highly satisfactory number to the committee which worked out final arrangements for the competition."
• "Roanoke's first 'zoop ball' tournament will begin on a court at the Y.M.C.A. this morning with 41 entries signed up to compete by last night."
• "An estimated crowd of 8,000 persons yesterday afternoon thrilled to the daring performance of an internationally known parachute jumper and some of the country's leading fliers who participated in one of the best air shows ever staged at the municipal airport."
• "Initiating a new attack on the perplexing traffic problem, City Council, by unanimous action yesterday, approved a resolution which paves the way for a possible four-months trial of parking meters in the heavily travelled business district."
• "A rain of chairs rung down the curtain on Promoter Pete Moore's wrestling show at the Roanoke auditorium last night as a mob of nearly 500 irate fans chased Jim [Goon] Henry to his dressing room."

1913 (100 years ago)

• "Common council convened at 8 o'clock last night for its regular monthly meeting. Besides the usual routine business ... council adopted a resolution making an appropriation of $150 to pay the rail road fare of indigent Confederate veterans to Gettysburg in June."
• "The local Socialist party of Roanoke, which has a paid-up membership of sixty-five, will have candidates in the field at the November election."
• "A long and varied list of offenders confronted Judge Berkeley in police court yesterday but His Honor was prepared for any emergency and disposed of the docket in less than 45 minutes."
• "The uniforms for the Vinton Military Band arrived this morning. ... These uniforms will not add to the music, but will give 'tone' to the appearance of our band."
• "The sixth day of the street car strike, yesterday was marked with the same quiet as on previous days."
• "That the debating societies in the Roanoke high school are growing more popular every day is evinced by the number of students and teachers who attended the debate held by the Martha Washington Literary Society Monday afternoon."
• "At the game Monday between Roanoke and Richmond, Blausser, the second baseman of the local team, received two shirts for the home run he pulled off in the game Saturday with Petersburg."
• "Though the fans tried to poke holes in the roof of the grand stand and succeeded in doing considerable damage to that portion of their anatomy which exudes the yells, there were no fatalities as the result of the ninth inning rally yesterday afternoon which put the Roanoke Tigers back in the front rank of the league and won the game 8 to 7."
• "Mrs. C.B. Cannaday [of Salem] was hostess on yesterday afternoon of a pleasant bridge party. The game was concluded with the serving of a palatable salad course."
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