Years Ago

Today is Saturday, March 12, the 71st day of 2011. There are 294 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1664: England’s King Charles II grants an area of land in present-day North America known as New Netherland to his brother James, the Duke of York.

1864: Ulysses S. Grant is promoted to the rank of general-in-chief of the Union armies in the Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln.

1912: Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga., founds the Girl Guides, which later becomes the Girl Scouts of America.

1930: Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi begins a 200-mile march to protest a British tax on salt.

1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers the first of his 30 radio “fireside chats,” telling Americans what is being done to deal with the nation’s economic crisis.

1938: The Anschluss merging Austria with Nazi Germany takes place as German forces cross the border between the two countries.

1939: Pope Pius XII is formally crowned in ceremonies at the Vatican.

1947: President Harry S. Truman establishes what becomes known as the “Truman Doctrine” to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism.

1951: “Dennis the Menace,” created by cartoonist Hank Ketcham, makes its syndicated debut in 16 newspapers.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Betty Williams, the Irish Catholic homemaker turned Nobel Peace Prize winner, says peace requires courage during an address at the Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University.

Dr. Fredric D’Amato, chairman of the Youngstown Park and Recreation Commission, says the decision to breach the Lake Milton dam was based primarily on the potential loss of life downstream in the event of a disaster.

The Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame adds 15 new names to its rolls. The top five are Al Petrollini, Dave Fine, Napoleon Bell, Joe Menichini and Arthur Flauto.

Police Chief Randall Wellington names Detective David Truman head of the Youngstown Juvenile Division.

1971: The U.S. Postal Service will take bids on a new downtown Youngstown post office that is expected to cost $4.3 million.

Campbell Mayor Rocco F. Mico announces a 50-percent increase in water rates, effective March 1.

Ten area clergymen, including The Venerable Louis M. Brereton, arch deacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, and Bishop James Malone of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese, dedicate a chapel in the Eastwood Mall, hailing it for “bringing religion to the market place.”

1961: New technological and financial developments have brought a $12.5 million coal-carrying pipeline for Eastern Ohio closer to reality, says R.H. Henry, Youngstown coal executive.

Atty. Paul L. Booth is named Eagles Humanitarian of 1961 during the annual banquet at Aerie 213.

Three Youngstown area graduates are members of the Ohio State University Concert Band that will visit Boardman High School. They are Carol Sue Clark of Boardman, Ray Mondora of South High and Mary Teresa Latell, Girard High.

1936: The Mahoning County grand jury opens a probe into lottery operations in Youngstown, centering on the robbery of a restaurant and a numbers man, allegedly by men from the area “big house” muscling in on little operators.

An explosion, believed by police to have been a bomb or dynamite blast, breaks windows in two homes on Adams Street in Campbell, including one owned by “Big Ethel” Johnson, who was recently arrested for running a house of ill fame.

The doors of Stambaugh Auditorium are closed for a half hour to allow the crowd at the General Motors automobile show to thin out. In four days, more than 111,000 people have attended the show, including 35,443 on one day. Attendance is being helped by Vaudeville shows by Baby Rose Marie and others.