50 years ago in Expo history: The fair was halfway over, but the PR campaign to push more attendance wasn’t

Expo ’74 reached its halfway point, and attendance was still running about 500,000 above projections. However, numbers had begun to fall off slightly, and officials said they planned to beef up their public relations efforts.

In other Expo news, fairgoers had begun asking the question: Where are the falls?

The river levels had dropped significantly, and the falls were more like a trickle. Expo officials said they would ask The Washington Water Power Co. to release more water from their dams. Meanwhile, they planned to post signs on the bridges “explaining that the river is being used to produce a clean form of energy.”

In Expo entertainment news, country singer Charlie Pride sold out both of his forthcoming shows, and the Irish Rovers performance was “virtually sold out.”

From 100 years ago: William Wilson, 22, was in court on vagrancy charges, and the judge had some harsh words for him.

“You think you are a hard-boiled egg, you want to be a tough guy – this court busts hard-boiled eggs right along,” said the judge.

The judge was angry because Wilson’s gray-haired mother had testified that he “swears when I talk to him” and says “terrible things” to her.

The judge remonstrated with him, saying, “Your mother is here, broken-hearted – an old, gray-haired woman and a widow. Why I never heard of such a thing.”

He sentenced Wilson to jail, but suspended it on the condition that he pull no more “rough stuff.”

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1914: Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France.