50 Years Ago (week of April 20-April 26, 1941): It was decided this week that Howard County's selective service program would need to be accelerated in order to meet increased needs for inductees for World War II. On the average, 40 percent of draftees up to that time had passed their physical examinations and had been inducted into the service. It was projected that by July 1941, all county residents classified as A-1 would be in the Army.

* The Howard County 4-H Clubs presented their annual Recreation Night at Ellicott City High School thisweek. The event was sponsored by the county's agricultural extensionservice and the county 4-H Council. The evening's activities included games, relays, a program of stunts and a grand march.

25 Years Ago (week of April 17-April 23, 1966): 12-year-old Jo Ann Van Vliet from Clarksville Junior High School won first place in a countywide spelling bee at Mount Hebron Junior/Senior High School last Friday night. The top five finalists from the Howard County event would go on to participate in the Baltimore Sunpapers Bee. The May 17 event would be televised live on WMAR-TV.

* Sculptor and graphic artist Pierre du Fayet joined the staff of Community Research & Development Inc., as a designer for the new city of Columbia. Paris-born duFayet was a graduate of the Lycee Henri IV and l'Ecole Superieure des Artes Applicques a l'Industrie. Du Fayet was to be responsible for the design and execution of Columbia's signs and symbols, as well as other functional and decorative work such as street lights, fountainsand exterior furniture.

Information for this column was culled from the Howard County Historical Society's Library.