Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Feb. 8
1919: Hundreds of Toledo soldiers from the 329th regiment return home from France after WWI. Thousands of Toledoans gather at the tracks on Cherry Street to greet the homecoming train.
1922: The KKK reorganizes in Toledo, with the group deciding to be called the Krusaders. Three-hundred men attend the first meeting at Iota Hall.
1937: Toledo Police arrest the last member of what they call the Baby Dillinger Gang, which had been terrorizing and robbing stores in the Toledo area.
1938: Trial begins for the so-called teen "cave gang" leaders. The city is stunned by allegations that the West Toledo teenage boys ransacked local homes and engaged in sex acts with an adult. They stored their loot in local caves.
1949: Plans are being made to greet the Ohio boxcar of the French “Merci” Train in Toledo. The train was sent by France to the United States, to say thank you for helping the French rebuild after WWII.
1957: The Ash-Consaul Street bridge is torn down after the new Craig Memorial bridge opens. The 70-year-old bridge was built in the 1880s after floods in 1883 washed away the Cherry Street bridge.
Feb. 9
1903: When Charles Miller, who runs a saloon in Prairie Depot (now Wayne) in Wood County, was shut down for staying open beyond the legal closing time, it irritated a Ft. Wayne man. So much so, he went into the middle of Main Street with a six-shooter and began to shoot up the town. The man was arrested. Miller's Saloon is still closed.
1914: Burglars blow open the doors to the safe of the Elmore Post Office. They obtained $100 for their efforts and some stamps.
1922: A man straddles one of the decorative lions in from of the Lion Store on Summit Street, yelling that he is “Daniel in the lion's den.” Patrolman Thomas who saw him had to wrestle him off of the statue. A battle ensued, but eventually “Daniel” was carted off to the Central Police Station.
1945: Lt. Jacob Chandler of Toledo is killed in action while serving in Italy during WWII. Chandler had been a Toledo policeman before the war, and was the only TPD officer killed while serving in wartime. He is buried at the American cemetery near Florence, Italy.
1962: Robert Stranahan, founder of Toledo’s Champion Spark Plug Company, dies in his West Central Avenue home at the age of 75. Stranahan started the company in Boston in 1908 and two years later moved the operations to Toledo.
1963: The Toledo Sports Center on Starr Avenue is destroyed by fire.
1983: Four thousand hopeful job applicants line up for 200 new jobs at the Whirlpool plant in Clyde.
Feb. 10
1838: Ohio State legislature authorizes spending of $40,000 to improve the “Black Swamp Road” (now US Route 20) between Fremont and Perrysburg, which is considered most important road in Northern Ohio. A Senate committee cites a study that in the past month, more than 5,500 people traveled on the road — 2,300 sleighs and 80 wagons, plus horses, sleds, and footmen.
1921: A two-week-old baby girl is found in a basket on a doorstep in 3100 block of Kimball Avenue in Toledo. The baby was apparently born in a Detroit hospital before being abandoned.
1928: It's announced that a 70-foot tower will be built on a farm near Clyde so state surveyors can draw new maps of the Lake Erie Shoreline. From this particular ridge, experts say they can see all the way to Kelley's Island and Put-in Bay. It will be the highest elevation between Buffalo and Toledo.
1929: Toledo Police arrest 42 people in series of raids for bootlegging and gambling.
1931: Classes open for the first time at the new University Hall on UT’s new campus on Bancroft.
1931: Fire guts the interior of the reputed gambling hall, the Embassy Supper Club at Jackson and St. Clair, following a police raid.
1933: A massive fire destroys the popular Vita Temple Theater on St. Clair Street in downtown Toledo. The building, constructed in 1862, had originally been a church, then converted to a dance hall and roller rink before becoming home to the theater in 1929.
1939: Hearings are underway in Lucas County, as prosecutors explore allegations that TPD Detective Captain George Timiney and other city and county police officials were too friendly to the Licavoli gang and other known mobsters in the city, often seen with them in gambling spots, illegal saloons, and night clubs.
