A glass blower, a Supersonic B-58 and more to remember
Dayton has a fascinating history, which the Dayton Daily News has been there to chronicle since 1898.
Each week, we go into the archives for stories both important and interesting that happened this week through the years. Here’s a look at some from the week of March 10-16.
March 10, 1947: Cockfights near Xenia exposed
Cockfighting, banned by state statute since 1831, was still a thriving “sport” in Ohio.
A Dayton Daily News reporter and photographer secretly went to cover a fight being held in an old dance pavilion at Kilkare Park in Greene County where 400 people had gathered. The photographer “had a candid camera strapped to his chest inside his shirt, the protruding lens concealed by his tie.”
License plates were seen from at least four states: Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. The admission fee was $2.
The fight ring was about 15 feet in diameter and had a sand floor. It was surrounded by a wood fence about two feet high.
The reporter saw five fights in one hour. Some ended almost immediately while some dragged out for 15 to 20 minutes.
The reporter was told that there was a regular “circuit” around the state with weekly events.
March 13, 1957: Supersonic B-58 arrives at Wright Air Development Center
A new airplane, a supersonic B-58 Hustler jet bomber, flew to Dayton under the belly o 10-engine B-36 bomber.
It was taken to a special hanger at Wright Field. Officials needed to be sure the plane could withstand the forces of high-speed flight.
The B-58 was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight.
March 12, 1967: UD glass blower Richard Grant
Richard Grant was a glass blower, but not the kind that made tiny elephants and candy dishes.
He made more exotic items, like ebulliometers and thermal diffusion columns for scientific work in the research laboratories at the University of Dayton. Each was an individual design made specifically for individual projects.
Grant picked up the skill while working at Monsanto Research Corp. He was a technician who was fascinated with glass. He talked with some members in the glass shop there, and they agreed to teach him how to do it during a year-and-a-half of lunch breaks.
Many years later, Grant found himself at UD, setting up and operating UD’s first glass shop.
“It takes four or five years of apprenticeship and several years of experience to gain the confidence to run your own lab,” he said.
March 13, 1977: New trolleys come without old bumps
The buzzer cords were a little bit too high to reach and the back door was difficult to open, but riders on the new RTA trolleys all agreed on one thing: The smooth ride made them overlook all the flaws.
“Them old ones bounced you all over, “said Cora Ivery, who had been riding the trolleys for 25 years. “I like the ride on these new ones.”
“The bright colors (they had orange seats) and the smooth ride were the first things I noticed,” said another rider, Elizabeth Dewey.
Riders were anticipating something else new: Air conditioning.
The new trolleys came with a price tag of $106,000 each.
March 15, 1987: Dunbar, ‘Ice-T’ cool Fairfield to win district
Kirk “Ice T” Taylor exploded for 20 of his 29 points in the second half to carry Dunbar to victory in front of 5,230 fans at UD Arena in a district basketball final against Fairfield.
It was Dunbar’s fifth straight Class AAA district title and Taylor was the Associated Press Class AAA Southwest District player of the year.
He later helped propel Dunbar to the state championship and played at Michigan with Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Gary Grant and Juwan Howard. Highlighting Kirk’s UM career was winning the 1989 NCAA championship when his team beat Seton Hall in OT.