Here’s a look at some stories happening the week of June 25-July 1.
June 27, 1937: Latest in fire fighting equipment ordered for Oakwood city department
In 1937, the latest thing in firefighting equipment was a “Safety car.”
A “Safety car” was the description gaining in fashion at the time, adopted from European cities.
The new, 150 horsepower units were a combination of a fully covered vehicle carrying seven men, equipment with a pump having the capacity of 600 gallons of water a minute and it could carry a 35-foot triple extension aluminum ladder.
There was a tank that held 100 gallons of water for small fires within 50 or 60 feet. The advantage of this is that it could move around a blaze as it was being fought.
The unit was painted white, which would be more visible at night, a trend also gaining traction in those days for firefighting equipment.
Firefighters were pleased with it because it had a heater inside and could warm them up after being wet and out in the elements.
June 25, 1950: Flying lessons thrill 62-year-old industrialist
Dayton inventor George H. Leland, founder of the Leland Electric Co. and president of George H. Leland Inc., took up flying late in life.
He received his private pilot’s license earlier in the year and was taking lessons on “instrument flying.”
The reporters wrote that “there’s a light in Leland’s eyes he didn’t have a year ago. There’s a new spring in his step, a new eagerness to get on with the job of becoming a top-flight pilot.”
Leland had been interested in aviation as a child, but didn’t take action to become a pilot until his son, Gerald, a B-17 pilot during World War II, came home from Europe.
It was intended that Gerald would fly for his father’s company, speeding up business, but they ended up switching roles, with Gerald staying home to run the company while George made the flights.
June 26, 1959: Jonathan Winters, Zsa Zsa Gabor to appear at Dayton Theater Festival
Producer Douglas Crawford of the Dayton Theater Festival announced that contracts had been signed for hometown comedian Jonathan Winters and Zsa Zsa Gabor to appear at Memorial Hall.
The show was to consist of a series of comedy sketches featuring Winters and other performers still to be chosen.
Several to be named stars were to also appear in the perennial favorite, “Oklahoma!”
Nightclub comic Jimmy Komack, seen frequently on television, was also in the cast.
June 28, 1967: $500,000 expansion for Monument building
A building owned by Arthur Beerman, located beside the Main Street bridge along the river, was planning an expansion that still exists today.
Planned was the two-story office building addition, featuring dramatic arched windows. It was to be the new home for the stock brokerage of Hayden Stone Inc. on the first floor. Negotiations were still pending for the tenant for the second floor.
“We want to make this the best corner in Dayton,” Beerman said at the time.
The facade included the first two floors of the existing office tower at 11. W. Monument Ave.
The interior was to feature walnut paneling and full carpeting, private offices and an open area, or bullpen, for floor brokers and investors.
June 28, 1974: ‘I traded my bones for plastic ones’
In 1974 the Dayton Daily News ran a regular feature called “Real People” submitted by readers.
On this day the story was about Mary Teresa Ostopak, a clerk-typist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who was born with a birth defect in her hip bones.
Ostopak had undergone 20 operations and was still heading towards a life with pain, experienced from a wheelchair.
“The pain turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it made me consider the alternatives,” she wrote.
She opted to try new hip joints made out of plastic.
“Like the $6 million man on television, who has plastic limbs, I have two plastic hips,” she said.
Although she was still going through therapy and walking with crutches, she was looking forward to a time when she could walk without them.
“The operation and months of therapy have been well worth it. I recommend it to anyone who may have a chance of walking again,” she said.
June 28, 1983: Steve Kirk leaving Dayton radio
Steve Kirk, described as “WING radio’s flamboyant morning disc jockey” was leaving the station after 17 years on air.
It was said that along with WHIO’s Lou Emm, Kirk had been at the top of popularity among Dayton radio stations for many years. His signature, “Hiya, gang, Kirkie here!” was thought to be the most recognizable slogan on local airwaves.
A master of pranks, Kirk was known for phoning local politicians and celebrities and capturing their reactions on the air. WING made a record album out of 12 of his best pranks.
He was resigning to become owner of WGFB-AM, a radio station in Webster, Massachusetts, 35 miles from where he grew up.
“I regret leaving,” said Kirk. “Management has always been good to me. But I’ve always wanted my own radio station. Sometimes you just get tired of working for somebody else.”
Note: In the end, Kirk was given a substantial raise to stay at WING, and did so until Labor Day, 1991, 25 years to the day of when he started.
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