Jan. 30, 1968: With an order valued at $7.17 million, the total Army Procurement contract to R.G. LeTourneau Inc.’s munitions division stood at $31.28 million. The announcement was made by U.S. Rep. Ray Roberts.
Jan. 29, 1981: Larry Starr was appointed the first judge of the newly created Gregg County Court at Law. The appointment had become a controversy between County Judge Henry Atkinson and District Attorney Rob Foster, but was settled with an opinion from the attorney general’s office that the court must be created.
Jan. 28, 1933: Facing a “ringing indictment” by state’s attorneys of the tendency among officers to be “judge, jury and executioner’ when making arrests, Texas Ranger Buck Flournoy was found guilty of aggravated assault in a case arising out of the death of a suspect. Flournoy was sentenced to 60 days.
Jan. 27, 1927: A successful season for the Longview baseball club of the East Texas League was promised after “an enthusiastic meeting” of baseball fans. Bert Bivins was elected president for the coming year, while Oliver Daniels was picked vice president and John R. Hoffman as secretary.
Jan. 26, 1949: Designers of “the revolutionary new JOV-3 helicopter” displayed their machine to the public at the Gregg County airport. They were look over the airport as a possible new location for their Philadelphia-based company’s factory.
Jan. 25, 1942: Spring Hill school formally dedicated its new library building with a program sponsored by its parent-teacher association. E.G. Marshall of the state department of education deliver the principal address.Jan. 25, 1994: Acting Fire Chief …
Jan. 24, 1949: The city began installation of 6-, 8- and 14-inch waterlines as it extended its water system. Lines were to be installed on portions of Green Street, in the Radio Addition, and 14-inch lines tied together city water tanks. Water and sewer lines on Harrison and Nelson streets were nearly complete, with paving to follow.Jan. 24, 1951: Longview police were ordered to pick up all dogs loose on the streets in response to a rabies epidemic. Dog owners were not observing a quarantine, the city health officer declared, “and will have only themselves to blame if the epidemic is not snuffed out as promptly as possible.”
Jan. 23, 1947: Installation of the city’s long-awaited new street markers began. The signs were white with black lettering showing the name of the street and number of the block. They were on poles 7 feet above the ground. Previously, street names were designated on street curbs.
Jan. 22, 1933: Gregg County got an opportunity to grow through a lawsuit to determine jurisdiction of about 250 acres. A local surveying firm found the county line near Easton had been improperly drawn, putting the disputed territory in Rusk, when, the suit argued, it belonged to Gregg County.
Jan. 21, 1951: R.G. LeTourneau Inc. and the Department of Defense signed contracts amounting to several million dollars for manufacture of military equipment. The first phase was a $4 million order for Tournadozers, which would be manufactured entirely in Longview.