Leonard Alwine of Altoona submitted this photo of the new library being buyilt at 17th Street and Sixth Avenue, Altoona. The photo was taken in the late 1960s before 17th Street was made into a four-lane road.

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

May 30, 1951

A fire in downtown Altoona damaged the Lawrence Hotel, the Texas Lunch, Sanker’s Lunch and Danny’s Newstand, between Green Avenue and the Penn Theatre. Altoona fire companies 1, 4 and 8 responded and no injuries were reported.

May 30, 1976

Helen R. Barclay was honored as Blair County Senior Citizen of the Year, the first person to receive the award, sponsored by the Blair County Council on Aging and which her mother Emma Barclay attended. Helen was director of the Blair County Senior Citizens Activity Center.

May 30, 2001

Altoona Hospital, Dr. Daniel Clark surgeon, was using a new system called

HERMES to do colon resections or partial removals through a minimally invasive method.

May 30, 2016

Nevaeh Brown, 3, Osceola Mills, who was born with a host of health issues, was named the 2016 Miracle Kid by the Children’s Miracle Network at Geisinger Medical Center and the 33rd annual ceremonies were to be held at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park.

May 31, 1951

The eight churches of Hollidaysburg were combining to hold a community Bible school with an estimated attendance of 350 students from Central, Gaysport, Hillcrest and Northfield schools. The Rev. Ernest N. Bauer, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, was to serve as dean.

After the Memorial Day Parade in Altoona, services were held at many local cemeteries by the American Legions and VFWs. A field Mass was held at Calvary Cemetery, sponsored by the A&J Iaia American Legion and celebrated by the Rev. Louis Sedunda of St. Bernardine Monastery, Hollidaysburg, while the Rev. Anthony O’Toole, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, narrated the Mass over the radio.

May 31, 1976

Jeff Plummer of Bellwood-Antis High School won first place in the Future Farmers of America Oratorical Contest, Jim Borgia of Bellwood-Antis won second and Willis Greaser Jr. of Williamsburg High won third, trophies presented by Kiwanis President Thomas C. Parsons.

Bishop Guilfoyle High School held graduation exercises at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament with Michael Webb winning nine different awards for excellence in his studies. At the same time, 168 were graduating from Penn State Altoona, and Hollidaysburg Area High was holding graduation, with Principal John Nigro leading a procession across the athletic field.

May 31, 2001

St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Lakemont, Linda Vogel coach, placed second in Odyssey of the Mind Winged Wonders competition at Altoona Area High and qualified for finals at the University of Maryland at College Park.

According to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council Altoona Hospital had a

$5 million shortfall last year and Bon Secours had a $2 million shortfall, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania disputed the report because of the loss of Medicaid funding.

May 31, 2016

A controversial group called the Oath Keepers, who usually carried guns and said it was dedicated to uphold the Constitution and resist illegal government actions, were planning a three-day summit in Greenfield Township that was alarming the residents. Members sometimes carried guns.

The Blair County commissioners were purchasing 34 refurbished desktop computers, two printers and a fax machine for the upcoming Blair County property tax reassessment from a California firm called NewEgg Business at a cost of $8,397. They were to be located at the Blair County Convention Center.

National, world news on this date

May 30:

In 1911, the first Indianapolis 500 auto race was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; driver Ray Harroun won the race with an average speed of 74.6 mph.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Abraham Lincoln’s surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln.

In 2002, a solemn, wordless ceremony marked the end of the cleanup at ground zero in New York, 8 1/2 months after the terror attacks of Sept. 11 brought down the World Trade Center’s twin towers.

May 31:

In 1790, President George Washington signed into law the first U.S. copyright act.

In 1889, over 2,200 people in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died when the South Fork Dam collapsed, sending 20 million tons of water from Conemaugh Lake rushing through the town.

In 1949, former State Department official and accused Soviet spy Alger Hiss went on trial in New York, charged with perjury (the trial ended with a hung jury, but Hiss was convicted in a second trial.)

In 1970, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Ancash region of Peru; the quake, combined with the landslide it triggered, killed an estimated 67,000 people.

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