Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Aug. 30
1900: Three East Toledo boys are in trouble for stealing watermelons from a railroad car and selling them around the neighborhood.
1927: Toledo aviator Paul Redfern remains missing after departing Brunswick, Ga. on Aug. 25 in an attempt to fly non-stop to Brazil. Redfern, a South Carolina resident who lived in Toledo for several years and married Toledoan Gertrude Hillebrand, was attempting to be the first pilot to make the non-stop flight over the Caribbean. His plane was spotted by sailors as it was flying low over the Atlantic while making an approach for Venezuela. After that sighting, however, he was never heard from again.
1934: Pearson Park is dedicated in honor of Blade reporter and East Side booster George Pearson. Pearson made it his personal crusade to save this section of first growth forest to be set aside for a park.
1953: The Toledo police department's 46-year-old motorcycle squad is disbanded by the city. The first motorcycles were used on a trial basis and became so popular, they expanded over the years and became an everyday method for officers to patrol the streets and eventually abandon horse drawn patrol wagons.
1955: Actress Mamie Van Doren comes to Toledo to wed band leader Ray Anthony.
1972: Toledo gets a double dose of bad news when it is announced that Buckeye Beer will close its historic brewery in North Toledo after more than 130 years in operation. On the same day, it is revealed that the iconic Tiedtke's store will be closing its doors forever.
Aug. 31
1878: A fire destroys the huge Put-In-Bay House Hotel and several other buildings on South Bass Island.
1901: A large tomato canning plant opens at Bowling Green, later becoming the Heinz plant until 1975.
1925: The Toledo Zoo buys two new Bengal tigers from a wild animal dealer in New York for $3,500.
1929: Momentum is building in Toledo and the Great Lakes region for a link to the Atlantic Ocean. The Toledo News Bee runs a special section on the latest developments in the efforts to build a canal and a new link to connect the Great Lakes port cities with the ports of Europe. It took another 30 years to become reality.
1955: A bright new addition to Toledo's downtown skyline was added as the 15-foot-high Owens-Illinois neon sign was hoisted into place atop the 368-foot O-I headquarters on Madison. It remained there for the next 28 years.
Sept. 1
1908: The 75-foot-tall Fort Meigs monument is dedicated at Perrysburg.
1910: More than 5,000 people attend the town of Elmore’s big picnic along the river. The event featured a parade, a “fat man’s race,” a series of “tug of war” contests that pitted 10 men against a horse and a late-day ballon ascension by a Toledo aeronaut.
1911: What might have been the first “tiny homes” were advertised for sale at Kobackers in Toledo at $195 for a three-room house.
1926: Eight people are killed in a head-on crash of north-south Interurban trains in Monroe, Mich. Scores are injured and many victims are from Toledo.
1937: Toledo police begin a crackdown on child molesters after a wave of crimes are reported in the city. A shoe store clerk is taken into custody for luring young girls into the store to model in what was actually a fake fashion show.
1947: The Toledo Blade reports that 8,219 people in Toledo work for the railroads.
1948: The Induction Center opens for young Toledoans to sign up for Korean War duty.
1949: A record crowd gathers at the Sports Arena with over 6,700 attending a wrestling event featuring grapplers such as The Zebra Kid, The Red Devil and The Polish Angel.
Sept. 2
1911: The Maumee River claims the lives of seven people in a small launch called the Nemo. Six victims are city employees.
1967: A fire takes place at PeeWee’s Bar on Suder Avenue, and Toledo Fire Lt. Chester Rybarczyk is killed.
1972: Dave Wottle wins the 800-meter competition at the Munich Olympics, becoming BGSU’s first Olympic gold medalist.
Sept. 3
1894: The cornerstone is laid for the new (now present-day) Lucas County Courthouse.
1902: The “saloon war” in Genoa is growing tense. A window was reportedly smashed in a local saloon by the leader of the temperance movement who wants all the saloons closed. A petition has been drawn up to hold an election on the fate of the drinking establishments. One correspondent says, "things are decidedly hot at Genoa and growing warmer.”
1908: Thousands of former Union soldiers from the Civil War convene at Toledo for the National Grand Army of the Republic encampment. Over 30,000 veterans from across the United States came to Toledo to be a part of the celebration that was the largest assembly of people in the city.
2001: The final minor league game for the Mud Hens is played at Ned Skeldon Stadium in Maumee with 11,800 fans jamming the stadium as they watched the Hens lose to Columbus 13-12.
Sept. 4
1830: The Wood County Court fines John Harris $2.50 for running a horse within the Perrysburg city limits.
1891: Elmore residents are talking about oil well No. 9, a “gusher” that was uncorked on the John Damschroder farm that is producing about 80 barrels a day. Predictions are that if No. 10 comes in as strong, there will be more than enough oil to supply all the towns in the area.
1899: Charles Custer, the nephew of the famed General George Custer, is shot and killed in Monroe County, Mich. by John Russell. The motive is unknown.
1929: The U.S. Coast Guard announces a full blitz of stepped-up patrols and a fleet of 20 new boats to combat the rum running on Lake Erie in the Toledo area. The boats were stationed in the Western end of the lake where most of the illegal booze smuggling was occurring between Canada and the U.S.
1940: With much celebration, the new Toledo Public Library building opens downtown on Michigan Avenue between Adams and Madison streets. Thousands of people gathered for the special ceremonies, including Mayor John Q. Carey. The library was constructed by the WPA and Carey said he hopes it will lead to more beautiful buildings in downtown Toledo. The Daughters of the Union Veterans made a special presentation of a large U.S. flag for the new civic building.
Sept. 5
1865: A wooden span of the Cherry Street Bridge is opened to traffic with a new drawbridge.
1897: The first “horseless carriage” appears on an Elmore street.
1900: Cresceus, Toledo's famous champion racehorse owned by George Ketcham, breaks the world record for one-mile trotters. The popular stallion achieves the milestone at 2:04:45 while competing in Hartford, Conn.
1922: Oakdale Elementary School opens its doors for students.
1954: It’s discovered that an unknown Navy pilot dropped practice bombs on top of the Toledo water intake crib, damaging the roof.
1958: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is playing at the Valentine Theater, and “The Naked and the Dead” is playing at Pantheon Theater.
