Years ago

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2009. There are 113 days left in the year.On this date in 1776, the second Continental Congress makes the term “United States” official, replacing “United Colonies.”

In 1830, Charles Durant flies a balloon from New York City across the Hudson River to Perth Amboy, N.J. In 1850, California becomes the 31st state of the union. In 1893, Frances Cleveland, wife of President Grover Cleveland, gives birth to a daughter, Esther, in the White House; it was the first time a president’s child was born in the executive mansion. In 1919, some 1,100 members of Boston’s 1,500-man police force go on strike, plunging the city into chaos. (The strike was broken by Massachusetts Gov. Calvin Coolidge, who brought in replacement officers.) In 1926, the National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) is incorporated by the Radio Corp. of America. In 1948, the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) is declared. In 1956, Elvis Presley makes the first of three appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction. In 1976, Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong dies in Beijing at age 82.

September 9, 1984: A proposed quota of 6.9 percent for hiring female employees by contractors doing state jobs is impossible to meet, say Mahoning Valley construction officials.

Ohio Sen. Thomas E. Carney, D-Girard, says the findings of a Senate task force on unemployment are so dramatically different than the federal government’s monthly reports that a lawsuit against Uncle Sam is justified. The U.S. Labor Department says Ohio’s unemployment rate is 9.4 percent, but that does not include those whose unemployment benefits have expired or who are underemployed.

Alfred Suppan of Struthers, better known as Aut Mori Grotto’s Soupy the Clown, receives the North American “Prophet of the Year” award at the Ohio Grotto Association’s annual convention in Canton.

September 9, 1969: New York City has its first blind school teacher, Alexander J. Chavich, 38, a Youngstown native and graduate of Chaney High School.

Struthers schools reopen after a five-day strike by teachers and other employees after the board of education agrees to place a 10-mill levy on the November ballot.

The number of passengers of the Youngstown Transit Co. in July is 178,057, a drop of 35,956 from July 1968.

September 9, 1959: U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan of Youngstown hails passage of a $1.1 billion public works bill passed by Congress as a “tremendous victory for the American people.” The bill contains planning money for the West Branch and Shenango reservoirs.

Two of Mahoning County’s leading citizens, Mrs. John W. Ford and Atty. James E. Bennett Sr. will be cochairmen of a committee to back the bond issue for the Mahoning County Home.

Almost 71000 children throughout Mahoning County are back at their school desks, including 27,110 in the Youngstown school district.

September 9, 1934: The cost of repaving South Avenue with brick is estimated at $100,000, with the city paying $25,000 and the state paying the balance.

Dr. B.O. Skinner, state director of education, tells over 200 Mahoning County district teachers in Canfield that Ohio schools, which have seen income drop from $112 million to $62 million between 1930 and 1934, can’t economize any further.