25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

March 9, 1974

THE Mayor of Bolton, Ald. Henry Devenish, and Dr Jacques Maury, the Mayor of the French industrial town of Le Mans, today sealed the bond between the two towns. At the official town twinning ceremony in Bolton Town Hall, the civic heads signed a document pledging friendship. Tomorrow, the French visitors will see the Civic Crescent renamed Le Mans Crescent.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

March 8, 1949

HOME chimney-sweeping is on the increase for two reasons, one the difficulty of getting a sweep, and the other the increased charge for his services. To save 5s, Blackrod Bill decided he would do the job himself. When he got home he found that Mrs Bill, in a fit of enthusiasm, had done it herself with the help of a friend - and left one of the brushes jammed in the chimney pot! The worst of it was, the two women had removed about 15 buckets of soot and cleaned everything up, including themselves, before the loss was discovered, so in the end Bill had the dirtiest job of all getting the brush out again. When he told his pals at work they had a card printed. Whenever chimney sweeping is mentioned to him now, Bill pulls out the card and one reads that Mrs Bill is now a qualified sweep, ready to tackle any job at any time!

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

March 9, 1874

ON Thursday, the office of the registrar of marriages, Carlisle, was the scene of an interesting marriage ceremony. William Moss, the bridegroom who sought the services of the registrar, is 82 years of age; and Margaret Nixon, the 'blushing bride' who accompanied him, had eight years ago passed the three score years and ten allotted to humanity. Both the bride and bridegroom had been married before. Moss, who is a 'felt hatter', had the misfortune to lose his second wife only four or five months ago; and at the death of Mrs Moss No. 2, Peggy, the future partner of his joys, who had been a widow for a score of years, went to 'keep house' for him. That duty she performed so satisfactorily that an arrangement was eventually made that she should become Mrs Moss No. 3.

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