Years Ago

Today is Monday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2009. There are 66 days left in the year. On this date in 1972, national security adviser Henry Kissinger declares that “Peace is at hand” in Vietnam.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opens in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River. In 1881, the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” takes place in Tombstone, Ariz., as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and “Doc” Holliday confront Ike Clanton’s gang, killing three of them. Earp’s brothers and Holliday are wounded. In 1909, former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi is assassinated during a visit to Harbin, China, by Korean nationalist An Jung-geun, who is later hanged. In 1942, Japanese planes badly damage the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands during World War II. (The Hornet sinks early the next morning.) In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan sign a peace treaty during a ceremony at the Israeli-Jordanian border attended by President Bill Clinton.

October 26, 1984: The ripple effect of an eight-day strike at a General Motors parts plant in Canada is being felt locally with the closing of the van assembly plant in Lordstown.

Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro tries in vain to persuade First Federal Savings and Loan Association to keep its headquarter in downtown Youngstown and abandon plans to build a new headquarters building in Boardman.

October 26, 1969: William J. Brown, publisher of The Vindicator, announces that the company will break ground for a massive new plant between Boardman and Front streets at S. Chestnut Street.

Youngstown Police Chief John Terlesky warns that telephone solicitations for a dance to be held by the Fraternal Order of Police at the Idora Ballroom have not been authorized by his office. FOP President William Geldner says his organization is doing nothing wrong.

Cleveland millionaire attorney and businessman Howard Metzenbaum is seen as a top Democratic candidate to replace U.S. Sen. Stephen M. Young, who is not seeking re-election.

October 26, 1959: Mayor Frank X. Kryzan orders a crackdown on drunken drivers in the wake of Youngstown’s 15th traffic fatality of the year.

Lightning sparks a blaze at the Allen Christy farm in Kinsman, causing more than $35,000 in damage. Lost in the barn were 4,000 bales of hay and two heifers.

October 26, 1934: The body of Charles A. “Pretty Boy” Floyd, who was killed by lawmen near East Liverpool, arrives in Sallisaw, Okla., where it is claimed by his two brothers.

Mahoning County voters must decide whether they will be “industrial slaves or free men,” Joseph Heffernan tells 250 Democratic voters of Slovak descent at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church. He urges them to support President Roosevelt.