This Week In Toledo History

February 25 to March 2

February 25
1904 - It’s reported that a giant bald eagle attacks man in Fremont. He and three others subdue and kill the large bird.
1913 - A major wind-swept blaze in Walbridge nearly destroys the town, but quick work by a "bucket brigade" saves the day.
1936 - Four-hundred gas station operators in Toledo agree to ban gasoline sales to drunk drivers
1958 - Unseasonable and record-breaking warm temperature nears 65 degrees. Ten fishermen rescued from drifting ice near Reno Beach.

February 26
1887 - Large oil discoveries reported in Northwest Ohio. More wells are struck. One in North Baltimore said to be a gusher producing 1,200 barrels a day.
1895 - Inventor Michael Owens of Toledo patents glass blowing machine, a move that would alter the course of history for Toledo as it helped put Toledo on the map as "The Glass Capital of the World".
1908 - American Painless Dental on Summit Street advertising 50-cent fillings and $3 for a gold crown. Or $3 to $5 for an entire set of teeth.
1916 - State Game Warden outlaws use of nets to catch fish in the Maumee River.
1928 - Large crude oil explosions reported at Sun Oil refinery in Toledo. Thousands line Woodville Road to watch the blaze.

February 27
1901 - A man who had his case dismissed in Toledo police court comes back to courtroom with a guitar. He serenades judge and spectators with several songs of the South.
1919 - Toledo motorcycle policeman "Swiatecki" run over by street car at Indiana and Junction Streets. He is dragged 65 feet and survives, but loses his clothes in the ordeal. He climbs a nearby tree to hide and yells to passersby that he needs a pair of pants.
1935 - Thousands of women attend an all-day cooking school at the Paramount Theater in downtown Toledo.
1972 - Toledo native Pat Brady who played as comic sidekick on the Roy Rogers TV show dies at the age of 58 in Colorado.
1976 - Owens-Illinois executive, Toledoan William Niehous is kidnapped from his home in Caracas, Venezuela by terrorists. Ransom demands are made and while some of them are met, Niehous was not returned. Three years after his capture, in 1979 Niehous makes a successful escape from his jungle prison and returns to Toledo.

February 28
1900 - Massive blizzard paralyzes Toledo area with 20 inches of snow reported. Mail and passenger trains are snowbound. Downtown hotels jammed with stranded travelers. All able-bodied men are being called to help clear roadways.
1903 - Albert Wade is found guilty of murdering Kate Sullivan in the farm home she shared with her sister just west of Toledo. In the dramatic trial, Wade's brother, Ben Wade is also found guilty. Both die in electric chair the next year.
1912 - Sandusky County town of Bettsville wiped out by massive blaze that levels most of the downtown area.
1983 - Millions of Americans watch final episode of the hit TV show “M*A*S*H,” which made Toledo’s Jamie Farr and Packo’s hot dogs nationally famous. Big party is held at Packo’s in East Toledo.

February 29
1906 - Frances Goodell of Bowling Green finds three pearls while shucking oysters. The last one she found on Saturday was as big as a pea. She says it is perfect in color and she plans on having the three pearls set in a piece of jewelry.
1912 - Toledo City Council members vote down a proposal by the health officer to require grocers and milk producers to remove foreign particles from their milk and keep it cool. The city health officer tells them, “You'll be killing babies by the hundreds."
1916 - Eight "leap year" babies are reported to have been born in Toledo. All eight are girls.
1924 - Horater's Temple Theater features "Slave of Desire, the story of carefree youth, alluring vampires and mystery."

March 1
1803 - Ohio admitted to the Union.
1904 - Major flooding on Maumee River from Fort Wayne to Toledo. Waterville bridge taken out by ice jams.
1926 - Seventeen people are arrested after “rum runners war” erupts into gun battle on streets of downtown Toledo and Old West End.

1947 - Tom Sholz of music group "Boston" is born in Toledo.
1957 - A "berserk" gunman opens fire and wounds two Toledo policemen and two women at a home in 600 block of Norwood, before turning the gun on himself.

March 2
1849 - Well-known local pioneer Isaac Van Tassel dies while riding horse near present-day Grand Rapids.
1900 - Inmates at the Toledo Workhouse on "Duck Island" in Swan Creek say they are being held in inhumane conditions and want an investigation. They allege everything from "rotten meat" being served to them, to torture in dungeons, as their complaints.
1928 - Construction begins for Central Catholic High School on Cherry Street.
1930 - A deadly gun battle erupts at the Standard Oil Company warehouse in South Toledo. The night watchman and one of the bandits in the gang are killed. Police later find a machine gun at nearby Segur School.
1947 - Toledo bans baking and sale of cream-filled pastries after 50 people are sickened by contaminated chocolate Eclairs from a Lewis Avenue bakery.
1974 - The 55 MPH speed limit goes into effect on all Ohio major highways as speed limits are reduced to save gasoline.