San Francisco tonight is the city of desolation. It seems that the height of its misery was reached at dusk when the flames burst from all sides of the beautiful Hotel Fairmont, the structure that above every other was apparently most strongly entrenched against the attack of the all-consuming fire, and surrounding that lofty pinnacle of flames as far as the eye could see to the south, to the east, and far out to the west lay in cruel fantastic heaps, charred and smoking, all that remained of the prosperous city. The metropolis of the Pacific coast was in ashes.

50 Years Ago, 1956

SOUTH PARIS – Some 40 cucumber growers and family members attended morning and afternoon sessions here Thursday at the annual cucumber growers meeting sponsored by the Oxford Pickle Co. and receiving the cooperation of the Extension Service. In addition to a full discussion of 1956 cucumber growing prospects, those present were guests at the pickle processing firm at a dinner held at the South Paris Universalist Church.

25 Years Ago, 1981

A few men with a vision of liberty, and the courage to try to make it reality, became The Minutemen who fired the first shots to free the 13 colonies from the British Empire. To the British, they were rebels. To fellow colonists and their successors for over two centuries, they were patriots.

Today, we honor the memory of these brave men who were willing to risk everything, including their lives, in order to be free.

Strangely, only two states, Maine and Massachusetts, observe this special holiday dedicated to the men chiefly responsible for the formation of what is today the United States of America, the most powerful nation on earth. Congress never has recognized it as a national holiday.

Let us remember, with appreciation, this Patriots Day.

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