Today is Sunday, Aug. 31, the 244th day of 2008. There are 122 days left in the year. On this date

Vindicator File Photos

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FIFTY YEARS AGO: The Canfield Fair has always attracted youth, as these shots from the 1958 edition show. Luther Mackey, left, and Harry Dailey, both of Columbiana, introduce their horses, "joe Girl and Beedle Bum," in the old stables on the fairgrounds.

Vindicator File Photos

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FIFTY YEARS AGO: The Canfield Fair has always attracted youth, as these shots from the 1958 edition show. Bruce and Fred Penrod might be suspected of feigning interest in an exhibit being pointed out by Maridell Heestand. All were from Sebring.

Today is Sunday, Aug. 31, the 244th day of 2008. There are 122 days left in the year. On this date in 1886, an earthquake rocks Charleston, S.C., killing 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1888, Mary Ann Nichols, the apparent first victim of “Jack the Ripper,” is found slain in London’s East End. In 1908, American author and playwright William Saroyan is born in Fresno, Calif. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerents. In 1954, Hurricane Carol hits the northeastern Atlantic states. Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts bear the brunt of the storm, which results in nearly 70 deaths. In 1980, Poland’s Solidarity labor movement is born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ends a 17-day-old strike. In 1986, the Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collides with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, causing both vessels to sink; up to 448 people reportedly died.

August 31, 1983: Lock Beachum, principal of East High School, sends a letter to parents virtually ordering them to attend a beginning-of-the-year meeting at the high school.

Columbiana County will seek designation as an agricultural disaster area because of drought. The designation would make farmers eligible for low-interest loans and free grain.

Portions of the Metal Carbides plant at 6001 Southern Blvd. could be closed for a few days for repairs after a solvent catches fire, causing extensive damage but no injuries.

August 31, 1968: Dr. Martin W. Essex, superintendent of Ohio’s public instruction, tells 368 summer graduates of Youngstown State University that the nation’s cities represent a new frontier that will demand teachers with skill and empathy.

Eight Youngstown State University graduating seniors who were members of the ROTC program are commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army Reserves. The are John S. Keller, Ronald J. Pusateri, Frank M. Braden Jr., Harold E. Hutzen, John J. O’Malia Jr., Robert J. Micco, John M. Fiasco and Edward J. Kresovsky.

Dr. Chaplain W. Morrison, a history professor at Youngstown State University, was one of 30 people arrested while walking outside the International Amphitheater, site of the Democratic National Convention. Morrison says “basic fundamental rights were being taken away by the (Chicago) police department.”

August 31, 1958: Mahoning County’s 112th annual Canfield Fair, blessed with the finest weather of the summer and the biggest and best show it has ever had, is prepared for record-breaking crowds.

Civil Defense volunteers from 16 counties go through a drill simulating an atomic attack at a village set up on the Idora Park ballpark. On display is one of the Army’s Nike defense missiles.

A new $795,000 junior high school building is planned in Poland, across from the present high school site, to keep pace with the community’s rapid growth and crowding of present high school facilities.

August 31, 1933: Legislation giving the city authority to issue $2 million worth of bonds for public works programs and a resolution in support of a new airport are being prepared for Youngstown City Council.

The advisory committee of the state Division of Charities recommends closing the Glenwood Avenue children’s home within the next six months and placing the 39 children there in private homes.

Mahoning Valley steel companies have increased their monthly payrolls by $1.8 million, and 9,517 more men are working than were working June 15.