Leonard Alwine submitted this photo of the Penn Alto Bottling Works plant along Wehnwood Road with its 1936 Dodge delivery truck loaded with Pepsi Cola beverages.

Local news on this date

75 years ago

Nov. 29, 1950: In the aftermath of the severe ice storm that paralyzed Blair County, Bell Telephone Co. sent 50 trucks and more than 100 men to help restore power. The Altoona Merchants declared “Operation Candlelight” for candles instead of electricity to light area homes. At least 200 bakery workers were out of work until full power was restored.

Nov. 30, 1950: Pennsylvania State Police had been able to use a tower at the American Telephone and Telegraph Company on Red Hill to broadcast emergency and routine police calls in spite of most other lines still being down because of the massive ice storm.

Altoona Hospital superintendent Robert L. Gill said that the hospital was reaching capacity because patients could not be discharged due to their damaged homes. Home care was unavailable for the same reason, and there was a large increase of injuries from falling on ice.

50 years ago

Nov. 29, 1975: St. Francis College in Loretto, Michael Strueber arts chairperson, was to partner with Mount Aloysius Junior College in Cresson, Hettie Jane Osborne arts chairperson, to offer a cooperative arts program leading to a bachelor’s degree in art.

Nov. 30, 1975: Gethsemane United Methodist Church was holding religious instructions for exceptional or special needs children from McKinley School in a program approved by the Altoona Area School Board.

Pamela Tomassetti, Blair County Junior Miss and a senior at Bishop Guilfoyle High School, was in Reading for a week of activities before a Pennsylvania Junior Miss was chosen. The winner would then be eligible for the America Junior Miss competition in Mobile, Ala. The local competition was sponsored by the Williamsburg Jaycee-Ettes.

25 years ago

Nov. 29, 2000: The Leap-the-Dips roller coaster at Lakemont Park, the nation’s oldest (1902), was awarded a state historical marker after a two-year registration effort. John Kazmaier, president of the Leap-the-Dips Foundation, led the ceremony.

Nov. 30, 2000: The Altoona Area School District Foundation honored three former employees in ceremonies at Logan Elementary School: Jane Piccirilli, manager of Roosevelt Junior High cafeteria, Karl Luckner, teacher and guidance counselor at Keith Junior High and Edith Walker Isacke, teacher at Altoona Area and director at Altoona Vo-Tech.

A 26-foot Christmas tree with 17,000 lights at Altoona Hospital was to be called “The Lights of Love” tree in honor of special living or deceased people. The Hospital Employees Choir was to entertain and chaplain Edward Eckenrode was to offer a blessing.

10 years ago

Nov. 29, 2015: The Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association estimated 1.028 million live trees were grown and cut down in Pennsylvania while the National Christmas Tree Association estimated 28.3 million nationwide.

Nov. 30, 2015: The Blair County Chapter of the NAACP was to honor president Don Witherspoon with the Central Blair Recreation & Park Commission Respected Citizen Award. Witherspoon was a U.S. Navy veteran, had worked for Conrail and Small Tubes. He belonged to many local organizations and had four children.

For the first time in 200 years, Patton residents would no longer depend on Chest Creek Dam for their water supply, as a multi-million dollar well project was nearing completion. A group called American Rivers said they would like to remove the dam and let the water flow naturally.

Nation, world news on this date

Nov. 29

In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.

In 1961, Enos the chimpanzee was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5

spacecraft, which orbited Earth twice before splashing down safely south

of Bermuda.

In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned at age 43 while boating off California’s Santa Catalina Island with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.

In 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

Nov. 30

In 1782, the United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, which required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.

In 1999, an estimated 40,000 demonstrators clashed with police as they protested against the World Trade Organization as the WTO convened in Seattle.

In 2004, “Jeopardy!” fans saw Ken Jennings end his 74-game winning streak as he lost to real estate agent Nancy Zerg. Years later, Jennings became the host of “Jeopardy!”

Local news compiled by Tim Doyle. National, world news from The Associated Press.

Readers are encouraged to send or deliver old local photographs of general interest for use in Yesteryear. Information about people and places should be included. Photos must be 30 years old or older and should be sent to Yesteryear, Altoona Mirror, P.O. Box 2008, Altoona, PA 16603, or emailed to community@altoonamirror.com. For more information, call Brenda Carberry, community news coordinator, at 814-946-7459.