This Week In Toledo History

June 25- July 1

June 25
1889 - Former First Lady Lucy Hayes dies of a stroke at the family home in Fremont.
1923 - The once popular Hotel Hillcrest on Middle Bass Island is destroyed by flames.
1928 - The Sam Davis Health Camp for undernourished children in Toledo opens for the summer. At least 100 children will be sent to the camp.
1900 - Toledo police detectives are on the lookout for a young woman clad only in her stockings. After enticing a young man to her room, she noticed the innocent suitor possessed a large roll of cash and, in a state of undress, she snatched the bills and made a "sensational" leap from a second story window and disappeared.
1963 - Perrysburg Township Hall youth area called the "Bee Hive" collapses and is later torn down. The accident occurs hours before a planned event in the hall.
1969 - Explosion at Interlake Steel Co. plant on Front Street in East Toledo. Three workers are killed.

June 26
1899 - Fire at major freight house in Toledo Middlegrounds burns 100 loaded rail cars.
1922 - Contractors report that new home construction costs in Toledo are soaring, nearly $4,000 per home because of rising materials cost.
1952 - Toledo in grip of torrid heat wave as temps soar to near 100 degrees. At least two deaths reported.
1955 - Traffic jams reported in downtown Toledo as 168,000 cars use the downtown streets every day.
1959 - St. Lawrence Seaway dedicated by Queen Elizabeth and President Eisenhower.

June 27
1845- The Miami and Erie Canal opens link from Toledo to Cincinnati, allowing canal boats to travel from Toledo to the Ohio River.
1904 - The University of Toledo trustees decide that the school will have nine different colleges to offer students including a school of Pharmacy.
1910 - The Casino Theater and Pavlion at Point Place is wiped out by flames and may not be rebuilt.
1913 - Two killed, 18 injured when two trains collide near Woodville.
1950 - Marlin Stuart pitches a perfect game at Swayne Field for the Mud Hens, shutting out Indianapolis 1-0.
1958 - Zalophus or “Cyril” the fugitive sea lion from London, Ontario, is caught in Sandusky Bay and taken to the Toledo Zoo where officials said they would keep the mammal, touching off a near international incident. Toledo Zoo eventually returns Cyril to London Zoo.

June 28
1885- A violent riot by parishioners at St. Hedwig’s on Lagrange Street over the suspension of a priest. Hundreds of local residents engage in street clashes. A saloon owner and wife are dragged from their house and beaten and shot.
1906 - A Toledo probation officer “Dilgart” ends practice of parents sending their children to corner saloons to pick up a supply of beer. Dilgart says the kids are being sent into “dives of iniquity” to get beer for a besotted father.
1956 - An 11-day Shakespeare festival opens at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater, drawing 2,000 audience members for its debut performance of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
1988 - The baseball stadium at Lucas County Rec Center is renamed Ned Skeldon Stadium.

June 29
1907 - Armory Park is jammed with thousands of women for the baseball match-up between Toledo and Columbus as the tense race for first place continues. It's reported that this may be the largest number of women ever to attend a sporting event in Toledo.
1921- Registration advertised for University of Toledo summer session. Fees are $2 for resident and $6.00 for non-residents.
1931 - Former Lucas County Sheriff Charles Emmert, his brother Edward and another man are indicted by a grand jury for fraud concerning jail food purchases
1979 - Toledo Owens-Illinois executive William Niehous escapes his captors in the jungles of Venezuela after being held for more than three years. He makes it to safety and is flown back home to Toledo.

June 30
1905 - Toledo stunt flyer Roy Knabenshue flies an airship balloon to the top of the Spitzer building downtown and back again to fairgrounds on Dorr Street.
1918 - More than 35,000 people assemble in Ottawa Park for a community wide religious service to pray for an “honorable” peace in World War I.
1931 - Toledo Police Detective Frank Delora suspended after he started a shooting rampage inside Greenie Taxi's office on Jackson Street. No one was hit by the barrage of bullets. The police surgeon says Delora was emotionally affected by hot weather.
1977 - Tornado sweeps across Fremont and Sandusky County. Eighteen people are injured

July 1
1907 - The Toledo prison camp known as "Duck Island” is quarantined because all of the inmates were exposed to smallpox. It will be closed for 17 days and fumigated.
1909 - Toledo Mayor Brand Whitlock warns young lovers that it’s OK to spoon in city parks, but Toledo police officers will be watching for any signs that the “affections” shown are improper.
1914 - State teachers’ convention held at Cedar Point, where the state school superintendent reveals to the crowd that most teachers can’t attend because they are too poor.
1979 - A mass strike by Toledo city workers begins after failed talks for new contract. All unions, including police and fire, go on strike, shutting down city and creating chaos. Anarchy ruled the streets. A TARTA bus driver was murdered. The strike eventually ends days later with a new labor agreement.