Looking Back

CRAFTS Two young women display costumes during a photo shoot at The Costume Shop, 4130 S. Peoria Ave., on Tulsa Historical Society & Museum August 16, 1965.

Mrs. Barnard of Tulsa poses in a display of Native American baskets, pottery, and other items in this undated photo. Men and women from the Choctaw Indian Spinning Association and Sequoyah Indian Weavers Association are pictured with traditional, woven textiles in this photo, circa 1950.

Artist Roy Gussow (left) is pictured with Tulsa Mayor James Hewgley Jr. and Eileen Hewgley on April 25, 1969, at 200 Civic Center. Gussow designed the sculpture which was the first piece of modern, public art installed in Tulsa.

In the last year of President John Adams’s term, he moved into the newly constructed President’s House, aka the White House. Adams’s carriage rolled up on November 1; his wife Abigail arrived one month later. She said the building was tolerable only if fires were lit in every room. After five months, Thomas Jefferson defeated Adams in his bid for re-election, and the Adamses lived the rest of their days at their family farm.

In 1965, for action in Saigon, Specialist Five Lawrence Joel, a medic with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor. President Johnson presented the medal on March 9, 1967, in ceremonies held on the White House lawn. The first living African American since the SpanishAmerican War to receive the award, Specialist Joel continued to administer aid despite having multiple injuries himself.

Melville’s sixth book is considered a classic of American literature. Initially, the book about catching a giant whale flopped. His first novel “Typee,” published in 1846 based on experiences in Polynesia, had been a success. Moby-Dick had a disappointing reception. Melville returned to New York in 1865 where he worked as a customs inspector for 20 years.

Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister in British history, announced her resignation after 11 years in Britain’s top office. Her three consecutive terms in office marked the longest continuous tenure of a British prime minister since 1827. In 1959, she was elected to Parliament as a Conservative for Finchley, a north London district, and rose rapidly through the ranks. The “Iron Lady” died on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87, following a stroke.

“The Mousetrap,” a murder mystery written by novelist and playwright Agatha Christie, opened in London. The whodunit became the longest continuously running play in history. At its premiere in 1952, Winston Churchill was British prime minister, Joseph Stalin was the Soviet ruler, and Harry Truman was president. In 1974, after nearly 9,000 shows, the play was moved to St. Martin’s Theatre, where it remained until March 2020, when COVID-19 suspended performances. Agatha Christie died in 1976.

After a storm on Thanksgiving Day, Washington state’s floating Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge broke apart and sank in Lake Washington. “It looked like a big old battleship had been hit by enemy fire and was sinking into the briny deep,” said one observer. (He added: “It was awesome.”) Fortunately, no one was injured, and The Murrow Bridge was soon rebuilt.