Years Ago

Today is Thursday, Oct. 8, the 281st day of 2009. There are 84 days left in the year. On this date in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupts; fires also breaks out in Peshtigo, Wis., and in several communities in Michigan.

In 1869, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce, dies in Concord, N.H. In 1918, Sgt. Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and helps capture 132 in the Argonne Forest in France. In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann is indicted by a grand jury in New Jersey for murder in the death of the son of Charles A. Lindbergh. In 1956, Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series to date as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5, 2-0. In 1957, the Brooklyn Baseball Club announces it is accepting an offer to move the Dodgers from New York to Los Angeles. In 1959, the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series, defeating the Chicago White Sox 9-3 in Game 6 at Comiskey Park. In 1970, Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn is named winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. In 1981, at the White House, President Ronald Reagan greets former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, who are preparing to travel to Egypt for the funeral of Anwar Sadat. In 1982, all labor organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, are banned.

October 8, 1984: The Vindicator-YSU poll shows Democratic candidate Walter Mondale has a sliver of a lead over Republican President Ronald Reagan in predominantly Democratic Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Niles city officials are mulling over the purchase of the Niles YMCA building on U.S. Rt. 422, which is for sale, but the city would need federal funding to make a purchase feasible.

Youngstown State University is offering incentives to faculty to encourage research in an effort to shift the university away from being strictly a community-based teaching institution and to improve the quality of instruction through faculty research.

Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano takes credit for bad calls and confusion that resulted in a 17-16 loss to the Patriots in a game that saw the Browns within field goal range with 23 seconds to go. Chances of victory ended with the interception of a Paul McDonald pass. Some of the 53,036 fans were chanting “Good bye, Sam.”

October 8, 1969: The Ohio Supreme Court rules that Mc-Cullough Williams Jr. cannot be on the November ballot for Youngstown Board of Education because he notarized his own nominating petitions. Williams says he will run as a write-in candidate.

Dwindling natural gas supplies could put a crimp on Youngstown district commercial and industrial expansion, says W.F. Eckles, East Ohio Gas Co.’s Youngstown Division manager.

Dr. Leslie Domonkos is named chairman of the Youngstown State University history department for the academic year by YSU President Albert Pugsley.

October 8, 1959: Ex-Police Chief Edward J. Allen, who now lives in Santa Ana, Calif., receives three standing ovations while speaking before the Rotary Club in Hotel Pick-Ohio. In answer to a question, Allen said he’d only return as Youngstown police chief if Charles Henderson were mayor again.

Cleveland, with support from Youngstown and other Northeastern Ohio communities, takes the lead in seeking a 60 percent cut in East Ohio Gas Co.’s request for a $21 million rate hike.

October 8, 1934: Mayor Mark E. Moore says for the first time in six years the city will not face an operating deficit at year’s end. He says Youngstown’s situation is among the best of any city in the nation.

The General Fireproofing Co. has a new product line, lightweight aluminum office chairs.

Six permits held by four Youngs–town beer parlors are suspended by the state department of liquor control on accusations that they sold liquor or violated closing-hour regulations.

Charles Ponzi, Boston get-rich-quick schemer, is on a boat headed home for his native Italy, after serving 12 years in prison and as penniless as when he arrived on U.S. shores 31 years earlier.