Local history

50 years ago: July 10, 1974

At the Farmer’s Day Parade in Williamsburg, two donkeys pulling an old-fashioned corn planter was a highlight of the event. Williamsburg’s Bicentennial Week ended that day with a farmer’s market and an arts and crafts show.

25 years ago: July 10, 1999

The 68-year-old Hab’s Bar & Cafe (1933) on 16th Street and 19th Avenue in Altoona, a popular family bar that served only beer and not liquor, was closing. Owner Hab Kattouf had died in 1990 and had previously operated a confectionary store at that location.

10 years ago: July 10, 2014

Pennsylvania State Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Thomas Brown attended the 13th annual Homeless Veterans Memorial Ride at the Duncansville VFW Post 8724. About 100 bikers rode 100 miles to raise money for the fund.

— Compiled by Tim Doyle

World history

Today is Friday, July 10, the 191st day of 2026. There are 174 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in history:

On July 10, 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as the German Luftwaffe launched attacks on southern England. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

On this date:

– In 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Noyon, Picardy, France.

– In 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th US state.

– In 1925, jury selection began in Dayton, Tennessee, in the trial of John T. Scopes, charged with violating the law by teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. (Scopes was convicted and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality.)

— The Associated Press