Years Ago

Today is Thursday, Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2011. There are 114 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1892: An early version of “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by Francis Bellamy, appears in “The Youth’s Companion.”

1900: Galveston, Texas, is struck by a hurricane that kills an estimated 8,000 people.

1921: Margaret Gorman, 16, of Washington, D.C., is crowned the first “Miss America” in Atlantic City, N.J.

1935: Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., is shot and mortally wounded inside the Louisiana State Capitol; he dies two days later. (The assailant is identified as Dr. Carl Weiss, who was gunned down by Long’s bodyguards.)

1951: A peace treaty with Japan is signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.

1971: The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts makes its official debut in Washington, D.C., with a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass.”

1974: President Gerald R. Ford grants an unconditional pardon to former President Richard Nixon.

1981: Civil rights activist Roy Wilkins, former head of the NAACP, dies in New York at age 80.

1986: “The Oprah Winfrey Show” begins the first of 25 seasons in national syndication.

1994: A USAir Boeing 737 crashes into a ravine as it is approaching Pittsburgh International Airport, killing all 132 people on board.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Bernie Kosar has his best game yet putting 31 points on the scoreboard for the Cleveland Browns, but it’s not enough against the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, where they score 41.

Sharon Steel Corp.’s debts amassed under the leadership of Victor Posner could lead to bankruptcy, an industry analyst says.

Girard City School District’s consolidation plans call for the closing of the Maple Avenue building and conversion of Washington Elementary to administrative offices.

1971: The Ohio Edison Co. acquires four lots at Pyatt Street and South Avenue to provide for expansion of its South Avenue plant, says Youngstown Division Manager C.B. Olds.

New school assignments and late pupil registration cause busy confusion at several Youngstown city schools on opening day.

Mayor Jack C. Hunter challenges his Democratic challenger to a televised debate; Frank R. Franko quickly agrees.

1961: Mahoning County commissioners will meet with Cleveland bonding attorneys to arrange for the sale of $250,000 worth of bonds against delinquent taxes to support county welfare funds.

A.E. Renman Jr., Youngs–town realtor serving as president of the Ohio State Association of Real Estate Boards, is honored as Youngstown’s “Realtor of the Year” during a luncheon in the Mural Room.

1936: The Sharpsville furnace of the Pittsburgh Coke & Iron Co. is blown in after being idle for six years, giving employment to about 200 men.

Mayor Lionel Evans offers a civic welcome to downtown Youngstown’s newest store, Reichart’s at 241 W. Federal St., which is being advertised as “the most modern furniture store in the United States.”

The three-day Canfield Fair ends with a record total attendance in excess of 100,000. The fair board expects a net return of $3,000 on its expenses of $17,000, with the excess going toward debt of nearly $8,000.

Charges of perjury are filed against a circulator of Youngstown charter-repeal petitions who has admitted that he falsely signed a sworn statement that he personally witnessed the signing of all names on the petitions.