In a recent interview Barney Oldfield decrys the American love for danger. He says: “We are living in a fast age, and a man who is willing to sacrifice his bones and gore on the alter of highly-seasoned sport is the man of the hour. It is not enough that Americans bring forth beautiful specimens of inventive genius and mechanical skill, but they must be raced around a circular track where there is a chance of killing a driver or two. The rational diversions no longer satisfy. Instead, the sports that savor of a casualty list are the ones that prove the most popular.

50 Years Ago, 1956

Lewiston’s Board of Finance last night voted to purchase approximately 120,000 gallons of gasoline for city use from Gulf Oil Corp., the low bidder at 11.19 cents a gallon plus Federal taxes. Other bids were turned in by Tidewater Associated Oil Co., $0.1434; Socony Vacuum Oil Co., $0.1823; Shell Oil Co., $0.1465; American Oil Co., $0.1740; and Esso Standard Oil Co., $0.1740.

25 Years Ago, 1981

Bounties have been paid on a variety of wild animals through the years, now, a bounty is being offered for pennies!

The inability of the Federal Reserve System to provide enough pennies is causing banks around the country to offer a bounty for them. The idea has reached Maine, with the state’s third-largest bank, Northeast Bankshare Assn., offering $1.10 for 100 pennies. A similar shortage prompted a like response last summer.

The shortage of pennies is due to the fact that people are not spending them. Normally, 40 to 50 percent of pennies shipped out by the Fed are recycled. For the six months of this year, the recycled pennies dropped by 35 percent.

In Arkansas, one bank advertised an offer of $1.10 a hundred and was swamped with 271,000 pennies in two hours. One person brought in 12,000 and made a $12 profit. Another bank offered $1.20, without much of any advertising. It was NOT swamped.