110 years ago, 1910

Taken directly from the Youngstown Vindicator:

“Fiddler Knocked Down by a Broken ‘E’ String”

Foreigner playing with a wandering minstrel band has painful experience while performing in North Phelps Street Friday — Mishap caused a laugh.

“The bass viol player in a string orchestra which is playing on the streets suffered an injury Thursday afternoon that will make him wear a catcher’s mask in the future when he plays. The accident occurred on Phelps Street in the presence of a number of people and instead of making them shudder as accidents generally do, they laughed until their sides ached.

“Tony was standing with the ‘bull’ fiddle resting against his shoulder, playing with all the skill of an artist ‘The Blue Danube’ waltz. Just when he reached the part that required him to do a little fancy work while the rest of the orchestra gazed at the sky, the big ‘E’ string parted company with the tall piece and with a ‘dull and sickening thud’ hit Tony a terrific belt on the eye. With a painful moan Tony sank into the pavement, the big fiddle on top of him. His companions sprang to his rescue and after shaking him a little, he came to and with tears in his eyes he pointed to the useless string and sobbed ‘Stringa cost dollar feefty cents, she busta, me busta too.’ The leader of the orchestra consoled him, however, by promising to buy him another string, so Tony got to his feet and played the balance of the afternoon on three strings. Tony had a beautiful ridge on his forehead where the string snapped him.”

90 years ago, 1930

A fire in Campbell shocked the neighborhood. Twenty-one people, including 13 children, were driven to the street in their night clothes, several of them narrowly escaping serious injury or death, when fire partially destroyed a two-story frame house occupied by four families.

John McIntosh, father of five of the saved children, was given credit by city firefighters for saving the lives of the other residents of the dwelling. The smell of smoke woke him up and he discovered the flames, which covered the floor and walls of the building. He awakened the other families.

The home’s 13 children were carried to safety by the parents and neighbors. The screams of the children as they were carried from the building attracted dozens of onlookers, who assisted the firefighters and parents in saving items from the home. The children were cared for during the night at the homes of neighbors while the parents slept in a garage in the rear of the house.

75 years ago, 1945

Downtown Youngstown was set to be the home of the latest in building technology. G. M. McKelvey Co. Vice President and General Manager Charles G. Nichols announced a major improvement program which included a $250,000 escalator system for the store. The escalators were the first ever installed in Youngstown and likely the first to be built anywhere in the United States since the war had ended.

“We’re spending this money to improve service for our customers,” Nichols noted. “It proves our faith in Youngstown and its future.” The plans included six escalators in the store’s main aisles which could handle up to 6,000 customers an hour. The increase in sales volume made the “moving stairs” necessary and their use during the busy holiday season would be vital. The store’s current elevator system was simply incapable of keeping up with demand. Nichols added that the new system “will make shopping more convenient for customers and they will be the latest thing in safety in-store transportation.”

45 years ago, 1975

A mysterious and unlucky scene unfolded on Jaguar Drive in Boardman Township when Mildred Moseley was shot as she answered the door. Moseley, wife of General Fireproofing President George B. Moseley, opened the door to find a young man with a small handgun. He shot at her three times, hitting her once in the upper arm. The response evolved into a confusing scene. The police cruiser responding to the call was involved in an accident. The cruiser hit a vehicle that pulled over instead of turning as the officer assumed. The officer, Richard Perkins, was sent to the hospital with minor injuries.

The ambulance on the way to Perkins’ accident was struck by a car that neglected to stop at a stop sign. The ambulance driver, John B. Booth, tried to stop, but he struck the rear of the car which spun into two parked cars. Investigations into both accidents were underway.

When help safely reached Moseley, she was transported to and treated at South Side Hospital. Neighbors told police that they saw a white car in front of the home before the shooting, which sped away quickly after. No one was quite sure what could have motivated the assailant. A spokesperson at General Fireproofing said that there had not been any unusual activity recently.

• Compiled from the archives of the Youngstown Vindicator by Traci Manning, MVHS Curator of Education