MOMENTS IN TIME

By Yaryna Klimchak
| 4:00 a.m. April 18, 2013

First-graders at Southside work on April's "Word of the Month" with their teacher, Mary Duke. Pictured in the presentation are Joey Plaster, Latora Gilliam, Eric Rubenstein, Lindsay Chapman, Sarah Crowell, Leigh Hutchinson and Jason Marien. File photo.

Sarasota
Neighbors

1974 —
In 1974, Betty Crocker layer cake mixes cost 39 cents per box at Siesta Suprex, which was located on 205 Canal Road.

1976 — April 22
In April 1976, the Pelican Press conducted a survey of 100 households selected, at random, in various geographic locations extending the length of the island. What it found was:
• 57% of readers were college educated;
• 35% had a yearly income of between $10,000 to $20,000;
• 32% had an average yearly income of $20,000 to $40,000;
• 13% took home more than $40,000 a year;
• Owned 1.57 cars;
• Dined out 6.4 times a month.
• Readers also said from time to time they sent either a full copy of the Pelican Press or clippings to friends or family living in different parts of the world.

1983 — April 18
On April 18, 1983, during a City Commission meeting, commissioners agreed to submit to court a mixed plan, which called for the election of commissioners, from three single-member districts plus two citywide at-large commissioners as opposed to a five-district, single-member election system. The new plan would allow each Sarasota voter to decide on a majority of the commission.

1985 — April 18
First-grade teacher at Southside Elementary Mary Ann Duke taught pupils the meaning of words such as “etymologist” and “ornithologist,” using colorful posters she drew. The children did so well that they ended up producing a 30-second announcement that aired at 4:28 p.m. Monday through Friday, in 1985, on Channel 4 entitled “Word of the Month.” To participate in the program, students needed to know the spelling and pronunciation of the word. They also had to audition for the program.

1995 — April 20
The April 20, 1995, issue of the Pelican Press announced GTE was encouraging customers to begin using the new 941 area code as of May 28, 1995. Sarasotans had “permissive dialing” to use the 813 area code for nine months, until March 3, 1996. After that deadline, people received a recording prompting them to use the new area code. GTE reminded people to change the speed-dial programming on their phones.