This Week In Toledo History
October 15
1906 - A Toledo police officer was severely beaten by a gang of 15-20 men in Charlie Textor’s saloon on Fassett Street after he brought a suspect into the bar to have him identified by patrons.
1918 - Waite High School closed for one month because of Spanish flu and much of the city is now on alert that Spanish Flu is becoming a major health concern.
1927 - Massive blaze strikes the 400 block of Superior in downtown Toledo, destroying several stores.
1947- Toledo city officials propose putting fluorine or fluoride in water supply to help prevent tooth decay in children. Idea gets mixed reaction.
2005 - A planned rally by Neo-Nazis and skinheads in a Park near Polish Village of Toledo erupts into riots. The presence of the Nazis in the area touched off clashes between counter protesters and police for hours.
October 16
1901 - Bowling Green city council in heated debate over whether to remove hitching rail posts for horses.
1927 - Farmers near Kenton in Hardin County report seeing a nighttime rainbow following a bright harvest moon and a brief rain shower. They say the perfect arc “moonbow” that stretched from horizon to horizon was glowing white against the western night sky.
1940 - The possibility of war looms large. In Toledo it’s reported that 34,000 young Toledo men have now registered for the draft.
1957 - Local hotels are featuring special entertainment in their lounges and restaurants. The Shalimar at the Commodore Perry has Larry Green and his orchestra; the Victorian Terrace at the Hillcrest has the "Nocturnes “for your dancing pleasure”
October 17
1921- Large throng of men jam third floor of Toledo City Hall to apply for 200 temporary jobs with the city. Two of the men collapse in line from hunger.
1932 - Six men injured in bloody riots at Lucas County Courthouse when farmers and jobless workers demanding relief, clash with police.
1937 - Nationally known bank robber Joe Muzzio, leader of the "Cowboy Hill" gang dies of cancer at the Lucas County Hospital.
1958 - A severe bout of Asian flu is hitting Toledo area schools. Many teachers are out sick. To help keep schools in session, many senior students are now filling in for the sick teachers.
1962 - The new $5-million Federal Building on Summit Street is opened. First U.S. Government Building built in Toledo since 1932.
1976 - Sunset Fireworks Company on State Route 2 destroyed in arson-set blaze, killing Jerusalem Township Assistant Fire Chief John Kennedy.
2007 - Toledo-born pop singer Teresa Brewer dies at the age of 76 at her home in New York.
October 18
1879- The first successful telephone call between Toledo and Detroit took place on this day between the Blade and a Detroit News reporter.
1905 - The “Wonderful Horse Jim Key” is exhibited at the Valentine Theater in Toledo. Jim Key is a world- famous horse, whose ex-slave trainer has taught him to spell, do math, and use a telephone. He appears with Toledo’s famous trotter racehorse Cresceus.
1909 - An amateur hypnotist in North Baltimore puts a 16-year-old boy under his spell to settle a wager, but then couldn’t bring him out of the trance for over four hours. The boy needed a doctor after it was over.
1923 - Groundbreaking is held for the new Safety Building on Erie Street which would serve as Toledo Police headquarters and city hall
1947 Twenty-two-year-old Toledo exotic dancer Patricia Schmidt (aka Satira) on trial in Cuba for the murder of her lover John Mee, a Chicago attorney, on his yacht in Havana. She is later convicted and then released a year later.
October 19
1901- Toledo oil investors strike a big gusher in the Wood County community of Haskins, where they hit a well that immediately produced 700 barrels of crude on the Chauncey Parker Farm.
1906 - Toledo has reported 110 cases of typhoid fever so far this month.
1910 -Toledo Scale is in full operation. Reports indicate massive sales and offices in 50 cities.
1951 - Six-thousand Electric Auto-Lite workers go on strike against factories in Toledo. First major action against the company since the tragic Auto-Lite strike in 1934 that resulted in riots and deaths.
October 20
1915- Lucas County Clerk of Courts John Kelly goes on trial for embezzling thousands of dollars from the county.
1937-The oil tanker, “the Argo,” sinks north of Kelleys Island. Two- hundred-thousand gallons of oil are aboard and have to be pumped off.
2000 - Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for Fifth Third Field, the baseball stadium to be built in downtown Toledo for the Mud Hens.
October 21
1872-Toledo businessman and futurist Jesup Scott deeds 160 acres of land to Toledo for a new university.
1883 -Woodlawn Cemetery in West Toledo is dedicated.
1960 - Cuban Army Major William Morgan, "El Commandante" of Toledo arrested by Fidel Castro for espionage in Cuba. He would be executed two years later. His wife, Olga later moves to Toledo to live out her life and works to have her husband's name cleared and his body returned to the U.S.
1965- About $10,000 worth of fur coats are stolen by thieves who broke into Lamson’s DepartmentStore in downtown Toledo.