From the Evening News, October 28, 1976

25 YEARS AGO

THE 10 months' ordeal of families in Church Street, Little Lever, will be over by Christmas. Massive sewer works have blocked the street since two houses collapsed in January. work is continuing in other areas of the village. This is the first phase in a £1 million reconstruction of the sewer "hotch-potch" in the town, where many drains have been found to be too small and in poor condition.

NEARLY £250,000 has been raised this year to give places at Bolton School to children of the not so well-off. This was revealed by Lord Leverhulme, chairman of the governors, at the Girls' Division Speech Day yesterday. He said an appeal fund had been launched since the school stopped receiving direct grant benefits and became independent.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, October 29, 1951

SYNCOPATING Sandy Strickland may soon take up non-stop piano playing again, and this time make sure that the title of record holder does end up where many people consider it should be - in Bolton.

It was announced this morning that Heinz Arntz, the 51-year-old German, has played for 202 hours, and beaten his own record. But Sandy is insisting that the German does not play non-stop because of the rests he is allowed to take. And he should know, for he recently beat Arntz quite easily in Germany. In any case, the announcement that 202 hours has been played non-stop does not establish anything. Sandy himself played for 202 hours non-stop - actually non-stop - in Llandudno in August.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, October 28, 1876

THE annual Band of Hope festival of the Bolton Temperance Society was held in the Temperance Hall on Saturday evening. About 350 sat down to tea, and this number was considerably augmented afterwards. Mr Joseph Bradshaw, president of the society, occupied the chair, and delivered a suitable address.

The Rev. J. Rhodes also spoke, and said that he was ever willing to show his sympathy with those engaged in the Temperance movement, although not able to take much part in it himself. They were seeking to preserve children from becoming victims of intemperance, and who was there who would not sympathise with that object, although they might differ about the means employed.

Everyone, he felt assured, agreed with the object, except the publicans, and they differed on selfish grounds.

Temperance advocates had nothing against the publicans, but against the accursed drink system. The sin of England was its drunkenness, and they were doing good service by trying to relieve their country from it.