Chuck J. LaMark submitted this 1905 photo from the Charles Cox family pictures. It shows the 14th Regiment/28th Division Volunteers in front of the Altoona Post Office on Chestnut Avenue and 11th Street. It was during the Spanish-American War. Herbert O. Kelly, Charles Cox’s grandfather, is in the front row, second from right on the sidewalk.

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.

Local news on this date

Feb. 21, 1951

A survey of the 128 member graduating class of the Altoona High School vocational department found that 30 had found jobs in the subject they studied, 46 others in related occupations and 20 had entered the armed forces. The survey was completed by vocational teacher William Gibbons.

Feb. 21, 1976

The Hollidaysburg, Williamsburg, Blair County and Morrisons Cove chapters of the Blair County Young Adult Farmer Association met at Hollidaysburg Senior High School to present awards.

Feb. 21, 2001

The Blair County Airport at Martinsburg was named one of the nation’s 100 most needed airports by the National Air Transportation Association in Alexandria, Va. Airports in State College and Allentown also made the list.

Feb. 21, 2016

Cambria County residents that gave tips to the Push Out the (Drug) Pusher Program were eligible for a cash reward but Blair County callers were not, Blair County Assistant District Attorney Jackie Bernard saying Blair did not believe in cash rewards.

Feb. 22, 1951

A 150-year-old Conestoga Wagon, drawn by horses, was on display at the Plank Road Acme Supermarket, which was observing its second anniversary. Owner Daniel Bennett of Turkey Valley drove the wagon through the city. The Barry Biscuit Co. was using a 200-year-old sea chest on the wagon for a contest.

About 500 employees of the William F. Gable Co. Department Store in downtown Altoona attended the annual company banquet in the Logan Room of the Penn Alto Hotel. Music and entertainment was provided by the Altoona Four group.

Feb. 22, 1976

The Altoona Symphony League was making plans for its Liberty Ball 76 at the Penn Alto Hotel with a Bicentennial theme, the Symphony League Orchestra providing the music and State Sen. Robert Jubelirer and State Rep. John Milliron attending.

Maranatha Ministries, a nondenominominal religious group, John Love president, held a first anniversary celebration at the Maranatha Village Barn in West Loop, Hollidaysburg. The group conducted a prison ministry, a prayer group, a phone-a-prayer service and a singing group.

Feb. 22, 2001

Norfolk Southern announced the closing of the Hollidaysburg Car Shop this coming November with the loss of 320 jobs. A three-year agreement with the federal government to keep Conrail facilities operating had expired.

The Blair County Convention Center and Sports Facility Authority agreed to lease a plot of land next to the convention center to The Ravine Co., owned by Mark Moschella and son J. Mark Moschella, to establish a golf driving range.

Feb. 22, 2016

The Altoona Area School District was trying to decide whether or not to reopen the Wright Elementary School, closed for about three years, that KCBA architect Mike Kelly said needed a full plumbing, machinery and electrical work renovation.

The Tyrone Camp Anderson Corp. board, Brian Bresser president, was to negotiate the purchase of Camp Anderson from the Boy Scouts of America’s Laurel Highlands Council to insure that it stayed open.

National, world news on this date

Feb. 21:

In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published “The Communist Manifesto” in London.

In 1911, composer Gustav Mahler, despite a fever, conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in what turned out to be his final concert. (He died the following May.)

In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.

In 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. (The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021, when prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.)

Feb. 22:

In 1732, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.

In 1784, a U.S. merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the first trade voyage of

an American ship to China.

In 1819, a weakened Spain, facing revolutions in Latin America, signed a treaty ceding Florida to the U.S.

In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held; although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.

In 1967, more than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, aimed at smashing a Viet Cong stronghold near the Cambodian border.

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