Here’s a look at some stories happening the week of March 12-18.
March 12, 1938: 22 cases heard in night court session
The first night traffic court in Dayton was held with Judge Merritt Schlafman hearing 22 cases. The majority of defendants faced non-stop violations.
Schlafman ordered the night court sessions so violators who worked in the daytime would not have to remain away from work to appear in court. Sessions of the night court were scheduled to be held each Friday.
Fines ranged from $10 and costs to $25 and costs with fines in the majority of cases being suspended.
March 13, 1945: Smiling Irish girl arrives to marry Franklin soldier
In the midst of World War II, a soldier from Franklin and a girl from Belfast, Ireland fell in love.
The couple, Pfc. Irving Smith and Mary Daviddson, planned to get married while he was stationed in Belfast as a motorcycle mechanic with an armored division.
Then Smith was sent away to North Africa, then Corsica. Then, 20 months, later he was sent back to the United States.
All that time the couple corresponded and looked forward to the day when they could get married.
Just as a plan had been made for Daviddson to come to the United States and she was on her way, Smith was ordered again to go overseas. Through the help of the Red Cross, Smith was able to obtain a 10-day furlough to get married before heading back overseas.
“I think it would be nice to be married on St. Patrick’s day” said Daviddson. “I hope Irving wants to be married then too. We haven’t had time yet to make any plans. There has been so much excitement getting together again.”
March 14, 1954: Dayton area slums criticized by federal planner
A federal planner called several areas just outside Dayton’s city limits some of the worst slum areas he’s seen.
He added that Dayton was becoming surrounded on many sides by “slum shacks.”
The “worst” label was applied to clusters of dilapidated trailers and packing box cabins southwest and northeast of the city. The majority of the criticism was aimed at a section south of Germantown Street and east of McArthur Avenue known as “Hog Bottom,” where the residents did not have sanitary facilities.
City manager Herbert Starick said he didn’t believe the areas to be any worse than in many other sections of the nation, but added that Dayton stood ready to cooperate with the county in solving the rural slum problem.
March 13, 1962: New symbol to mark all products of NCR
Products of the National Cash Register Co. for years had been identified by the trademark “National.” On this day it was announced that all future products would have a NCR logo instead.
The company said that accounting machines and electronic data processing equipment then made up a larger share of their business than cash registers. The new logo was thought to better reflect the company’s operations.
NCR popularized the cash register in 1884 when John H. Patterson bought The National Manufacturing Co. which was making the device for recording sales. Patterson changed the name of the company to the National Cash Register Co.
At the time of this article in 1962, NCR had 56,000 employees worldwide.
March 12, 1970: Pull, mule! Piqua park getting canal boat
In early 1970 the Johnson Farm Museum and Indian Agency Park in Piqua was still under construction.
A replica of a 19th century canal boat was being built at the Piqua Historical area (as it was called at the time) to be ready for launching on a restored section of the Miami-Erie canal that summer. The park was not yet dedicated or open to the public.
The 1970 news article called it “a remarkable engineering feat because there frankly isn’t much information available on early 19th century canal boats.”
The 70-foot-long boat was designed to carry 100 passengers. Horses or mules would tow the boat along the restored canal giving riders an idea of what travel ws like more than a century ago.
The boat ride was expected to be one of the prime attractions at the historical complex.
Today, the boat is still in use. It is known as the General Harrison of Piqua canal boat. Costumed guides direct the mule-drawn boat to provide an authentic experience for guests.
March 12, 1981: 70-year-old fan flies high with UD’s team
At the time of this story, Rhea Pearson was 70 years old and had been a loyal Dayton Flyers fan for 30 years.
She was a fixture in Row 1, Seat 7, right under the basket, wearing her UD hat and jacket. The writer said it was a seat they should retire if someday she no longer could attend games.
She said she got hooked on the team after she followed it to New York City for the 1951 NIT tournament.
Pearson was such a big fan that she occasionally rode the plane with the team when they were on the road. She was with the team in New Orleans on her 70th birthday.
“After the game, each one of the boys shook my hand and gave me a little birthday hug and told me they won the game for me,” she said.
She kept a scrapbook of memories and numerous souvenirs. She said her favorite was a get well card signed by Flyers team members when she was hospitalized in 1978.
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