Today is Friday, Sept. 28, the 272nd day of 2012. There are 94 days left in the year.

1862 -- 150 years ago: Our levee now boasts of a railroad track running down an inclined plane to the steamboats so that freight is carried directly from the boats into the cars.

1887 -- 125 years ago: The eighth annual convention of the Illinois Protective Liquor Dealers Association opened today at the Rock Island House for a two-day session.

1912 -- 100 years ago: The Rock Island Bridge and Iron works is planning a $15,000 enlargement of the company plant.

1937 -- 75 years ago: Mayor Robert P. Galbraith broke a tie vote in the city council to assure the installation of concrete paving of 14th Avenue from 30th to 46th streets.

1962 -- 50 years ago: A Rock Island man got an unexpected 15-minute ride down the Mississippi River this morning when a barge on which he was working slipped away from workers unloading it.

1987 -- 25 years ago: Boaters wanting to improve their skills over the winter and possibly get a discount on their insurance can take the Boating Skills and Seamanship class being offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Rock Island flotilla's fall class begins 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Coast Guard Auxiliary Station, Sunset Marina.