This Week in Toledo History Week of 5/24/2021

May 23-29

May 23
1908 -An airship piloted by Toledo's Roy Knabenshue crashes into the center field fence during a ball game at Armory Park. Everyone escapes without serious injuries.
1921 - Future famous singer and Toledo resident Helen O'Connell is born in Lima. She grew up in Toledo and by the time she and her sister Alice were teenagers, they were singing duets on radio stations in Toledo. She would later sing with the Dorsey band and by 1940 was considered one of the best female singers in America.
1944 - The Toledo Mud Hens had a dismal season in 1944 and on this day at Swayne Field suffered their most humiliating defeat in Hens history, losing to the Milwaukee Brewers 28-0. The newspaper writers called it the "Granddaddy of all Wallopings." Half of the fans went home by the fifth inning.
1975 - The Ohio Air National Guard Commander of the 180th fighter wings is killed when his F-100 crashes at Toledo Express airport. Colonel Charles Bell died in the wreckage while his co-pilot Alex Barelka survives but suffers severe burns over 40 percent of his body.
1983 - A major multi-alarm blaze occurs at the Willis Day Warehouse on Dearborn Avenue in Oregon, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of neighbors.
1988 - Legendary UT quarterback Chuck Ealey, who led the Rockets to three undefeated seasons from 1969 to `1971, is inducted into the Mid American Conference Hall of Fame.

May 24
1854 - Toledo city council votes to hire night watchmen to patrol the streets at $1.25 a night.
1894 - Perrysburg School on Louisiana Avenue burns to the ground.
1919 - Last weekend begins for legal alcohol sales in Toledo as prohibition goes into effect. Saloons and bars are jammed with customers eager to have their "last" drink.
1934 - The Auto-Lite strike in North Toledo turns deadly. Thousands of strikers and supporters gather in front of the besieged plant on Champlain Street and face off against National Guard troops. Violence erupts in front of the factory and the troops open fire on the crowd. Two people are shot dead in the melee.
1934 - Brand Whitlock, the four-term mayor of Toledo and former Ambassador to Belgium, dies in Paris at the age of 65.

May 25
1903 - Great excitement is noted in Toledo and elsewhere as the "Twentieth Century" passenger train that runs between New York and Chicago reaches a peak record speed of 90 MPH on a long stretch of level track between Toledo and Elkhart, Indiana.
1930 - Ground is broken for Devilbiss High School in West Toledo on Upton Avenue.
1936 - Ten thousand Roman Catholics hold outdoor mass at Swayne Field to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Toledo Diocese.
1957 - A large group of rowdy students riots in the streets of Bowling Green. Two fraternities are suspended.

May 26
1823 - Perrysburg begins the sale of city housing lots for a $20 minimum bid.
1887 - Statue of Toledo Civil War Hero General James Blair Steedman unveiled to a large crowd on Summit Street in downtown Toledo.
1901 - Much excitement is reported by oil speculators in Ottawa County as news reports indicate that oil has been discovered on Middle Bass Island. More wells are being planned.
1906 - Toledo Police investigate the fatal stabbing of a man after an all-day drinking orgy of men, women and boys at 215 Sycamore Street near Summit. It is described by newspapers as a "disreputable part of the city".
1919 - Toledo Policeman William Bather is shot to death on Emerald Avenue in South Toledo after he attempts to question three stolen-car suspects. The 29-year-old officer leaves behind a grieving widow and two children.
1927 -The new Ohio Bell Building at 121 Huron Street is dedicated.
1935 - Fourteen thousand people turn out at Scott High School football field to hear the eighth annual Citywide Music Festival that is put on by the local high school bands and choirs.
1952 - Lucas County Commissioners prosecute the Rauh Fertilizer Company in Sylvania Township for the dumping of sulfuric acid into Ten Mile Creek, killing thousands of fish and other aquatic life.

May 27
1862 - Toledo Street Railway Company begins operations with horse-drawn streetcars providing public transportation throughout the city.
1908 - A downtown Toledo beer garden is closed after violating a police order against serving women in beer gardens and saloons.
1921 - In a Fremont courtroom, during a civil trial, two opposing attorneys became uncivil and got into a fistfight in the courtroom. Others joined the melee before it was quelled and order was restored.
1928 - Race car driver Roy Goodwin is killed in a crash at Fort Miami Racetrack in Maumee.
1948 - Paul Block Jr., owner and publisher of the Toledo Blade, marries former Blade reporter Marjorie Main.

May 28
1911 - The Lion Store in Toledo is selling new screen doors starting at 69 cents each. Ladies silk hosiery is just 35 cents a pair.
1921 - The Toledo Health Department reports that seven children have died from diphtheria in the past few weeks. Three of them were students at Stickney School in North Toledo.
1936 - An investigation into the activities of the "Black Legion" in Toledo reveals there are more than 700 members around the city. Police say they don't appear to be responsible for any violence. It was learned later that many members of the furtive group were Toledo policemen.
1961- The Divine Word Seminary on River Road opens for young men preparing for the Catholic priesthood.
1970 - Toledo enacts new and strict gun control measures. After reports of armed gangs running in the streets, the city votes to ban anyone from carrying firearms in the street or in their cars. The city also enacts a handgun registration law.

May 29
1837 - Toledo Fire Department is formed with volunteer companies.
1841 - The first Seneca County Courthouse is destroyed by fire.
1884 - As hundreds of adults and children watched, Wesley Johnson, convicted of a gruesome double murder and mutilation of a man and wife, is hanged in front of the Henry County Jail in Napoleon.
1907 - The popular Lake Erie Park and Casino burns to the ground.
1917 - Anti-draft riots break out on the lawn in front of the Lucas County Courthouse. Several people are injured and arrested.
1929 - An illegal 500 gallon still explodes in an apartment house on Prouty Street. Two men and two women manage to escape the flames in their night clothes.
1938 - Webbers Tavern in Point Place is reduced to rubble after fire rips through the establishment forcing 400 patrons to run for the exits.