Way back when: Today in history
BY GENE CURTIS
Friday, December 28, 2012
12/28/12 at 2:55 AM
1990 - Chapel destroyed
Fire that was believed to have started in the basement destroyed the historic chapel at Bacone College in Muskogee. The 50-year-old building was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived, and a strong wind hampered their efforts. "The water was being blown away by the wind," Fire Chief Dan Mullins said. The chapel's steeple, which was destroyed, was a well-known part of the Muskogee skyline. The chapel was restored in 1993.
1991 - Nine trampled to death
A rush to get into a charity basketball game between teams led by rap stars Heavy D and Puff Daddy at City College in Harlem resulted in nine people being trampled or smothered to death as a crowd estimated at between 3,000 and 6,000 tried to get into the sold-out event in a building that could seat about 2,500. Proceeds from the event were to go to AIDS education.
2000 - Montgomery Ward closes
Retail giant Montgomery Ward, the first U.S. mail-order company to sell general merchandise, announced that it was closing after 128 years because of sluggish holiday sales and would file for bankruptcy. "Sadly, today's action is unavoidable," Montgomery Ward CEO Roger Goddu said in a statement. The company also closed its 10 distribution centers. Ward, started in 1872, pioneered mail-order catalogs when it came out with a single sheet of dry-goods items for sale. Ward had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990 with a plan to revamp many stores. But some analysts said it was too little too late.
2009 - Suicide bomber kills 43
A suicide bomber set off an explosion at the beginning of a Shiite Muslim procession as Shiites marked the key holy day of Ashoura, killing 43 people and wounding dozens in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. In the aftermath, people rampaged through the city, setting fire to markets, stores and cars and throwing stones at security forces. More than 200 firefighters battled the flames for more than 24 hours after the attack. Extremists from the majority Sunni community regard Shiites as heretical, and the two groups have long engaged in revenge killings in Pakistan.
Associated Images:
Supporters of a Shiite Muslim group chant slogans at a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, to condemn a suicide bombing in Karachi. AP file
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