125 years ago, 1896

Taken directly from The Vindicator:

“Crooked Cheese. Detective Moyer Arrests a Commission Merchant from Pittsburg. Complaints by merchants who claim that plugged cheese was being sold to them.”

“H. J. McCormack, of Pittsburg, a dealer in cheese, was arrested at 8:10 o’clock last night by Detective Moyer and locked up on the charge of obtaining money under false pretenses. McCormack’s plan was a peculiar one and easily worked, if what the police say be true. McCormack shipped from Pittsburg a number of cheese sizes, 15 and 30 pounds. According to the story told at the police station, the smaller cheese was good or at least better than those weighing 30 pounds. This cheese monger would dress up like a farmer and go from store to shop selling his coagulated and pressed milk.

“Approaching a store he would take a small cheese in and offer it for sale. Generally, the price did not suit so a larger cheese would be produced, which McCormack said would be disposed of for six cents per pound. One of the large cheese was sold to S. Marx, a Mill Street grocer, for a good article. Marx was allowed to taste it, as were others, and all pronounced it fine cheese.

“Shortly after the salesman left, Marx made what he thought an important discovery. This morning he carried the cheese to the mayor’s office, where it now is. Said Marx: ‘The cheese was plugged.’ A piece of the bogus cheese was cut out and instead good cheese placed in so as to exactly fit and not be detected. In giving us a sample to eat the good piece of cheese would be plugged.

“Detective Moyer, upon Marx’s complaint, arrested McCormack in the Tod House. He had $11.30 in cash (approximately $350 in 2021), wore good clothes and did not appear the man who sold the cheese. He remonstrated, telling the detective he would give the man back his money.

“A partner of his, as soon as he ascertained trouble brewing, sped with wind down East Federal Street and has evidently left town as no sight of him has since been obtained. Only two heads of cheese would be taken out in the wagon for sale. When disposed of, he would return and secure more for others. Mayor Miller said he would not be hasty in this matter and would take due time to thoroughly investigate the quality of the sample secured. The attention of the health officials was called and they will also aid in the prosecution providing it is ascertained bogus cheese was sold.”

90 years ago, 1931

The South Side branch of the Youngstown Library was given a spectacular piece of art for its Children’s Room. The mural depicted historical events from America’s early years and was painted by renowned artist George Ashley. It showed a map of the United States complete with both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans flanking the land. The 1673 Expedition of Marquette and Joliet was shown with the men carrying a canoe at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Sir Walter Raleigh was found in the Carolinas, Christopher Columbus was out in the Atlantic Ocean, and Ponce De Leon was seen looking for the Fountain of Youth. The vast expanse of the west featured covered wagons, buffalo hunts, Indigenous tribes, and even the “forty-niners” looking for gold.

Ashley spent nearly a year traveling and researching to prepare the mural’s content. Completing the paint work took more than one month. The mural was gifted to the library by Mrs. Edith Andrews Logan, the widow of Major John A. Logan, Jr. Mrs. Logan always visited the library on her trips to Youngstown and greatly admired their work with young readers. She also provided $3,500 to furnish the Children’s Room which circulated more than 67,000 volumes in 1930.

40 years ago, 1981

Thieves tried and tried to break into the audio-visual storage room at the Rayen School library but were thwarted each time. Their night of failures began when they broke into the school through a rear window and went to the third-floor storage room for their desired items. They managed to force open the wooden door but were stymied by a steel mesh gate. Ever resourceful, they made their way to the school’s welding shop in the hopes of finding something to aid their effort. Even with the help of those stolen tools, they still were unable to get through the gate.

Their initial failures resulted in a drastic decision to set a fire outside the second floor library’s doors. It was then that a janitor smelled the smoke and found the doors engulfed in flames. He noted that a liquid fuel was poured on the floor in front of the doors to help accelerate the blaze. The area was substantially damaged and closed for a week to be repaired. Aside from that, school was held as scheduled while police and arson detectives began their investigation.

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