Years Ago

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2014. There are 323 days left in the year.

Associated Press

On this date in:

1812: Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signs a redistricting law favoring his Democratic-Republican Party — giving rise to the term “gerrymandering.”

1858: French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reports the first of 18 visions of a lady dressed in white in a grotto near Lourdes. (The Catholic Church later accepts that the visions were of the Virgin Mary.)

1862: The Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson begins in Tennessee. (Union forces led by Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant capture the fort five days later.)

1929: The Lateran Treaty is signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Ten employees of the Smith-Gray Cadillac-Oldsmobile in Mercer, Pa., who routinely pooled money to buy lottery tickets are challenging a co-worker’s claim that she alone won a $1.3 million jackpot before she quit her job.

Owners of a home at 1414 Fifth Ave., on Youngs-town’s North Side, alleged to be running a boarding home for the mentally retarded are ordered by Youngstown’s housing inspector to close down or face arrest.

1974: Pearl and Sally Danders, two sisters in their late 50s, are overcome by fumes from a faulty furnace flue at the one-story home on Elm Street in Struthers. They are in satisfactory condition in St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Mahoning County Coroner David A. Belinky rules “accidental” in the death of Michael J. Coman, 15, of New Middletown who died of cardio-respiratory arrest after inhaling aerosol fumes.

1964: The Youngstown Park and Recreation Commission asks Gov. James A. Rhodes to approve development of a series of roadside parks at Lake Milton.

The first “Beatle” haircut to make an appearance at Struthers High School gets a cold reception from school authorities, who send a 16-year-old 10th grader home with a police escort. The parents are told the boy should not return to school until he has a proper haircut.

1939: Aut Mori Grotto holds its biggest family party in history, entertaining 3,000 people in Stambaugh Auditorium.

Lee Morrison, 16, a Vindicator carrier, is beaten by two youths and robbed of $10, apparently in retaliation for his reporting to Vindicator officials and juvenile court officials a racket led by another youth who was extorting “protection money” from newsboys.