Just a short 300 months ago (25 years ago for those calculating), we lived in a pre-Y2K world, but many worried about our technology readiness. Some of us were perhaps in a premortal existence, while many of us can recall quite a few details from our earthly life in those earlier times.
Time has always been a principal subject of study in religion, in philosophy, and in science throughout all generations of life. Join us while we take a quick look over our shoulders and turn the clock and scrapbook pages to early 1999.
Let’s get going . . .
Around the world, January 1999 saw the introduction of the Euro, the currency of about 20 countries and 350 million people, more or less.
China announced new restrictions on the use of the internet.
Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial began.
An earthquake in Columbia killed 300 and injured 1,000 people.
The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons.
The U.S. Embassy in Tel-Aviv closed due to a bomb threat.
Two officials with the Salt Lake City Olympic organizing committee resigned their positions as a result of a bribery scheme and other possible wrongs. Gov. Mike Leavitt was in agreement with the resignations to help Salt Lake City recover from the “revolting” actions by some boosters and to assure others that Utah can play host to the Olympic games on a level playing field.
Closer to home, January 1999 saw these advertisements around Utah:
ZCMI was open on New Year’s Day from Noon until 5pm. Big Sale.
RC Willey was also open on New Year’s Day with free soda and hot dogs. A queen-size Victorian bed was on sale for 50% off – $299.99.
Granite Furniture was having its biggest sale of the year and included twelve months of interest-free financing. A heavy-duty Norge (Maytag) gas dryer was $188.99 – Almond color only.
JCPenney was having a 30% off sale throughout their stores with red-tag clearance items an amazing 50% off. And, it only happens four times per year according to their advertisement. Three days only!
Spanish 8 Theaters in the K-Mart Plaza were offering $5 evening tickets while Seniors and Kids could enjoy $4 tickets. They had the only Phone-In Ticket Order System in Utah at the time. Their “Now Playing” list included: Stepmom; Patch Adams; Mighty Joe Young; You’ve Got Mail; Prince of Egypt; The Faculty; Jack Frost; Star Trek: Insurrection; and A Bug’s Life.
Some of the local news items that made headlines in January 1999 were:
Two young men from Mapleton were killed in a weather-related incident while snowboarding in Fairview Canyon, Sanpete County.
Mapleton Police reported 40 calls over the past week. They were looking for vandals that recently destroyed four mailboxes in the city.
Springville Police were also looking for the individuals responsible for the destruction of two mailboxes in their city. Police in Springville took 193 calls in the past week, with 32 of them animal related calls.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources implemented a new toll-free telephone hotline to assist outdoorsmen and women with a wide variety of updated information including a weekly statewide fishing report, game hunting information, fishing tips, dates and sites of upcoming relevant meetings, hunter education details as well as hunting license information, and information regarding the funding of the DWR.
A must-see Western art exhibit was celebrated at the Peteetneet Academy in Payson. Lee Staheli was featured as a trick and fancy roping professional and a number of cowboy poets and artists were also noted performers. Visitors could view sculptures, paintings, saddles, and local rodeo world champion, Lewis Feild, also had his personal champion’s saddle on display that evening in Payson.
So, there you have it: a quick reference of a quarter-century gone by. You may have dusted off some memories or maybe you had a look at history from that era for the first time. Regardless of your point of orientation, the one thing that has certainly taken place over the last 25 years is change – even here in Utah County. We should all work together to make the next 25 years around each of our communities even better for our own families and for future generations.
