25 YEARS AGO: From the Evening News, May 3, 1976

BOLTON'S most unusual traffic jam of the year built up yesterday afternoon, caused by a herd of elephants. The elephants, appearing this week at Sir Robert Fossett''s circus in Queen's Park, walked in procession from the railway station to Spa Road.

MR Emlyn Williams, president of the South Wales miners, today explained "the correctness" of pit demands for £100-a-week pay packets which threaten Government policy. "At some point of time some workers have to challenge the grossly unequal distribution of wages in British society," he said.

50 YEARS AGO

THE King today sounded the key-note for the Festival of Britain when, in a broadcast to the world from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, he described the Festival as "a symbol of Britain's abiding courage and vitality, planned, like its great predecessor, as a visible sign of national achievement and confidence."

"WE in the Labour Party believe that the most urgent need is for housing, and we shall do all we can to erect houses to rent for the people," Ald J. Vickers said last night. And he said that they were in favour of the development of a neighbourhood unit as a satellite village in the Bob's Smithy area, linking up Johnson Fold estate, subject to satisfactory water services being provided. He said Bolton had a great number of golf courses, and if and when the Council was short of land, it would be "houses for the people rather than golf courses for the few."

125 YEARS AGO

ON Friday week, G. Dootson, a St Helens pedestrian, undertook to rival Weston, the American pedestrian, by walking 109 miles in twenty-four hours; the place selected being the St Helens fair ground, the course being so staked out that he had to go ten times round for a mile.

He commenced his journey at three minutes past eight on Friday evening, and walked rather fresh until between one or two o'clock next morning when he began to show signs of fatigue. He was rallied, however, by his friends, and continued walking until eight o'clock on Saturday morning, when he rested for half-an-hour after which he resumed his journey and continued "pegging away" until about seven o'clock in the evening, having accomplished 107 miles.

He then had his socks changed and resumed walking, and increased the pace as he went, until the last two laps, when he put on a spurt, which made those who accompanied him have to almost run to keep up with him, and he eventually succeeded in accomplishing his task by twenty-two minutes to eight o'clock, having completed the distance with twenty-five minutes to spare.

He was then seized by two stalwart men, and carried shoulder height into the Salisbury Hotel, adjoining the fair, amid tremendous cheering from an immense crowd who had been spectators of the feat.