120 Years Ago, 1900

An amusing incident occurred at Baldwin’s old mill on Wick Avenue in Youngstown as four men were loading trash and cinders into a flat car with high sideboards. Three of the men were shoveling the trash while the fourth was sent up on top of the car to level the load. One of the men on the ground was a short, heavy-set, older man whose brogue was unmistakable.

The height of the sideboards was about 10 feet, and it required considerable strength and attention to toss a shovelful of trash up and over. The man’s mind was wandering away from his work and without raising his head, he tossed the trash over his head high into the air. His aim, though, was extremely bad as the cinders went straight up and straight back down onto the back of his head. The force was enough that the man was sent to his hands and knees.

The man was stunned and those around him couldn’t help but laugh at his self-inflicted misfortune. The man yelled to his colleague on top of the car in a voice of rage, “Phat th’ divil d’ye mean by kickin’ them cindthers down on me head, ye spalpeen ye. D’ye want to be afther knockin’ me brains out, ye blitherin ijit. Do thod wanst more an’ I’ll be afther b’atin yer head off wid me shovel, moind thot, will yez.” The innocent man on the top of the car thought his friend had gone daffy. An onlooker explained that the man’s own carelessness had caused the incident, but he could not be convinced.

75 Years Ago, 1944

An overheated furnace destroyed St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Struthers. All of the Struthers fire companies joined four companies from Youngstown to battle the blaze for more than two hours. The fire started shortly after Mass and a passerby, who saw smoke coming up from the cellar door, ran to the parish house to notify Father McFarland. The church was built in 1909 and in 1943, just one year before the blaze, the congregation spent $5,000 to remodel and paint the interior. A new gold backdrop was installed over the canopy at the altar on Christmas Day and could not be saved from the fire. Father McFarland was blinded by smoke as he attempted to go into the church to rescue the Blessed Sacrament. McFarland was visiting the church while Father James R. Hennessy was recovering from an illness at St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Fortunately, the church records were kept in the parish home along with the priests’ personal chalices and other items. The wooden structure was destroyed, and all but two sides of the walls collapsed and fell into the cellar. Firemen were unable to properly fight the blaze as all of the area fire plugs (predecessor to the fire hydrant) were frozen. The building was valued around $35,000.

This was the second time that the Struthers church had been destroyed by fire. In 1907, the small structure used by the congregation was burned with $13,000 in damages.

60 Years Ago, 1960

It was a “Puppy” New Year for many area kids and pups as local children were able to take home dogs from the Mahoning County dog pound. The dogs were given away by the county dog warden Daniel Pecchio and his staff to anyone who would provide them with good homes. Joey and Tommy Myers were happy to take home little Muttsie while Queenie took over the reign at the home of Johnny Smith. Ronnie Ellerbe’s new pup Teddy quickly showed his love by showering the boy in kisses.

Diamond hadn’t been feeling well since his arrival at the pound, but his new brothers Michael and Phil Marconi assured him excellent care as they stood by with a hot water bottle and warm milk. They even crafted a sign in anticipation of his homecoming.

Charles and Garth Wilkinson welcomed Boots into their family by allowing the little guy to chew on their new Christmas toys. Pecchio said that nearly 100 dogs were given away over the holiday season.

40 Years Ago, 1980

Stephanie Melissa Zapka had little competition in being the first baby born as Youngstown entered the 1980s. She was born at 12:18 a.m. in the delivery room at St. Elizabeth Hospital to Denise and Wayne Zapka. The next Youngstown birth was hours later at 9:57 a.m. at the Northside Hospital.

“It’s exciting, it’s different,” said Mrs. Zapka. The birth garnered plenty of attention with a television interview, phone calls, and plenty of visitors. “When I got up here, I couldn’t have cared less if she was the first baby born,” she said in a way that many mothers can relate to.

Although the little one was due on Christmas Eve, Mrs. Zapka was happy that she made her arrival in January, noting: “I like garnet birthstones rather than blue zircon.”

Stephanie joins 8-year-old sister, Suellen Michelle. In Warren, Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Cissell welcomed their little girl around 4:37 a.m., marking the first 1980s baby at Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

• Compiled from the archives of the Youngstown Vindicator by Traci Manning, curator of education for the MVHS.