Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Oct. 26
1867: Three-year-old Marie Lilly Bowers is abducted near Sandusky, reportedly by gypsies. She is found by her mother 14 years later, in 1882, living on the James Calkin farm in Genoa where she had been adopted and named Ida Bell Calkins. The Calkins family says an itinerant worker named "Jack" gave the child to them, and they raised her as their own.
1922: Five teenagers returning home from a Halloween party are killed near Holgate when their car is crushed by a high-speed freight train.
1926: Police in Toledo round up mentally ill people as suspects in the "Toledo Slugger" murders.
1927: A bread war is taking place in Toledo with loaves selling for five cents each.
1938: The popular Walbridge Park amusements area on Broadway is devastated by a wind-fueled blaze that destroyed most of the rides, including the Speedway roller coaster and the carousel.
1960: Vice President Richard Nixon speaks to an audience at the University of Toledo Fieldhouse during his campaign for president.
1965: It’s announced by Chrysler that they will build a $15 million parts plant on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township that will employ over 3,000 people.
1966: The American premiere of the movie, El Greco, is held at Valentine Theater in Toledo, featuring a live appearance from star, Mel Ferrer.
1988: Two giant pandas, Le Le and Nan Nan, are being readied for shipment back home after becoming an extremely popular feature at the Toledo Zoo for the summer season. The pair drew hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the nation to view the rare animals on loan from China.
Oct. 27
1887: Businessman and Toledo promoter Jesup Scott predicts that Toledo will become the "Great Metropolis of the West” and a "future great city," surpassing Chicago and other major cities.
1895: Mobs surround the Seneca County Jail in Tiffin demanding to lynch L.J. Martin, the man accused of slaying Marshal August Schultz. The mob is repulsed by gunfire, and two men in the crowd are shot dead.
1931: A festive ceremony takes place at the opening the new High Level Bridge over the Maumee River. As a part of the celebration, 40,000 people walk over the span from west to East Toledo.
1946: The USS Toledo, the Navy's heavy cruiser that bears the city's name, is commissioned in Philadelphia. A delegation of dignitaries from Toledo is there to donate a custom engraved silver tea set for use in the officers’ mess hall. The Toledo Tea Set is currently displayed on the USS Midway Museum ship in San Diego.
1951: A riot ensues on the streets of Bowling Green after the annual rivalry game against the University of Toledo.
1952: Ground is broken for the construction of the Ohio Turnpike across the northern tier of the state.
1980: Bowsher High School in Toledo deals with complaints from some parents and students about the school fight song “Dixie” and the use of the Confederate flag in the school. Leaders say they will look into the situation.
Oct. 28
1895: A spectacular blaze destroys much of the Wood County oil boom town of Mungen.
1899: The new plate glass company started by Edward Ford begins production in the newly created community of Rossford.
1919: Four men are arrested in Toledo in the plot to kidnap Edsel Ford, the son of auto magnate Henry Ford. He was to be held for ransom.
1921: Boxing champ Jack Dempsey returns to Toledo, where he won his title fight in 1919. He visits with friends and attends a football game at Waite High School.
1923: A daring daylight bank robbery in Waterville is carried out by two machine gun toting bandits. One of them was disguised as a woman.
1933: Aviatrix Amelia Earhart stops in Toledo for a speech at the Palace Theater. While she is here, she paints an arrow on the roof of the Hillcrest Hotel, pointing the way for pilots to the new city airport near Millbury. She also has breakfast that morning at Commodore Perry Hotel.
1948: The sex education film “Human Growth” is viewed by several community leaders in Toledo to determine its suitability for children to see. The school board gives it an okay, but local clergy says it should some have content about where the “soul” comes from.
Oct. 29
1929: The Libbey High School football team plays its first game in a new stadium during a matchup against Scott. The Bulldogs won the game 12-0.
1937: District fire chief George Ehmann was killed almost instantly when the car in which he was responding to a fire was struck by another car which failed to heed the warning siren.
1960: A tragedy takes place at the Toledo Express Airport as a twin engine C-46 charter plane carrying the Caly Poly football team and others crashes on take off during a rain storm. The crash killed 16 members of the team and five others, resulting in the worst disaster in the history of the airport. The players and coaches had just finished a game against BGSU and were heading home to San Luis Obispo, Calif.
1993: Erin Whitten, backup goalie for the Toledo Storm, becomes first female hockey player credited with a victory as the Toledo Storm beats Dayton, 6-5.
Oct. 30
1891: North Baltimore is ravaged by the “Great Fire” that destroyed 49 structures, leveling much of the town.
1920: Officials at the new Empire Theater in Toledo declare that they will stay open late on election day and announce the results from the stage at midnight.
1947: Thirty families are now living in trailers on the campus of the University of Toledo’s so called “G-I Village.” The trailers are housing veterans from the war who are attending classes at UT. They are living on $90 per month subsistence checks.
1950: Bloomdale’s 75-year-old marshal, Charlie Karrick, says he doesn’t expect too many outhouses to be tipped over for Halloween this year because there are only a few remaining in town. He said the record was 41 in one night tipped over in the community of 500.
1977: The Wood County town of Grand Rapids holds its first Apple Butter Fest.
Oct. 31
1900: Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan speaks to a crowd of 10,000 at Armory Park in Toledo. His speech, however, along with one from Mayor Samuel Jones, were interrupted by noisy demonstrations of high school students opposed to Bryan.
1911: Toledoans are startled by the loud and continual sound of thousands of wild geese flocking over the city in the middle of the night. Bird experts theorize the geese might have become disoriented by heavy fog and the lights of the city.
1915: A major fire breaks out in Rocky Ridge, destroying one home and several business buildings. Some sticks of dynamite stored in an office building exploded as high winds fanned the flames.
1928: The new Woodward Technical High School in North Toledo is dedicated.
1945: Sixteen German POWs are killed near Blissfield, Mich. when their transport truck is hit by a passenger train.
1952: A riot breaks out at the Ohio State Penitentiary when inmates begin protesting over the quality of the food. The “Halloween Riot” was put down three days later by armed troops who killed one inmate and wounded several others.
1954: The Toledo Express Airport dedication draws more than 35,000 people to the newly built facility that was constructed with local money and without any federal funding.
1956: Future President and current senator, John F. Kennedy, gives a speech at the Sports Arena in a rally for Governor Michael Disalle.
1975: Amtrak train service begins in Toledo with one east and west bound train per day. It is the first time in four years that Toledo has had passenger rail service.
Nov. 1
1903: More than 10,000 people jam Calvary Cemetery in Toledo for All Saints Day services.
1911: John North Willys, owner of the Overland Car Company, tells a group of businessmen at a meeting that about 10 percent of the people in Toledo, roughly 2,200, currently own an automobile, and he believes many more can afford to buy one. He says the cost of operating should be about $25 a month and should not be considered a luxury.
1926: Toledo City Council authorizes the purchase of 10 new police cars as the search for the so-called "Toledo Slugger" intensifies after murder of young school teacher Lily Croy.
1943: Two Wood County deputies are the victim of a Halloween prank when they return to their patrol car in Rising Sun after a coffee break, only to find a live goat in the back seat of their patrol car.
1972: The first Toussaint Founders Day is held on the banks of Toussaint River in Ottawa County. Residents in canoes gather on the spot where it’s believed French Explorer Etienne Brule first visited the remote marshland area in the early 17th century. Festive French songs were sung by those attending, and local native residents were toasted with wine and beer.
