Years Ago

Today is Thursday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2010. There are 22 days left in the year.

Associated Press

On this date in:

1854: Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” is published in England.

1941: China declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy.

1958: The anti-communist John Birch Society is formed in Indianapolis.

1960: The Domino’s Pizza chain has its beginnings as brothers Tom and James Monaghan start operating a pizzeria in Ypsilanti, Mich.

1987: The first Palestinian intefadeh, or uprising, begins as riots break out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli response.

1990: Solidarity founder Lech Walesa wins Poland’s presidential runoff by a landslide.

2000: The U.S. Supreme Court orders a temporary halt in the Florida vote count on which Al Gore pinned his best hopes of winning the White House.

Vindicator files

1985: A random check of Youngstown area stores shows sales of traditional and offbeat gifts at higher rates than a year earlier.

“Ralphie,” a Steiff teddy bear that dates to about 1920 and is owned by JoAnne Fajack of Youngstown, has been chosen for Party Bears calendars and cards and his likeness will soon be featured on a Goebel Art music box.

Sgt. Mark Massucci, a juvenile division officer in Warren, testifies that at least four witnesses have placed Timothy Combs, 17, in the area where 12-year-old Raymond Fife was left badly beaten on Sept. 10.

1970: Mahoning County Commissioners John Palermo and Thomas Barrett sign an agreement to press for funds in 1971 to pay the $1,900 a year raise granted in April 1970 by Sheriff Ray T. Davis. Commissioner George Bindas refuses to sign.

Several Youngstown witnesses are summoned to testify before a federal grand jury in Cleveland that is hearing evidence on suspected numbers operations in the area.

1960: At the two-thirds point of a recount, Trumbull County Commissioner Dr. W.A. James, a Republican, has a 29-vote margin of victory over former Hubbard Mayor Joseph Baldine, a Democrat.

Youngstown’s Bureau of Unemployment Compensation sets up a temporary office in the Krakusy Hall, 2205 South Ave., to process the unusually large number of claims.

1935: Thomas Watson of 418 Princeton Ave., a letter carrier for 28 years, is elected president of the Youngstown Branch of the National Association of Postal Carriers.

Twelve freight cars derail at the Latimer Crossing in Trumbull County, delaying both New York Central and Erie freight trains through the area.

A wave of early Christmas shoppers swamp downtown Youngstown stores on a Saturday, reflecting a report that Youngstowners earned more in November 1935 than in any November since 1929.