Years Ago

Today is Saturday, Sept. 26, the 269th day of 2009. There are 96 days left in the year. On this date in 1789, during the administration of President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson is confirmed by the Senate to be the first U.S. secretary of state; John Jay, the first chief justice of the United States; Edmund Randolph, the first U.S. attorney general; and Samuel Osgood, the first U.S. postmaster general.

In 1777, British troops occupy Philadelphia during the American Revolution. In 1892, John Philip Sousa and his newly formed band perform publicly for the first time, at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, N.J. In 1914, the Federal Trade Commission is established. In 1918, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, resulting in an Allied victory against the Germans, begins during World War I. In 1955, following word that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange sees its worst price decline since 1929. In 1960, the first debate between presidential candidates takes place as John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon face off in Chicago before a national TV audience. In 1969, “The Brady Bunch” premieres on ABC. In 1986, William H. Rehnquist is sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joins the Supreme Court as its 103rd member. In 1991, four men and four women begin a two-year stay inside a sealed-off structure in Oracle, Ariz., called Biosphere 2. (They emerge from Biosphere on this date in 1993.) In 1997, a Garuda Indonesia Airbus A-300 crashes while approaching Medan Airport in north Sumatra, killing all 234 people aboard.

September 26, 1984: Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro stands in front of the steelworker monument on West Federal Plaza and tells the crowd that President Ronald Reagan’s steel policy is “let it rust.”

U.S. Rep. Lyle Williams and Mahoning County Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. challenge each other’s campaign financing for the 17th District congressional race. Traficant says he has only $13,000 raised from ticket sales and labor unions, while Williams has $300.000.

Auto sales are on the increase, but some private economists are warning Congress it cannot rely on a growing economy to wipe out the record federal budge deficit.

September 26, 1969: Sharon Steel Corp.’s new general office building in Brookfield Township is slated to become the consolidated headquarters for Sharon Steel and its parent, NVF Co.

Two members of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Youngstown, are nominated to receive the 33rd degree, Frank Feeley, assistant secretary and treasurer of the Metropolitan Savings & Loan Co., and William P. Hughes, manager of the Youngstown Automobile Club.

A drive to recruit 100 “hard-core unemployable” candidates to take training for good-paying industrial jobs is launched by the Bureau of Employment Services in Youngstown and Warren.

September 26, 1959: Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lonardo, 4221 Lanterman Road, are growing bananas in their greenhouse, harvesting the second yield from a tree that they brought from Florida five years earlier.

Ohio Gov. Michael DiSalle tells the Downtown Kiwanis Club that he has toured the state’s 14 hospitals and Woodside Receiving Hospital in Youngstown is the best he’s seen.

Two youthful gunmen hold up the McAllister Farm Market, 2105 South Ave., escaping with an undetermined amount from clerk Mildred Straney.

September 26, 1934: Merton Ward Goodrich, who was committed to Lima State Hospital as a “clubber” after terrorizing several people in Youngstown in 1931, is being sought in Detroit in connection with the murder of an 11 year old girl.

Receipts for the National Baseball Federation tournament were $4,911 and expenses were $4,974. Mayor Mark E. Moore says he will make up the $63 difference from his own pocket.

John H. Chase, who has served Youngstown for 24 years as playground association director, will receive the gold medal of the National Recreational Association in Washington.