From our archives:

80 years ago

Bridlington had been making itself all spick and span for Easter; there were careful admonitions concerning “wet paint” and windows of apartment houses and hotels were assuming that expectant air which went with clean curtains. Altogether Bridlington, was marking the beginning of the visitor’s season, with Easter Smiles and luxury boarding. Mr J Weighell, of Castle Hill Farm, Romanby, Northallerton, had in his possession apparently one of the oldest ponies in the district. Fanny, a 37-year-old mare, was by no means a back number and stilled hammered on the stable door to be let out with her front hoof. And York College for Girls, had appointed a new physical training mistress, Mrs K Cossins, of Pickering. Mrs Cossins had been taking classes at Pickering Evening Institute and at St Michael’s in Malton. Her pupils in rhythmic and character dances had always proved a popular attraction.

50 years ago

At least 26 people had been killed and more than 300 injured by a tornado which tore through Greenwood, Arkansas. Trees as thick as two feet had been picked up like toothpicks. The storm was one of a series which had hit Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma during the tornado season in the Southern states. York motorists had been warned that, if they didn’t watch where they parked in the city centre, they may be easily signing away the rights of everyone to leave his or her car there. The fact that by-laws had ceased to operate on certain streets at certain times did not automatically mean that a motorist could park there particularly if causing an obstruction, and if the present trend continued in the city centre, there would be a total parking ban.

20 years ago

An Evening Press quest to find North Yorkshire’s top gag teller was still ongoing, as the office continued to ripple with the sound of sniggers and guffaws as the funny folk of the county continued to send in their best wisecracks. And it was a happy first birthday for the fun-sized Saturday Evening Press with its new look tabloid pages and extra Saturday sections. In Tadcaster an experimental scheme to promote its outdoor market by holding it in the main street had come under fire from townsfolk amid reports of traffic chaos.