Events in the Toledo area over the past 150 years

By: 
Lou Hebert

Week of Feb. 21-Feb. 27

Feb. 21
1901 The Toledo Steam automobile built by the American Bicycle Company of Toledo is being advertised in national publications for about $1000. There are very few left in the world. No one in Toledo owns one.

1946 Toledo soldier Sgt. Shirley Dixon is acquitted of war crimes in Vienna after he was accused in the shooting death of a Russian army officer and the wounding of another while they were traveling on a troop train through Europe..

1967 The "new" Chase School in North Toledo is dedicated.

2007 Tragedy and sadness grip the city with news that Toledo Police Detective Keith Dressel was shot and killed by a teenage suspect in North Toledo during an arrest stop.

Feb. 22
1886 Dedication ceremonies are held for the Soldiers Memorial Hall (now demolished) in downtown Toledo on Adams Street. The hall was built to honor all Civil War Veterans and served for years as a popular meeting hall for many events.

1924 Fostoria's School Superintendent fends off demands by the Ku Klux Klan that he resign. The Klan had purchased sweaters for 18 members of the High School Football team and they were suspended when they wore them to school. It was revealed in a heated school board meeting that the Klan gave sweaters to other players in Maumee, Bowling Green, and in Toledo at Waite and Scott.

1973 The U.S. Supreme Court finally decides the official boundary line between Ohio and Michigan in the long-held dispute over what state could claim Turtle Island in the Maumee Bay. The ruling essentially split it down the middle, thus ending the Toledo-Michigan War of 1835.

Feb. 23
1896 Toledo Pastor's Union demands that Toledo police enforce the closing of theaters in the city on Sunday.

1905 Six jail inmates, five women and one man, are judged to be insane by the court and are sent to the Toledo State Asylum for the Insane on Detroit Avenue.

1927 Eight inmates manage to escape from the brick walls of the Toledo Workhouse using saws to cut their way out through the cell windows.

1953 Perrysburg Schools reopen after a severe flu epidemic that sickened hundreds of students and teachers for over a week.

Feb. 24
1920 Toledo News Bee reports that the Ouija Boards are becoming so popular in Toledo that local stores are running low on supplies and the price has jumped from $1.00 to $1.35.

1926 The Women's Bureau of the Toledo Police Department begins operations to handle cases of missing women and other criminal and social issues involving females.

1938 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's movie opens at the Pantheon Theater in downtown Toledo.

1995 The USS Toledo submarine is commissioned in Norfolk Virginia. The event is attended by many Toledo City officials and dignitaries.

Feb. 25
1904 It's reported that a giant eagle attacked a man in Fremont. He and three other men subdue the big bird and kill it.

1909 From Findlay, it's reported that a Philippines War hero, John Bott of that city, will get a $30 a month pension after he was shot 36 times in one battle. A dozen bullets and dozens of pellets had been removed from his body afterwards.

1936 Drunk driving is becoming such a safety hazard in Toledo that four hundred gas station operators in the city agree to ban gasoline sales to drivers who appear to be drunk.

1941 Tiedtke's Store is selling its popular Parkwood Blend Coffee, 3 pounds for 59 cents, fresh baked bread for 9 cents a loaf and a case of Carling Black Label beer for $1.69.

Feb. 26
1895 Inventor Michael Owens of Toledo patents a glass blowing machine, altering the course of history as his glass making invention would help make Toledo the "Glass Capital of the world".

1916 The Ohio State Game Warden outlaws the use of nets to catch fish in the Maumee River.

1928 A massive explosion rocks the Sun Oil Refinery on Woodville Road killing two workers and injuring four others. The huge fireball was seen for miles and drew thousands of onlookers to the inferno.

1929 A 10-year old boy, Elwood "Buddy" Klotz" is shot in the leg by another 10-year-old during a "gang fight" between city boys and country boys near the Toledo city limits. Police say it was the result of an ongoing youth feud.

Feb. 27
1901 A man who had his case dismissed in court comes back with his guitar and serenades the courtroom with several songs of the South.

1919 Toledo motorcycle policeman Swiatecki is struck by a street car at Indiana and Junction and dragged 65 feet. He survives but loses his pants in the ordeal. He climbs into a nearby tree to hide until neighbors retrieve his pants.

1935 Thousands of Toledo women attend an all day cooking school at the Paramount Theater in Toledo.

1972 Toledo native Pat Brady, born as Robert Ellsworth Patrick Aloysious O'Brady who played the comic sidekick on the Roy Rogers TV show dies at the age of 58 in Colorado. Brady was known for driving his Toledo-made Jeep CJ-2 which he called "Nellybelle".

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