Today is Saturday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2002. There are 136 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2002. There are 136 days left in the year. On this date in 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steam Boat begins heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip to Albany.
In 1896, a prospecting party discovers gold in Alaska, a finding that touches off the Klondike gold rush. In 1915, a mob of anti-Semites in Cobb County, Ga., lynch Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. Frank, who had maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986. In 1942, during World War II, U.S. Eighth Air Force bombers attack Rouen, France. In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily is completed as U.S. and British forces enter Messina. In 1962, East German border guards shoot and mortally wound 18-year-old Peter Fechter, who had attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into the western sector. In 1969, 248 people are killed as Hurricane Camille slams into the Gulf Coast. In 1999, more than 17,000 people are killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes Turkey.
August 17, 1977: Hearings are underway in the General Assembly on a bill that could persuade U.S. Steel Corp. to locate a new $4 billion plant near Conneaut. It would give the corporation a break on tangible personal property taxes. Rep. George D. Tablack, D-52, Campbell, questions whether the state should be mandating tax breaks that affect local governments
The Volkswagen Beetle, the German-built car that turned on a whole generation of Americans with its bug-like appearance, is abandoning the U.S. car market after 28 years. It was the most successful important in American history, with 5 million sold.
Youngstown native Orlin C. Heller, a former executive with the McKelvey Co. in Youngstown and Higbees, purchases the C.H. Merthe Co., Elyria's oldest department store.
August 17, 1962: A rear-end collision between a Greyhound bus driven by a Youngstown man and a steel-laden truck on the Ohio Turnpike near Ravenna, kills one person and injures 29 others.
U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan and Youngstown Mayor Harry N. Savasten will speak at the Federation of Polish Societies 33rd annual Polish Day at Idora Park.
Mayor Harry Savasten formally revokes all city licenses for five alleged gambling spots. Restaurant and/or soft drink licenses are pulled from Tisone's Tavern, the Center Sandwich Shop, Federal Billiards, American Billiards and the Greek Coffee Shop.
August 17, 1952: The Youngstown Fresh Air Camp, a Red Feather Agency of the Community Chest, provides a program of wholesome entertainment and recreation for boys and girls who are lucky enough to be selected by teachers, nurses and social workers. The camp is located in Wilkinson Ave., adjoining Mill Creek Park.
Workmen at U.S. Steel's Ohio Works in Youngstown unload 122 cars of iron ore, the first mine-to-mill rail shipment, which is designed to augment lake shipping and to stave off shortages come winter.
Returning from a seven-week tour of Europe during which he met with leaders of six European nations, Dr. Howard W. Jones, president of Youngstown College, says Europe has less fear than the United States that war is imminent but he believes Great Britain and France face a serious economic crisis.
August 17, 1927: The will of the late Grace Stambaugh Wilkerson includes public and charitable bequests of $90,000, the largest single sharing of $25,000 going to the Fresh Air Camp. Her two brothers will inherit the bulk of her $1.5 million estate.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lee of Poland entertains family and friends from nearby towns on the occasion of her 100th birthday, only to find that she misplaced a year and is actually 101. She says it feels fine to live to be 100, and then find out that you're 101.
All plants of U.S. Steel Co. and its subsidiaries in the Youngstown district suspend operations for five minutes as a tribute to the memory of Judge Elbert Gary, company president, who died at the age of 80.