125 Years Ago, 1896

Taken directly from The Vindicator:

“Lost a Lamb. A stock raiser finds one of his flock suddenly missing. A search warrant issued. Officers after parties engaged in selling young calves.”

“Frank Williams, a stock raiser living near Canfield, called at the mayor’s office this morning and reported that he had lost a lamb. Yesterday afternoon while driving sheep in the country, one of the lambs played out and was placed in a fence corner by Mr. Williams. He had only to drive the sheep about a mile when he intended returning to pick up the little lamb and take it in a buggy.”

“Upon his return the lamb was gone. On the road, he passed a peddler who he today said was M. Bundy, of Boardman Street. He thought Bundy had the lamb and reported his loss to the mayor and chief of police. A search warrant for Bundy’s place was made out and the chief made the investigation but found no lamb. It was then decided to visit different meat shops. Food Inspector J. F. Williams was summoned and with his aid, a thorough investigation and search for the stray is being prosecuted. Bundy says he did not get the lamb and knows nothing about it.”

“In connection with this matter, there is something of more importance the health officers are busy looking up. It has come to their knowledge that calves only a week or two old are being sold with much regularity by a certain peddler and if such is found true there will be arrests made and a vigorous prosecution will result. ‘The law is plain and every huckster should know and evidently does,’ said the mayor, ‘that a calf cannot be sold for meat to a butcher or private family or to anyone until it is one month old. This business we will stop and at once.'”

90 Years Ago, 1931

Youngstown’s Arthur Berman penned a tune that had folks around the world humming along as it became one of the year’s most popular hits. “Old Ohio Moon” was Berman’s first major success as a song writer after several years in the business. The tune accompanied lyrics written by Harry Robbins, a Cleveland song writer with whom Berman had visited. The combination of the catchy words and perfect harmony had music critics calling it the “coming waltz hit of the season.” Berman’s process in creating the melody was quite unique, especially considering that he played no musical instruments. Berman would hum the tune in his head and work through it until he could meet with a friend who put the melody down on paper.

Popular radio artists Gene and Glenn were the first to bring the song to the masses as it played almost daily on station WTAM. Within 10 days of its release, more than 3,000 copies of the song were sold. Its overnight success caused the Winton Company, owners of its copyright, to rush completions of quartet, orchestra and symphonic arrangements immediately.

40 Years Ago, 1981

Several weeks had passed since the American hostages were released from Iran and returned home to the United States. During those 444 days, community leaders, the media and regular citizens used several strategies to deal with their concern, remember those held hostage and hope for their safety. One of those strategies remains a landmark to this day, sitting atop a hill along East State Street in Hermitage, Pa.

Tom Flynn, owner of Hillcrest Memorial Park, signified the hostage crisis in a unique and visually powerful way. On the 100th day, Flynn had 100 flags raised along East State Street to mark the still unresolved situation. As the 101st day dawned, another flag was raised. This continued each day with special events marking the 200th, 300th, and 365th days. In total, 444 flags were raised. “It became a symbol of America keeping the vigil,” Flynn remarked.

While many viewed this tribute as a moving representation of the resolve to end the crisis safely, others thought Flynn was simply using the moment as a marketing scheme. Flynn himself admitted that he enjoyed some of the attention he received but that it was never meant to be a gimmick or business boost. “We took our cause seriously, but not ourselves. We did it and we did it clean,” he commented.

In fact, the initial planning had no advertising or promotional elements, of which Flynn was very proud. The symbol created not only impacted those locally, but an image of the Avenue of Flags was used on the January 26, 1981, Time Magazine cover with the headline “The Hostages-Breakthrough.” Flynn also noted that Hillcrest would receive a monument from the City of Scranton in honor of former hostage Michael Metrinko, whose father, Henry, had been active in the events held at Hillcrest.

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