April 21, 1996
25 Years Ago
Regulations Cited On Mini-Bikes And Similar Vehicles – With the advent of warm weather, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, Ejner J. Johnson, reminded parents that mini-bikes and other
motorized play vehicles are banned from State highways and streets unless operated by a licensed driver and registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Commissioner Johnson noted, however, that most mini-bikes and similar vehicles cannot be registered since they fail to meet Maryland safety standards established by the Department of Motor Vehicles for motorcycles and motor bikes. Equipment required on such vehicles includes; white head lamp; red rear lamp capable of being visible for at least 300 feet; license plate lamp; brakes; muffler; two rear view mirrors, one on each handle bar; fenders on front and rear; and a red rear reflector. Drivers of such vehicles must have a valid Class E Motorcycle Operator’s license to operate on State highways and public streets. They must also have proof of financial responsibility or pay the uninsured motorist’s fee before a license tag will be issued. Under Maryland’s Classified licensing System, applicants for a Class E Motorcycle License must be at least 18 years of age, or at least 16 years of age and have completed an accredited Driver’s Education Course. Community Reporter, April 16, 1971.
50 Years Ago
Bad Auto Crash At Finksburg – Explorer-Writer Fatally Injured When Struck By Oil Truck From Philadelphia – Desmond X. Holdridge, 40 year-old Baltimore explorer and author, was killed in an automobile accident at noon Friday, at the cross roads in Finksburg. Also fatally injured in the collision, was a passenger in his car, identified as Emerson, 29, of New York and South America. Both men were rushed to the University Hospital where Smith, was pronounced dead on arrival and Holdridge died a short time later. State police reported that Holdridge, driving south from Cedarhurst to Finksburg, failed to heed the stop sign at the intersection and was struck by an oil truck west bound on route 140. The force of the collision threw the passenger car up against a concrete retaining wall at the side of the road across the opposite side road leading to Gamber. Holdridge had his first brush with death at the age of 14 when, at a boy’s camp in New York, he fitted a rowboat with a sail only to be caught in a severe squall which crashed the boat against the shore of the lake. In 1925 with two other youths, Holdridge cruised into the sub-Arctic waters of the Atlantic, where a five-day gale battered his 32-foot boat to pieces and she sank. The three survivors were picked by another schooner. This experience did not daunt young Holdridge, he shipped out on a steamer after only three weeks of rest at home. In 1928 he again was feared lost when he revisited Labrador in search of the island where Martin Frobisher established a colony in 1575, but he got back to Baltimore, only to ship out again. The only white man on the expedition, he discovered a lost tribe of ferocious Indians in the jungles of southern Venezuela, who one night attacked his camp but fled when Holdridge blew the camp-fire into flames. He later made friends with the tribe. Democratic Advocate, April 19, 1946.
75 Years Ago
Lillian E. Nusbaum, near Unionville, has an Easter egg with her mother’s initials “H. A. D., 1855” on it. Her mother gave the egg to her little friend in 1855. That friend is now dead. After her death her husband gave it to Lillian who has it in her possession in the home of the one that gave it, but where is the hen that laid it? Union Bridge Pilot, April 15, 1921. 100 Years Ago Reference was made in last week’s Gist items to a young man who lost his way while returning home from a visit to his lady-love. The young man retorts on our correspondent by denying
the story and alleging that he was induced to take a strange route by the author of it who persuaded him to accompany him home, as he had a lonely road to travel and was very much afraid after night, being young and inexperienced in traveling. Another story on our corespondent is added, but a newspaper is not the place for too much of this sort of badinage and, as no names are mentioned, it is well to drop the matter just here. American Sentinel, April 18, 1896.