Here’s a look at some stories happening the week of April 2-8.
April 4, 1937: Rike addition to be eight stories
Readers were updated about the coming addition that Rike Kumler Co. was building to its downtown store, which increased their floor space by 60 percent.
The eight-story structure was immediately adjacent to their store on West Second Street. When the addition was finished, the store had 400,000 square feet of floor space.
Also in the building were plans for a new fur vault, including the latest equipment for the storage and protection of furs.
April 3, 1945: Russians free two Daytonians from Nazis
Two Dayton soldiers owed their freedom to the Russian armies, which freed them from German prison camps.
Private Homer Walton was a prisoner for 19 months. It was believed he was captured during the Italian campaign. He was with the medical corps of the Seventh army in Sicily and Italy.
Tech Fifth Grade Clarence Schaeff was also delivered from a camp in Poland. He participated in the St. Lo battle and was twice cited for bravery. He attended Fairmont high school.
April 5, 1955: Leo, Steele Lion, comes down from perch for first time since 1908, gets new home
A bronze lion sculpture that was perched at Steele high school from 1908 to 1955 was moved to a new home at the Dayton Art Institute, where it remains today.
Leo, as he is known, was originally purchased with children’s pennies and guarded later in its life by an alumni association.
After the school closed, the land was to be cleared to make way for a parking lot.
Uncovered in the move was a time-capsule box of mementos including a copy of the Dayton Daily News and hundreds of school children’s names that contributed to the original building fund. Also included were an old Steele and Stivers football schedule, a silk flag, and a red and black ribbon — the school colors.
April 6, 1967: Policeman wounded in jail dies
Patrolman Ronald Wells died after being shot by a fellow Dayton police officer in what was described as “horseplay.”
Interviewed by the Dayton Daily News in the hospital, Wells said, “He pulled his gun, pointed it at me and squeezed the trigger all at once. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. It was an accident.”
Wells was thought to be recovering from the wound and was being treated by a physical therapist. The cause of death was attributed to a massive lung hemorrhage and cardiac arrest.
April 4, 1974: Xenia Tornado: 25 dead, 555 injured
Officials were calling the tornado that ripped though Greene county Ohio’s worst natural disaster in 60 years.
The tornado ended up claiming 32 lives and injuring 1,300 people. At the time of the article, thousands were homeless and countless others were missing.
The tornado hit during rush hour and cut a path 300 yards wide and three miles long through the heart of Xenia, 16 miles east-southeast of Dayton.
Numerous large trees were uprooted by the tornado, many blocking roads.
The Arrowhead homes subdivision in Xenia where the funnel first touched down was destroyed. Eighty percent of the Central State university campus and Xenia high school were also destroyed.
April 6, 1980: Schools try to trim appetite of gas-guzzling buses
On each school day in 1980, Montgomery County buses logged more than 36,500 miles in transporting students to and from home, field trips and athletic and extracurricular activities.
The 636 buses operated by 15 public school districts ran about 6.6 million miles a year, equivalent to more than 13 round trips to the moon.
The problem was that the cost of fuel had doubled since 1979, going from 50 cents to about $1 a gallon. A full-sized bus only got five miles to the gallon.
In 1974-75, Ohio schools paid $10.8 million for fuel for buses. In 1980, the cost topped $31 million, tripling in five years.
April 6, 1991: Clydesdales’ show awes downtown
The famous eight-horse Anheuser-Busch team marched around downtown Dayton before parking near Courthouse Square.
Scores of fans lined up to view the animals, which stood about six feet at the highest part of their back, and weigh about 2,000 pounds. The team pulled a shiny, old-fashioned beer wagon.
The team stopped in Dayton after visiting Indianapolis for the NCAA’s basketball championship and were next headed to the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day parade.
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