Years Ago

Today is Sunday, April 22, the 113th day of 2012. There are 253 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1864: Congress authorizes the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins.

1912: The United States Chamber of Commerce had its beginnings with a National Commercial Conference held in Washington, D.C., at the behest of President William Howard Taft.

1952: An atomic test in Nevada becomes the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television as a 31-kiloton bomb is dropped from a B-50 Superfortress.

1994: Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, dies at a New York hospital four days after suffering a stroke; he was 81.

VINDICATOR FILES

1987: Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro and several city councilmen will fly to South Bend, Ind., to persuade Michael E. Kelly, owner of the new Avanti Motor Corp, to locate an automobile factory in Youngstown.

Jerry Olsavsky, a junior linebacker, is following a long line of Cheney High School football players to the University of Pittsburgh. Among those who have gone before him are Matt Cavanaugh and the Pelusi brothers, John, Jeff and J.C.

1972: The Ohio Highway Department says it spent $27,895 in 1971 to pick up litter and trash in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

Elm Street will close between Lincoln Avenue and Arlington Street on the west end of the Youngstown State University campus.

1962: Howard Gatrell, 40, of Geauga Township, a member of the Cleveland Parachute Club, is killed when he hits the side of a plane while jumping at an altitude of 7,000 feet near Warren. A reserve parachute opened automatically and Gatrell drifted to the ground, but his neck was broken.

Mary Ann Harper, an Ursuline senior and captain of the Murphy’s Musketeers rifle team, leads the team to a city championship. The team is named in memory of M.Sgt. John Murphy, a prominent figure in development of the sport in Youngstown.

1937: The great majority of Youngstown food stores agree to cut their hours from 67 to 60 hours a week. They will close at 1 p.m. on Thursdays and at 8 p.m. rather than 10 p.m. on Saturday to accommodate a state law limiting women working in the stores to 48 hours per week.

The Youngstown Board of Education approves 5 percent pay increases for teachers, which will bring their pay to 93 percent of what it was prior to the depression, during which salaries were cut by 20 percent. The average elementary school teacher’s salary will go from $1,617 to $1,700; the average high school teacher from $2,272 to $2,390.