This Week In Toledo History 8/16/2021

This Week in Toledo Aug.15 to 21

Aug. 15
1834 - The Toledo Herald is published by James Irvine Brown, the first newspaper in Toledo. It is also reported that it was Mr. Brown who first suggested the name of Toledo for this new community on the banks of the Maumee River.
1888 - First glass factory begins operation in Tiffin, Ohio.
1941 - Nationally famous exotic snake dancer Zorita arrested by Toledo morals squad at the Kentucky Club on North Detroit Avenue. Released the next day on $200 bond.
1949 - Man from Grand Rapids trying out for crop duster pilot’s job is killed near Bloomdale when plane hits tree.
1976 - Olympic track team member, Toledoan Brenda Morehead, honored with parade in downtown Toledo.
1980- St. Vincent Hospital initiates Life Flight medical rescue helicopter service in NW Ohio.

Aug. 16
1841- Steamboat “Toledo” is launched.
1864 -Toledo City Council gives city marshal the authority to deputize men to serve as night and day police officers.
1881 - Bairdstown in Wood County is incorporated.
1920 - Cloudburst sends 4.5 inches of rain into streets, triggering major floods and damage in the city of Toledo and surrounding area.
1934 - An 18-year-old girl’s attempt to swim across Lake Erie from the Canadian side to the American shore ended when Miss Florence Brushaber of Sandusky, numb and sick, was pulled from the dark waters of the lake.
1936 - Two teenagers and a pilot are killed in light plane crash near Wayne, Ohio in a Wood County field where the town’s centennial celebrations were underway.
1948 - Steel cable barge with 30 passengers near Waterville, sinks into Maumee. Three people drown.

Aug. 17
1852 - Riot and fistfight ensues between competing Toledo Fire companies as they battle a blaze in downtown Toledo, allowing building to burn.
1888 - Hundreds of Libbey Glass workers arrive from Boston by train ready to start work in the new Toledo factory on Buckeye Street.
1900 - Several mail cars of the Lake Shore Limited Train plunge into Sandusky Bay en-route to Toledo. Nine mail handlers swim to safety.
1915 - The annual “Baby Festival,” underway in downtown Toledo, focuses on the health and nutrition of babies. Thousands of families attend and buy ice and milk for infants of the city’s poor.
1931 - Black day in Toledo history when four major banks fail to open, triggering business failures and many personal bankruptcies.
1933 - Future NASA Flight Commander Gene Kranz born in Toledo.
1954 - Hundreds of armed volunteers take to woods in Western Lucas County looking for man who raped and killed teenager Mary Jo Friess.

Aug. 18
1895 - Six prisoners escape from Lucas County jail after tying up the jailer.
1904 - It’s estimated by a Toledo caterer that Toledoans are now spending a total of $300,000 per year eating lunches in downtown Toledo. Most people spend between 30 to 50 cents a day for a lunchtime meal.
1908 - Race riot reported at Camp Perry between the white waiters and the negro cooks in the mess hall.
1921 - It’s reported in the News Bee that Fred Neidhamer of 1300 block of Yates Street in Toledo has a tomato plant that is nine feet high. He calls it his “Jess Willard” plant.
1930 - A narrow escape reported for a number of Toledo families as six lakeside cottages go up in flames at Luna Pier, Michigan. No one is injured.
1967 - Explosion at Sohio refinery in Oregon. Fourteen workers injured.

Aug. 19
1888 - Oil fever continues at record pace in Wood County. Population of tiny Cygnet swells to over 3,000 residents as more oil wells are drilled and production of oil becomes a promising new industry for the region.
1924 - An alarming increase is noted in the cases of smallpox in Toledo with three more deaths on this date, making five deaths in the past two weeks.
1929 - First glider makes debut at Toledo Transcontinental Airport as thousands of spectators watched a pilot from Lake Orion, Michigan demonstrate the motor-less aircraft. It was catapulted into the air after being towed by a car.
1937 - Hundreds of fishermen flock to Maumee River between Waterville and Grand Rapids, trying to catch a large mouth bass tagged as “Oscar.” It was released into the river and worth $50 if caught.
1942 - Roth Furs in downtown Toledo features “August” fur sale with prices starting at $59 for fur coats.
1976 - Carter Park in Bowling Green is dedicated.

Aug. 20
1794 - The famous Battle of Fallen Timbers is fought near the banks of Maumee River as General Anthony Wayne leads American forces to defeat Indian warriors for control of Northwest Territory.
1879 - Reunion of the Civil War’s Storming of Selma by the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry held in Toledo.
1899 - Good Shepherd Church in Toledo burns to the ground.
1912 - Annual Elks Carnival underway at Armory Park, but one popular show called a "Trip to the Moon" featuring scantily clad women is being shut down.
1935 – The WSPD radio station holds ceremonies at its new transmitter on Oregon Road that can now transmit with 2,500 watts a day.

Aug. 21
1838 - Fever and ague epidemic in Northwest Ohio continues. Many in Toledo area sick and dying.
1909 - King Wamba of Spain makes first visit to Toledo for the first annual gala called the "Wamba Carnival" of Toledo.
1915 - Tipped off by a phone operator, Perrysburg police ambush a carload of suspected car thieves, wounding five and capturing two others.
1925 - Lydia Baumgardner, 24, mother of two found beaten to death near her home in the 800 block of Dorr Street. She becomes the second victim of Toledo's serial killer known as "The Slugger."
1937 - Inmates at Lucas County Jail go on hunger strike, protesting the food that is served.
1961 - Jerry Lee Lewis plays T-Bones Club on Main Street in East Toledo.