This Week In Toledo History

November 12
1906 - Red McQuire, the accused killer of Perrysburg Marshal Frank Thornton escapes from the Wood County Jail with two other inmates. He surrenders several years later.
1907 - Hercules nitroglycerin plant in Bradner explodes. Two men are killed, many others injured.
1937 - Two Toledo city health department workers are killed when their ambulance slams into a stalled steel truck on Anthony Wayne Bridge.
1940 - Gale force winds blast the Toledo area for two days, causing heavy damage and stranding dozens of duck hunters in Maumee Bay.

November 13
1884 - A giant explosion occurs at the Rummel nitroglycerin plant in South Toledo near present-day Harvard School. The blast was so powerful that windows and walls of homes and businesses are cracked for miles around.
1888 - Northwest Ohio’s natural gas boom begins to fade after years of huge production.
1894 - The Lamson’s department store opens at Huron and Jefferson.
1944 - Agents raid the newly opened gambling den, the El Rancho Club on Woodville Road near Millbury.
1947 - The Toledo Sports Arena debuts and opens its doors for fans. It would remain open for nearly 60 years, but was demolished in 2007 to make way for development along the riverfront.

November 14
1901 - A runaway horse on Summit Street crashes into a horse and buggy throwing that horse through a plate glass window of Harry Bower's saloon. The runaway horse was brought to a stop by a brave Toledo policeman, Emmert Cairl, who grabbed the frightened animal by the bit and held on for dear life.
1913 - Ostrich plumes from the Toledo Zoo ostriches are on sale in the Nicholas Building for 25 cents to $2 in price.
1923 - The world renowned Vatican’s Sistine Chapel Choir performs at Toledo Coliseum.
1925-Toledo residents mourn the passing of the city's most generous and prominent citizen. Glassmaker, industrialist and art benefactor, Edward Drummond Libbey who died of pneumonia at age 71.
1953 - Toledo song writer Joe Murphy of the Ice House Quarter dies at age of 86. Murphy wrote the popular "We're Strong For Toledo" in 1909.
1972 - Northeast gale force winds force Lake Erie waters into neighborhoods of Point Place, causing major flooding in the area. Hundreds evacuated, hundreds of homes are flooded out.

November 15
1902 - Toledo Police tell "house of ill-fame” owners in the Tenderloin to oust the "colored" musicians that play piano in their resorts.
1906 -The autumn "nutting season" is underway and as a result, school truancy rates are “alarmingly” higher than normal as children are gathering nuts for winter.
1934 - A gang of eight bandits seize the small town of Cygnet to rob the local bank. All phones lines in the city are cut. Residents are shot at on the streets and blasts of nitro shake the town as bandits try to break into the local bank safe. The bandits eventually escape without getting the cash inside the safe.
1952 - Northwest Ohio area is suffering worst drought in more than 20 years. Water has to be hauled in by truck to many towns.

November 16
1916 - Voice actor Dawes Butler is born in Toledo. Later in life becomes the voice of Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, and Yogi Bear.
1920 - Mary Shaw becomes the city of Toledo’s first policewoman and warns that dancing cheek-to-cheek or flirting or doing the "toddle" will be outlawed in Toledo. Policing such behavior is one of her duties.
1921- It’s reported that Ohio has the most licensed passenger cars in the nation at just about 70,000.
1925 - Mrs. Wilma Headley attacked by "Toledo Slugger" as she was walking near 20th Street and Jefferson Avenue.
1925- Baby is found abandoned in back seat of a car in front of a church on East Broadway.

November 17
1895 - Wealthy women complain that not enough girls in Toledo are available for domestic servant jobs. Most say they do not want these jobs citing long hours, the "tyranny" of housewives, and wages of $2.50 a week.
1927 - Toledo Police Chief Harry Jennings promises to put the “lid on illegal gambling in Toledo. He vows that he will stop slot machines and other types of vice from operating openly in the city.
1933 - Pemberville farmer Leo Briggs shoots and wounds an American bald eagle that has been stealing his pigs. Eagle has a 7- foot wing span.
1956- East Toledo holds a parade to Navarre Park as part of a fundraiser to move the cabin of Toledo pioneer Peter Navarre to the Toledo Zoo.
1965 - Moore Ford on Monroe Street is advertising new 1965 model Mustangs for just $1,899.

November 18
1905 - John Ryan of Buckeye and Erie Streets given 30 days in the workhouse for trying to entice young girls and boys into his basement, and offering whiskey to some.
1922 - Daring bank robbery is pulled off in Genoa at the local downtown bank. A Genoa druggist is shot to death as he crosses the street near the bank. Robbers escape with large amount of cash and securities. Two men are arrested, but later acquitted and released.
1925 - Another woman is badly injured in an attack by the Toledo Slugger or Clubber as he is sometimes called by the press. This attack occurs in the 800 block of Tecumseh Street. The city is in terror from the continuing attacks.