•A prohibition against the regular use of automobiles and motor cycles for rural free delivery, has been issued by the U.S. Postal authorities. Some sage, old philosopher advised against being either the first or the last to adopt a new idea, but the Postmaster General seems willing to take a chance.

•Many spark plugs are seated in the cylinders in such a way that in removing them there is danger of cracking the porcelain, unless care is taken to set the wrench so that it does not clasp the metal tip on the end of the porcelain.

50 Years Ago, 1955

“Never saw anything like it in my life!”

This was the comment of more than a half dozen Twin City residents after they took a look at the moon last night.

If a small circle around the moon is the forerunner of an ordinary storm, then a real humdinger must be on the way. The “halo” or path of light around the moon last night covered nearly a quarter of the sky. Haze ringed the round moon and then much further out the huge circle glowed brightly.

The circle is made up of tiny, six-sided crystals of ice that catch the light of the moon and then, acting like minute prisms, reflect it back to the earth, said Dr. Karl S. Woodcock of Bates College.

25 Years Ago, 1980

Americans of all ages pause today to observe Thanksgiving Day. It is an occasion for family reunions and happiness. In private meditation or in the churches, it is a day for prayful thanks.

The first Thanksgiving Day was observed in the Plymouth Colony, as the Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest. That historic event was in October. It was not until after the Civil War that the observance was moved to November, after President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday.

Today’s observance is clouded by the fact that 52 Americans remain hostages of a fanatical regime in Iran, where they have been held in defiance of international law for more than a year.