Here’s a look at some stories happening the week of March 19-25.
March 22, 1953: Gentile’s crystal factory unique and important
The Gentile Air Force depot in Dayton operated a unique “factory” known as a crystal laboratory.
The laboratory made quartz crystal plates, which had many uses for the military.
The quartz crystal ireceives only what is transmitted at a certain vibration rate. There were many factories making the crystals, but Gentile was the only military unit of its type that did so. Raw crystals were shipped in from Brazil, weighing from 100 grams to 30 pounds.
Because the frequency depends on the size of the crystal blanks, Gentile engineers and craftsmen worked in specifics from 5 millionths to 50 millionths of an inch.
March 25, 1966: Art too big, Dayton Art Institute wins
A 1764 masterwork of painter Sir Joshua Reynolds was gifted to the Dayton Art Institute when it arrived too big to fit in the home of a Dayton couple that bought it.
“There are many Reynolds works but this one is fabulous,” said then-DAI Director Thomas Colt Jr.
The painting, nearly 8 feet tall and almost 5 feet wide, wouldn’t fit through the home’s front door.
The painting, acquired by the Dayton residents through a New York dealer, is of “Henry, Lord Arundel of Wardour Castle.”
Colt also said in 1966, “The painting is one of the greatest works to come to the institution for exhibition.
March 19, 1972: ‘If you bring your money you can live in Centerville’
In 1972, Centerville was considering the Chevy Chase apartment complex.
City council member John McIntire Jr. opposed the plan. “I am flatly against those apartments. Number one, they are apartments. Number two, I don’t believe in subsidizing the rent of the occupants.” He estimated that 90 percent of Centerville residents hoped the apartments never be built.
McIntire was adamant that race was overemphasized as a reason for rejecting the apartments. “If you bring your money you can live in Centerville. We have a multi-racial and multi-ethnic city,” he said.
McIntire went on to say, “I understand Chevy Chase apartments would be air conditioned when 95 percent of the homes around them are not. And the people living around them are paying their federal taxes to support projects like that.”
Supporters of Chevy Chase, including television personality Phil Donahue, argued that many residents of Centerville had FHA-insured homes. They said it was hypocritical for those homeowners to reject other federally financed housing. Donahue said, “I am embarrassed that it’s hard for a Centerville policeman to find a house in the community he serves, and the same for teachers.”
Chevy Chase Park Apartments opened with 232 units in 1974.
March 22, 1988: ‘Just say no,” Harrison Twp. residents say
In 1988, 1,500 people attended a rally at Northridge High School to oppose Dayton’s attempted annexation of Harrison Twp.
Speakers who were lined up along each side of the auditorium were given three minutes to speak.
“I don’t think you’re going to find one (supporter),” said Bruce Pickard, owner of Wick’s General Store. “I don’t think they’d live long enough to get out of here.”
Dayton was seeking to annex both Harrison Twp. and Jefferson Twp. and the issue was to be in the November ballot in those areas.
“The city of Dayton is full of ordinances that put people in jail for working on their own cars in their own garages, put people in jail for painting their homes the wrong color,” said resident Ralph Strunk.
The annexation failed in the 1988 election. According to the Harrison Twp. website, the township now consists of 6,276 square miles, has a population of 21,814 and has more than 800 business establishments.
March 23, 1993: Picture high-tech telephone
In 1993, NCR Corp. and its parent AT&T unveiled a line of personal computer gear that would “let individuals in far-off locations share computer files and even see one another via telephone lines.”
The “TeleMedia Connection” was new hardware and software that combined video conferencing with the ability to share computer files in real time.
The company was the first to offer the technology.
Money Magazine called TeleMedia Connection “definitely a different direction for NCR.”
The technology was seen as a tool for advanced collaboration.
“For example, remote experts, whether they’re supporting sales efforts or providing advice or counsel, can do so efficiently right from their own offices, making themselves available to a greater number of customers,” one official said at the time.
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