1964: WBGU-TV (channel 27), at Bowling Green State University, goes on air.
Feb. 11
1881: Ice jams and floes cause major damage to buildings and boats in downtown Toledo. Heavy flooding in the downtown area is along Water Street.
1895: It's reported that more oil drilling derricks are going up along Woodville Road between Toledo and Genoa as speculators hope to strike some large pools of crude oil. Similar activity is reported from Woodville north to Lake Erie.
1896: Elmore council decides the town should get electric streetlights and awards a contract of $650 to install ten new lights in the town.
1906: The Humane Society in Toledo is outraged by a report that a "negro" man on the riverfront was tortured and burned with a hot iron by the so called "Water Street Gang" of young toughs and drunks. Police say the men are known to have hung out at a saloon on the riverfront, and prior to this assault they had tortured him before.
1929: Toledo movie houses are promoting their "talking" pictures. At the State Theater, "In Old Arizona" is said to be the first talking picture filmed outdoors in Arizona. And the soon-to-open Paramount Theater is promoting modern "talking and singing" pictures.
1936: Three icebound freighters are declared a hazard to Cherry Street Bridge and ordered out of the harbor. Workers blast ice out of the river with dynamite to move the ships.
1959: Ice jams break loose in Grand Rapids, causing major flooding along Maumee River. Major floods also hit downtown Fremont along the Sandusky River.
Feb. 12
1820: Wood County is officially formed by state legislature.
1893: A major oil strike occurs in Wood County’s Middleton Township. It is reported to be producing 1,000 barrels a day.
1900: The Toledo Police Court is forced to change locations after a smallpox fumigation kills rats under floor, creating an unbearable stench.
1906: A Wood County sheriff apprehends accused killer Frank McGuire during a chase on the ice-covered Maumee River near the Fassett Street bridge. McGuire is wanted for the slaying of Perrysburg Marshal Frank Thornton, but later escapes from jail.
1931: Toledo fireman Paul Quigley, 38, is killed during a demonstration in front of several city officials when the 30-foot ladder he was climbing at the Sylvania Ave. fire station slipped on concrete and came crashing to the ground.
1935: Hundreds of Boy Scouts from the Toledo area visit over 1,300 patients in local hospitals to wish them well and give them flowers.
1999: A Life Flight helicopter crashes into a home in Central Toledo during a snow squall, injuring the pilot, nurse, and doctor on board.
Feb. 13
1894: A massive blaze wipes out much of the Genoa business district.
1903: Toledo health officials say the city’s smallpox outbreak is depleting funds for public healthcare.
1956: A downtown Toledo gas explosion kills three people at Higrade Beagle Meat Packing. Numerous buildings are leveled on Superior St.
1998: Terror strikes the streets of Toledo when Vivian Morris is stabbed to death in her West Toledo apartment and her son is wounded in the attack. Suspect Joe Chappel then goes on a rampage and shoots another woman to death on Barrows Street. He is stopped by police and shot dead in the street at Monroe and Secor.
Feb. 14
1838: Toledo City Council establishes salaries for city workers: City Marshal, $40 monthly; City Attorney, $40 monthly; Treasurer, 2% of money handled.
1848: A major milestone in communications in Toledo is made as the first regular telegraph service arrives. This new service immediately changes the speed of news delivery to local newspapers.
1918: A massive “gorge” of water travels downstream towards Toledo after an ice jam takes out a bridge in Napoleon. Many bridges are shut down, and rail passengers are taking excursions along the river to see the flooding.
1925: Plans are announced to erect the Bell building on Huron Street between Jefferson and Monroe. The $3 million structure will allow phone company to automate the Toledo phone system.
1940: Tragedy strikes as a doctor, along with his wife and two children, perish when their car goes through the Lake Erie ice on a trip to Middle Bass Island.
