This Week In Toledo History Week Of 7/18/2022

Published by news@presspubli... on Fri, 07/15/2022 - 4:00pm

<p>July 17 1835 -Angry mob of Michiganders storm Toledo home of Ben Stickney to arrest his son “Two Stickney” in one of the first skirmishes of Ohio-Michigan War. 1884 - First birth reported at what would later become Riverside Hospital. It was a boy. 1932 - Three volunteer firemen from Adams Township are killed when their speeding fire truck is forced off Reynolds Road near Hill. The driver of the car that forced them off the road fled the scene. 1934 - A “human wheelbarrow” of two Toledoans, Donald Taylor and William Robb, set out from New York City on the first ever cross-country trip of a “human wheelbarrow.” July 18 1914 - Well-known banker and Toledo businessman Colonel John Parsons crushed to death in elevator accident in the Nasby building. 1920 - The Avro Flying Service opens in downtown Toledo, selling small three-seater airplanes to the public with the stated goal to “Make Toledo a Flying City.” 1927 - At Fort Miami Race Track in Maumee, a “masked driver” is handcuffed to the wheel of a bus to begin a 144-hour endurance run to test the durability of the vehicle. After a few unscheduled stops for sleep deprivation, he eventually completes the run 1929 - Toledo zookeeper Charles Connor attacked by a zebra. He suffers serious injuries and zoo takes steps to prevent other keepers from becoming trapped inside an animal pen in the event of an attack. 1955 - Toledo Port Authority is formed. First port authority in the state. 1983 - Lung Association in Lucas County begins first efforts to restrict smoking in Toledo restaurants in the county. July 19 1889 - Electric streetcars make their first test runs on streets of downtown Toledo and thousands turn out to watch. 1894 -Toledo police assign six of the department's best marksmen for "dog shooting" duty assigned every summer to shoot stray dogs running loose. 1897 - It’s reported that “June bugs,” or Mayflies, are so thick in the area that the ladies bicycle races at the Toledo Casino had to be postponed until the next day. 1910 - Toledo boaters, police and zoo officials try to find a sea lion that escaped into the Maumee River from the Zoo at Walbridge Park. 1937- Ohio Bell reports there are now 56,370 phone numbers listed in the Toledo directory, up by more than 15,000 since the very worst years of the Depression. July 20 1854 - A milestone in transportation on this day, as a train makes a first-ever run from Toledo to Chicago. 1854 - Cholera epidemic begins in Perrysburg. One-hundred-seventeen die before it subsides. 1931 - Goodyear blimp makes pass over Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green in honor of BG native blimp pilot, Charles Branmyar, who was killed in blimp accident. 1935 - Benny Goodman and his band play at a club in Luna Pier, Mich. 1984 - Serial killer Alton Coleman arrested in Chicago, charged with a murderous crime spree in Toledo and elsewhere in Midwest. July 21 1915 - Toledo Housewives League protests demolition of the farmer’s market on Superior Street. 1921 - Heat wave continues with temperatures in the 90s. Two more people fall dead from heat. A riot breaks out between rival youth groups at Highland Park pool. 1927 - Dancer and musician Fritzi Bigelow dances to the “Black Bottom” on a wing of a large airplane flying over Toledo’s Maumee River. She was accompanied by her musical group, which usually plays at the Bayshore Inn. 1933 - Mrs. Stella Todd of McComb in Hancock County reports that she crawled into bed only to find a five-foot snake under the sheets with her. When she screamed, the snake slithered off and disappeared into the carpet. 1934 - Hottest day in Ohio history. Gallipolis, Ohio records 113 degrees. Defiance reaches 109 degrees. The next week brings numerous deaths from heat and humidity throughout the Buckeye State. Many deaths in Northwest Ohio. 1948 -WSPD Television, Channel 13, signs on the air. 1971- Fire destroys the Harborview Village Hall and a tavern 1983 - Jobless rate in Lucas County hits 12.8 percent. July 22 1830 - First murder case recorded in area as tavern owner in Waterville is killed near Roche De Boeuf. 1842 - Author Charles Dickens travels through Northwest Ohio’s “Black Swamp” and later writes about what he calls his "miserable time" in the area. 1864 - Major General McPherson of Clyde is killed at the Battle of Atlanta. Highest ranking Union officer killed in the Civil War. 1922 - So many cars are parking in downtown Toledo that first commercial parking lot opens for business at Michigan and Jackson. The Heubner's Auto Park charges 25 cents a day or a dollar per week. 1931-Two salesmen from Cleveland, while fishing in Sandusky Bay, land an "18-foot” sea serpent". It's later identified as a dead Indian python the men purchased to pull off a hoax. 1925 - Former leader of the Ku Klux Klan holds rally in Toledo and says the Klan numbers are dwindling and it won’t last much longer. 1932 - The Toledo News Bee reports that two rattlesnakes are killed at a home near Angola and King roads. The larger snake bit and killed the family dog before it was killed by a woman with a clothesline prop. 1971 - Toledo’s second indoor mall, the Franklin Park Mall at Talmadge and Monroe, opens for business. 1983 - Seneca County jail shut down by court order because of treatment of inmates. Prisoners are ordered to be sent to other facilities. July 23 1928 - Aviatrix Amelia Earhart visits Toledo and is given special medal from Roulet Jewelers. 1941- Ringling Brothers Circus arrives in Toledo for performances at Stickney Avenue Fairgrounds. 1942 - Residents of a one-square-mile area of West Toledo become ill after rolling clouds of sulfur gas escape from a chemical factory and blanket much of the area around Eleanor and Lewis Avenues. Many residents report coughing and burning sensations in their lungs. 1963 - Lucas County Fairgrounds opens in Maumee for first time. 1980 - Toledo soft drink heiress Shannon Mohr Davis of Hillsdale County dies in “horse riding accident.” The case was later ruled a homicide, caused by injection of a rare muscle relaxant. Her husband David Davis is arrested in American Samoa ten years later.</p>