From the Sunday, Feb. 18, 1968 issue of the "Daily Northwest Alabamian"– state Rep. Rankin Fite placing the first-ever 911
call from the mayor’s office–that’s Mayor James Whitt behind him.

February 16, 1968 saw the first official "911" call placed in the
United States. Now taken for granted as first course of action
in the event of emergency by nearly all of the nation’s 327
million people, 911 is a relatively recent invention and was
still not standard across the United States for many years
after its adoption by Congress.

As telephones became common in U.S. households, fire
departments around the country recommended establishing
a single, simple number to be dialed in the event of a fire or
other emergency. A similar system had been implemented in
the United Kingdom decades earlier, in 1936, when the code
999 was chosen for emergency telegraph and phone
communications.

Over 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sold each year, the
second most purchased seasonal card in the U.S. While the
holiday’s exact origin is up for debate, the celebration of love
and friendship we know today first gained popularity in the U.S.
during the mid-19th century.

During this time, Esther Howland of Worcester, MA, is credited
with mass-producing the first American valentines. Romantic
European cards inspired Howland to design and create her first valentines by hand—intricate, layered collages of ribbons, lace,
and paper ornaments. In 1913, Hallmark (then Hall Brothers)
printed their first Valentine’s Day card, making the tradition
more accessible and affordable.

The sentiment and imagery expressed by valentines changed in popularity over time. The Victorian era favored cherubs, hearts,
and flowers paired with romantic poetry. In the 1920s and 30s,
cards featuring die-cut shapes, animals, and children became
prevalent and often included playful messages with puns and
wordplay.

The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, known retroactively
as Super Bowl I and referred to in contemporaneous reports,
including the game’s radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl, was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The
National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers
defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas
City Chiefs by the score of 35–10.

CBS broadcaster and former player Frank Gifford.

Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson
fires a pass.

Len Dawson will be 87 in June.  

Wisconsin Gov. Warren Knowles (left) and Green Bay
Packers coach Vince Lombardi celebrate in the locker
room after Green Bay’s 35-14 victory over the Kansas
City Chiefs.

Some of the 10,000 balloons that were released.

Cast members from left: Howard McNear (Dr. Charles
Adams) Parley Baer as Chester, William Conrad
(U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon) and Georgia Ellis as Kitty
Russell.

Gunsmoke is a western radio series, which was developed for radio
by John Meston and Norman Macdonnell. The series ran for nine seasons and was broadcast by CBS. The first episode of the series originally aired on April 26, 1952, and the final first-run episode aired
on June 11, 1961..During the series, a total of 480 original episodes
were broadcast, including shows with re-used or adapted scripts. A television version of the series debuted in 1955.

"Gunsmoke" sound effect artists Ray Kemper &Tom Hanley 
with Director Norm McDonnel.       

  William Conrad
(September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994)
     
    
   

Conrad continued as Dillon after the TV show had
already started, and played the role until 1961. He
was considered for the role of Dillon on the TV show,
but the creators and producers decided, in the end,
to go for Arness in his place. It’s rumored that his 
weight was a factor behind his not being cast. 
         

While in orbit 170 miles above Earth, Navy Captain Bruce McCandless
II became the first human being to perform an untethered spacewalk, when he exits the U.S. space shuttle Challenger and maneuvers
freely, using a bulky white jet pack of his own design.

Bruce McCandless II (Byron Willis McCandless)
(June 8, 1937 – December 21, 2017)