Years Ago

Today is Sunday, Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2011. There are 111 days left in the year. This is Patriot Day.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1777: During the American Revolution, forces under Gen. George Washington are defeated by the British in the Battle of Brandywine.

1857: The Mountain Meadows Massacre takes place in present-day southern Utah as a 120-member Arkansas immigrant party is slaughtered by Mormon militiamen aided by Paiute Indians.

1936: Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) begins operation as President Franklin D. Roosevelt presses a key in Washington to signal the startup of the dam’s first hydroelectric generator.

1941: In a speech that draws accusations of anti-Semitism, Charles A. Lindbergh tells an America First rally in Des Moines, Iowa, that “the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration” are pushing the U.S. toward war.

1961: Hurricane Carla strikes the coast of Texas as a Category 4 storm; Carla is blamed for 46 deaths in Texas, Louisiana, Kansas and Missouri.

2001: America sees its worst day of terrorism as 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijack four passenger jetliners. Two smash into New York’s World Trade Center, causing the twin towers to fall; one plows into the Pentagon; and the fourth crashes into a field in western Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people die.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Third Ward Councilman George M. McKelvey says City Council should repeal or amend a decade-old law that prohibits bars, adult bookstores and other regulated businesses from locating within 500 feet of each other because it is stifling development.

LTV Corp., the Dallas-based conglomerate with strong Youngstown ties, announces staggering losses for the second quarter of $610 million. The company is in voluntary bankruptcy proceedings.

1971: Damage is estimated at $100,0000 in a fire at the King’s and Brenner’s jewelry stores at Federal and Hazel streets.

Auto and truck production at the Lordstown General Motors assembly complex is halted as a wildcat strike in the stamping plant continues, halting the production of 1,600 autos and 300 to 400 vans per day.

Plans to build the Youngstown district’s first condominium in Glenwood Avenue adjacent to Mill Creek Park is announced by John D. Kreider.

1961: The Petersburg Inn, a Springfield Township landmark for more than 160 years, is destroyed by a fire that was apparently set off by faulty wiring.

Four bandits go on a shooting spree after robbing the Lawson Dairy Store on Rt. 62 in Masury, firing on a nearby gas station owner and four people who pursued them. No one was hit.

1936: Mahoning County Sheriff Ralph Elser arrests three ticket sellers for the Mahoning Kennel Club and charges them with taking wagers on dog races at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

Mayor Lionel Evans says he plans an investigation into Labor Day fireworks at Idora Park, which were staged without a city permit and in violation of the mayor’s ban on fireworks.