Here’s a look at some stories from the week of June 16-22.
June 18, 1947: 37 playgrounds open season
Dayton’s 37 pubic playgrounds opened for the season, kicking off a summer recreation program that was to run through Labor Day.
The 16 all-day playgrounds were open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The remaining 21 play spots were open from noon until 9 p.m.
Dan Wagner, the city supervisor of recreation, said that 85 instructors and supervisors were to be on duty throughout the summer months.
They completed a two-day instruction course prior to the playgrounds opening.
June 16, 1957: 207 Air Force cadets visit base here
Members of the very first class of the Air Force Academy arrived at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for a four-day visit.
Five planes brought in 207 cadets of the 1959 class from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Okla.
While here, the cadets heard lectures and toured the Wright Air Development Center’s laboratories. They were to be tested later on the subjects covered as part of their class work.
The cadets got to see an air show while in town. The “parade of air research” included a demonstration flight by a B-47 Stratoject and low-altitude ejections of dummies from jet planes.
The visitors got to meet with their families and were also entertained at a dance at the Officer’s Club at the base.
Four cadets were from the Miami Valley. They were Thomas F. Riesing, Roscoe R. Roberts III, Jon G. Shaffer, and Richard E. Tracey.
June 18, 1967: Rioting leapfrogs up I-75 from Cincinnati to Dayton
Racial violence found it’s way into the Miami Valley in 1967.
It began in Cincinnati, then moved north to Middletown and finally arrived in Dayton.
Two nights of vandalism, looting and arson caused more than $125,000 in damage, and 110 were arrested.
It could have been worse. A group called the “white hats” helped keep thing calm. Black youths ranging in ages from 15 to 20 were given white helmets and organized into squads that urged the crowds to break up.
June 16, 1977: Gilly’s Jazz Club’s big night
Jerry Gillotti had moved his jazz club out of it’s tiny quarters on North Main Street and out of the temporary location in the Dayton Inn into their newest location in the Transportation Center.
It had taken longer than Gillotti thought to complete the move, but the reopening of Gilly’s was at hand.
“We’re not a singles bar or a place to get drunk ... this will be the epitome of a listening room,” he said.
The new larger club, with seating for 220, was opening with one of the hottest jazz names going with Maynard Ferguson scheduled to be the headliner.
At the time, Ferguson was high on both the jazz and pop charts with his recording of the “Theme From Rocky.”
The new Gilly’s was to have occasional one-nighters, like Ferguson, but for the most part Gillotti wanted to book groups for a week.
June 21, 1987: War Minister performs heavy metal with a message
A new heavy metal rock group was on the Dayton scene in 1987 and hopeful they would hit it big.
War Minister, made up of Scott Wallace, Benny Bodine, Matt O’Shaughnessy, Chris Scott Weiser and Deron Castle, promoted a message of love, conquest over evil and aversion to drugs or alcohol.
Wallace, the lead singer, held a day job as chief engineer for WDAO-AM/WWSN-FM, where his father, Scott Wallace Sr., was the morning personality, starring with his wife, Laurie Wallace.
Not only did they have the look of a heavy metal band, their stage shows included fire, smoke bombs, explosive devices and flashing lights.
The group was set to perform at the Bus Stop-Rollerworld for hundreds of young fans in conjunction with Boys and Girls Clubs of Dayton.
War Minister had just released a four-song EP called “Out of the Ashes,” recorded with producer Mark Fraze at Refraze Studios in Dayton. The record was being circulated to radio stations around the nation.
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