This Week In Toledo History

December 1
1886 - Oil is struck in Henry Township near North Baltimore on the farm of David Fulton, unleashing a 600-barrel-a-day well.
1915 - Small community of Hamler is terrorized by bandits who blew a up bank safe and shot at every citizen on the street.
1918 - Toledo's four breweries cease all production as a result of new federal prohibition on manufacturing of booze.
1926 - Humorist Will Rogers appears at the Toledo Coliseum
1928 - Fifteen-year-old Toledo girl arrested for bootlegging after she confessed that it was the only way she was able to help her family get money.
1983 - Donna Owens sworn in as first woman mayor of Toledo.

December 2
1900 - Charges are filed against the owners of the Jockey Saloon on Summit Street, where a 14-year-old girl from Bowling Green was found on premises. Her mother alleged she had been enticed there to meet men.
1923 - A riot breaks out during Sunday services at Greek Orthodox Church in Toledo at Walnut and Superior Street when 50 people crash the service and try to drag the newly installed pastor from the altar. More than 20 policemen were called to break up the fist fights.
1927 - The first 1928 model Ford is unveiled at Beck Auto sales on Cherry Street. Hundreds gather to see it up close and Frank Masters of Huron Street becomes the first buyer of the new model Ford.
1942 -The oil tanker, “Cleveco,” and the tug boat, “Admiral,” sink in Lake Erie on a storm-tossed trip from Toledo to Cleveland. All 31 crewmen are lost from the two boats.
1974 - Toledo digs out from a massive snow storm. Thousands of people are stranded on highways and interstates. Hundreds are taken to shelter at the Sports Arena until the roads are cleared.
1976 - Toledo Public Schools close for lack of money and don’t reopen until after New Year.

December 3
1923 - A $10,000 reward is posted for thieves who stole $100,000 in diamonds from a jewelry salesman at Toledo Union Station.
1930 - Special honors are awarded Elmore potato farmer O.G. Stieffert, who has reported a yield of 410 bushels per acre.
1931 - Two suspected rum-runners are shot and wounded by Toledo Coast Guardsmen on Lake Erie.
1936 - For the first time in its history, Toledo Police Department orders mandatory intelligence testing for all officers.
1956 - Downtown theaters are busy with Elvis Presley in “Love Me Tender,” at the Paramount. “Giant,” with James Dean at the Rivoli.

December 4
1902 - The county board of inspectors cites deplorable conditions at the Toledo police jail, where young girls are being held and housed with women from the “tenderloin” district.
1944 - Toledo baseball fans saddened by the death of baseball great and Toledo native Roger Bresnahan who died of a heart attack on this day at the age of 65. For a time in his career, he not only owned, but managed and played for his hometown Toledo Mud Hens.
1979 - The historic St. Paul's Methodist Church at Madison and 13th in downtown Toledo is destroyed by fire.

December 5
1855 - Town of Gilead, ravaged by cholera, petitions to change its image and its name and becomes Grand Rapids.
1884 - Natural gas is discovered on the farm of Dr. Charles Osterlen in Wood County, ushering in a massive natural gas boom in the area.
1951 - Maumee native Dick Kazmaier Jr. wins the Heisman Trophy for his outstanding play as quarterback and half back for Princeton University.
1958 - WTOL-TV Channel 11 begins on-air service. Second TV station in Toledo.
1970 - Cricket West Shopping center on Central Avenue near Secor Road is ravaged by a three-alarm blaze, whipped by high winds. A large section of the building is destroyed.

December 6
1822 - Frederick Prentice is born in Toledo. He was the first child born to the new pioneers to the area. He would live a long and successful life and his family gave the land to the city which is now Prentice Park in East Toledo.
1908 - Toledo’s poor families in need of food, clothing and coal are flocking to the Adams Street Mission in huge numbers. It’s feared many will die because of cold and hunger this year.
1913 - The Toledo Housewives League announces boycott of purchase of fresh eggs until prices fall back to 30-cents-a-dozen.

1921- Local stores in Toledo report heavy sales of ice skates this year.

December 7
1894 - Two men are shot and killed in brazen robbery aboard the B&O Railroad near Bairdstown. The victims had been traveling east from Indiana to look for work when they encountered the bandits.
1909 - Toledo Police Chief Knapp issues orders to arrest horse owners in the city who do not blanket them in the cold weather.
1941 - Pearl Harbor is bombed by Japanese in sneak attack, ushering in start of World War II. Toledo reacts with shock and resolve. Young men rush to enlist.
1959 - More than 100 stores in Toledo display Nativity scenes as retailers make public effort to put “Christ back in Christmas.”