Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Feb. 16
1907 - Fearing the “Carter Saloon” on Monroe St. may be inviting “soiled doves” into the establishment, Mayor Whitlock orders a policeman stationed out front to take the name of everyone who enters. Business is slowing down.
1929 - The grand $2 million Paramount Theater opens on Adams Street in downtown Toledo amid much fanfare and celebration. First movie shown was “Redskin,” starring Richard Dix.
1984 - Scott Hamilton, of Bowling Green, wins gold medal in figure skating at Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
2004 - Massive truss-style crane collapses on construction site of new Skyway Bridge over Maumee River. Four workers are killed, others seriously injured in the tragedy that shocked the city and delayed the project for more than a year.
Feb. 17
1912 - Parole board frees Fred Bechtel, the killer of Toledo policeman James Boyle in 1908. Bechtel is freed after his mother makes tearful plea to parole board.
1917 - The Toledo Yacht Club holds a huge so-called “rat dinner” of fresh muskrat. More than 600 people attend to enjoy the culinary delight.
1921 - Largest robbery in Toledo history as the Joe Urbaytis gang robs the U.S. Post Office on 14th Street and Madison. The gang takes off with $1.6 million in bonds, securities and cash. They are all eventually caught and convicted in a series of trials in Toledo Federal Court.
1943 - Fire on West Woodruff Avenue claims life of Toledo fireman Howard Rippel.
1949 - Oldest tree in Toledo, a 500-year-old white oak, located at Detroit and Byrne is cut down because of aging and rot.
Feb. 18
1927- Harvard Elementary School in South Toledo is dedicated. The castle-like structure is one of Toledo’s most expensive schools and is mocked as the “Castle on the Maumee”.
1959 - A stubborn fire blazes through several buildings in Curtice, triggering evacuations and the help of 100 firemen to fight the flames. Losses totaled more than $300,000.
1971 - Federal Court Judge Don Young rules that conditions at Lucas County Jail are sub-human, and that prisoners’ constitutional rights to humane treatment are being violated.
1989 - Coast Guard rescues 175 fishermen from ice floes on Lake Erie.
Feb. 19
1897 - Lakeshore grain elevator on the Maumee riverfront burns in a spectacular wind-swept inferno.
1906 - George Marshall, prominent farmer from Genoa, dies in agony of rabies at a hospital in Chicago. Bitten by his own small dog in October, he didn’t develop hydrophobia symptoms until months later. He was rushed to Chicago by police ambulance for rabies shots, but it was too late.
1923 - A doctor and nurse die when their car plunges through the lake ice near Put-in-Bay as they are on medical run to another island.
1941 - Washington Daily News reporter Katy Hillgan calls Toledo’s new Willys Army vehicle a “Jeep” for the first time in media.
1943 - Eighty-six dogs from Toledo leave for duty in World War II as part of the Dogs for Defense project. Almost all the dogs return after war is over.
1953 - A fire in a house on Mayo Street in Toledo takes the lives of two children and Toledo fireman Don Timiney.
1954 - The University of Toledo basketball team defeats Ohio University, 71-66, to win its first Mid-American Conference title.
Feb. 20
1919 - The great booze rush descends on Toledo liquor and beer stores as Michigan residents cross the state line by the thousands to buy beer before supplies run out in “dry” Michigan. Dixie Highway between Toledo and Monroe is littered with broken down cars.
1921 - Escaped Toledo Post Office robber Joe Urbaytis and several gang members are captured near Chicago on a westbound train.
1946 - Safety Director Maurice Meyer outlaws charitable bingo games in Toledo.
1948 - Large ammonia tank explodes at Page Dairy in Toledo on Knapp Street. More than 25 people are injured.
Feb. 21
1901 - The “Toledo Steam,” an early automobile built by the American Bicycle Company of Toledo, is being advertised in national publications for the price of $1,000.
1912 - Major blizzard hits Toledo area, stopping street cars and shutting down businesses.
1941 - It is reported that a Scott High School senior has lost his lawsuit in Common Pleas Court against a teacher who slapped him across the face for “impudence.”
2007 - Toledo Police Det. Keith Dressel shot and killed by young teenage suspect in North Toledo, becoming the first Toledo officer killed in the line of duty in over 35 years.
Feb. 22
1867 - Bowling Green Sentinel begins publication.
1886 - Dedication of the Soldiers Memorial Hall (now demolished) in downtown Toledo, built to honor all Civil War veterans.
1907 - Plans revealed that Home Furniture will open a store in 400 block of Summit Street. The store operated in that location until the 1970s.
1953 - Perrysburg Schools reopen after flu epidemic sickens hundreds of students and teachers for a week.
1961 - Seneca County rattled by earthquake.
1973 - U.S. Supreme Court decides the final boundary line between Ohio and Michigan in a dispute over Turtle Island in Maumee Bay. This finally settles the Toledo-Michigan War of 1835.
