Years ago

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2007. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day. On this date in 2004, more than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, are killed by a tsunami triggered by the world’s most powerful earthquake in 40 years beneath the Indian Ocean.

In 1799, George Washington is eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” In 1917, during World War I, President Wilson issues a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads. In 1941, Winston Churchill becomes the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. In 1944, during World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, is relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division. In 1947, heavy snow blankets the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather is blamed for some 80 deaths. In 1957, the Ingmar Bergman film “Wild Strawberries,” starring Victor Sjostrom, opens in Sweden. In 1967, “Magical Mystery Tour,” The Beatles’ critically drubbed one-hour special, airs on BBC-1 television. In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, dies in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88. In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved, despite a widely publicized “confession” by John Mark Karr.)

December 26, 1982: The general public’s overall image of Youngstown State University may be considered a solid “B,” but the institution is flunking in the community’s perception of crime as a major problem on campus.

Delmar Tolson, 64, dies and two persons are injured in a $1.5 million fire that guts a portion of the Pepper Tree Apartment complex on Robbins Avenue in Niles.

Sales of gasohol, a mixture of gasoline and ethyl alcohol, rose to 2.2 percent of the estimated 100.7 billion gallons of gas sold in 1982 in the United States, reports oil industry analyst Dan Lundberg.

December 26, 1967: The Stambaugh-Thompson Co. is leaving its downtown location, the original site of the 121-year-old company because the building and location lack space for the company’s expansion plans.

After two “false alarm” trips to the hospital on Christmas Day, Wayne Hawkins of Lake Milton delivers the couple’s first child at home. Mother and six pound, six ounce son are doing well in Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital.

Youngstown’s mayor in 1968 will receive 78 percent more than his counterpart just 14 years ago if city council approves a $2,500 raise that will bring the salary of Mayor Anthony B. Flask to $22,500. Mayor Frank Kryzan got the first of five raises since 1955, when his salary was hiked from $12,000 to $13,000.

December 26, 1957: Republic Steel Corp.’s Youngstown steel works, the city’s second largest in the district, will resume steel making operations. Five open hearths will be in operation and hundreds of workers will be recalled.

Good St. Nicholas had a busy day in Youngstown Hospitals, delivering Christmas babies to 22 couples, including twin boys to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Morris of Youngstown.

A 16-year-old East Side boy and his grandparents die of asphyxiation Christmas Day at the grandparents Summit Ave. home when a gas stove pipe blocked with soot allows the house to fill with fumes. Dead are John and Minnie Szmyd and their grandson, John Reveland.

December 26, 1932: “Peaceful Sam” Lapolina, 37, who operated the Garage Inn at 425 N. Watt St., dies of a gunshot wound inflicted by a young stranger who entered the speakeasy and asked to see Sam.

Joseph Kusman, 19, of Youngstown is killed in an attempted hold-up when his bandit companion struck their intended victim with the butt of his gun and the gun discharged. The bullet struck Kusman in the jaw.

Cleveland’s health commissioner reports there are 322 cases of scarlet fever, most in the mild form, that are quarantined in the city.