R. W. Murch of Hampden, who was 84 years old last December, cut 30 cords of forest wood in four foot length from his wood lot, three and one-half miles from his home in Hampden, and hauled it with his own team during the winter. After getting the wood home Mr. Murch sawed it into stove lengths and split it. This is a remarkable performance for a man of Mr. Murch’s age, and it is safe to say there are very few of the millions of people in the world today who will live to his present age and be able to perform this feat. Mr. Murch’s father lived to be 93 years of age.

50 Years Ago, 1955

Pope Pius XII, the Roman Catholic Church’s vicar of Christ, gave his blessing today to one of the greatest throng of foreign visitors ever gathered in the Vatican City to celebrate Easter. For the church it was Good Friday, with the most mournful services of Holy Week, commemorating the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. For the 100,000 Romans, pilgrims and tourists who thronged sun-drenched St. Peter’s Square, the appearance of the white-robed pontiff gave evidence of his steady recovery from illness which last December threatened his life.

25 Years Ago, 1980

The Lake Auburn water level is “low but it’s not a scare situation.” That’s what Auburn Water District Superintendent Earle A. Tarr Jr. told Tuesday’s meeting of the board of trustees of the Auburn Water District. Tarr told trustees that the level was at 259.4 feet as compared with a level of 259.2 on the same date in 1948, on of the lowest level years on record. Tarr said the mean for April 1 for the 40 year period of record-keeping is 260.5, a 1.3-foot difference in level.

The Carter administration, raising anew the possibility of a blockade of the Persian Gulf, warned U.S. allies Tuesday that their oil supplies could be jeopardized unless they cooperate in pressuring Iran to free its 50 American hostages.