Category Archives: Dayton Fun Facts

A Wedding and a Funeral

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Two University of Dayton students, Andrew Dixon and Sarah Pfarrer were planning to wed by April 28th, 1956. As the wedding date approached, Andrew’s father, John, had fallen ill and the outlook was not good. John was dying, and the family talked of postponing the wedding, but John insisted they do everything they can to keep the date and time, even hoping he’d make it long enough to see his son wed. Unfortunately, John Dixon died in his sleep just days before the wedding, and his funeral was planned for the afternoon of April 28th.

Andrew arose on the morning of April 28th at 6:30, ready for a long day of both happiness and sadness. As he dressed and prepared for his wedding, his uncle arrived and noticed three packages on the porch. His uncle brought the three packages in, believing them to be wedding presents. Andrew’s sister and two of his aunts gathered around the table as he began opening presents. The first package Andrew opened was a wedding gift, and the second was a cardboard box wrapped in brown paper. As he began opening the box, it exploded. The blast blew a hole three inches by 6 inches in the table, knocked out chunks of plaster from the ceiling and walls, and damaged furniture and light fixtures. The explosion was heard several blocks away.
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Fox Terrier Saves Family

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During the early morning hours of September 16, 1927, Mr. Charles Wilson was awoken by the actions of a small fox terrier tugging at his bed sheets. The terrier had been sleeping in the barn nearby and when a fire started in the Wilson house, and the dog sprang into action. Now awake, Mr. Wilson roused his wife then attempted to run upstairs to rescue their 5 children, but the stairway was engulfed in flames. As Wilson was a painter, he had plenty of ladders and he ran out to the barn to get 3 ladders to put against the windows for the children. All 5 children made it out of the house safely.Wilson then ran half a mile to the house next door and called the Frigidaire Company’s Emergency department. They responded and put the fire out, aided by chemicals. By the time the fire was out, it had destroyed the house and everything in it. Wilson did not make an estimate of the damages he suffered, but speculation was that there was several hundred thousand dollars in damages. The children could not attend school because their day clothing was lost in the fire.

The fire appeared to have started in the dining room, but it is unclear how it started.

Local Author and Artist Jeff Wilson

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Vandalia Sign shop owners Jeff and Patti Wilson started a Facebook page Ohio Legends featuring drawings about local history and trivia. The posts were a huge success and soon friends were sending in their own trivia and stories to use on the page.

Now there are over 300 drawings, facts, and stories about Ohio’s rich history. Many were contributed by friends, family, and readers. Jeff verifies the facts and creates the drawings for those contributions. Three books, titled Ohio Legends 1, Ohio Legends 2, and Ohio Legends 3 have been printed with these fascinating stories and facts.

We had the honor of meeting Jeff in 2019, when all three of us were published in Wright Library’s zine glide, which is an art and literary zine made up of poetry, short stories, essays, and art focusing on the Miami Valley. glide was published as both a hard copy and a digital copy. There were so many entries that an additional online zine, glide on was made available as well. We are sad to share that Jeff passed way in September of 2024, but he will always be an Ohio Legend to us. 

A Duel Ends in Murder

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At Xenia’s intersection of Main Street and Detroit Street, a failed attempt at a duel shattered the peaceful Wednesday morning of November 26th, 1926.

Long time friends Clifford “Tacks” Latimer and Charles Mackrodt had been enmeshed in an argument regarding Mackrodt’s dismissal from his job at the railway police force, where Latimer served as his superior.

The men met up at the southwest corner in front of the Commercial and Savings bank and walked across the intersection to the northwest corner, where they argued in front of the Steele Building. Witnesses overheard the men discussing a duel, and they agreed to walk to a nearby alley to engage. Apparently, Mackrodt changed his mind at the last moment and turned to walk away when Latirmer pulled out a revolver and shot Mackrodt three times in the back. One of the shots pierced his heart and caused instant death. The other two shots would have likely proved fatal as well.

Deputy Sheriff John Baugan witnessed the shooting and along with Sheriff Morris Sharp, ran to the scene and arrested Latimer, who still had the revolver in his hand. Latimer did not resist arrest. He was held in the county jail, charged with first degree murder. Latimer claimed he shot Mackrodt in self defense, but was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Seven Daschunds

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Dave Dye of Yellow Springs didn’t hesitate when an old German man appeared at his door asking for food. The man didn’t give his name but seemed so exhausted that Dye didn’t think twice before inviting him in for the night. The two shared a meal and beers while telling stories and talking all evening. The man told Dye he had come all the way from Germany that day. He was getting more agitated as the night advanced. Finally, he asked Dye if he had good locks on his door. Dye asked him if he was afraid of robbers. “No,” the German replied, “dogs.”

Dye himself was an avid dog lover and was surprised at this answer. He mentioned that he had a dog of his own, a greyhound. To this, the German replied that the dogs he was worried about were faster and said that they were dachshunds. Dye roared with laughter at this response, imagining the tiny dogs racing past his greyhound. Indignant, the German replied that he had killed a man in Germany and immediately took the first boat out of the country. The dead man’s seven dogs followed him onto the boat, and he hadn’t a moment’s peace since. In the distance, the men heard the faint sound of dogs barking. Dye was still laughing at the story. The German retorted that he would fool the dogs that night. The pack barked and snarled outside Dye’s home all night. In the morning, when Dye went to wake the old man, he was gone. It appeared he had climbed out of the second-story window. From there, he climbed into a tree, then presumably leapt onto a passing wagon heading out of town—all to elude the dogs tracking his scent. He was never seen again, but the dogs remained outside Dye’s house for six nights before giving up on their target.

Read this and other tales of Bizarre Beasts in Sar’s book Dayton Ghosts & Legends, available through Amazon and major book retailers. Autographed copies available directly from the author on SaraKaushal.com

John Hinckley’s Visit to Dayton

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During Jimmy Carter’s 1980 re-election campaign, he came to Dayton as part of a campaign swing through the Midwest. This rally, which took place on Oct 2, 1980, attracted 1400 to the Dayton Convention and Exhibition center. Among the 1400 attending was John Hinckley Jr.

Hinckley had been obsessed with the 1976 movie Taxi Driver, the premise of which was an assassination attempt. He was convinced he was in love with the leading actress, Jodie Foster.

Hinckley had been on a cross country campaign of his own, attempting to leave notes for and make contact with Foster. Her rejection of him sent him into a spiral. He needed to make a name for himself, he decided. After a while he determined the only way to get her attention was to shoot a president. Hearing about Carter’s election campaign, he traveled to Dayton to attend the next rally on October 2, 1980.

Hinckley stayed at the Sheraton Hotel at 21 S Jefferson Street and requested a room with a view of the Convention center where Carter would be speaking. He was given room 818 and paid a total fee of $35.52.

Fortunately for Carter and unfortunately for Hinckley, the crowd attracted was too large for Hinckley to be able to find a good point from which to shoot. Hinckley had left his weapons in his hotel room and was not in the mood to attempt to shoot after seeing the crowd.

After this event, Hinckley made several more attempts to shoot Carter and temporarily turned his sights to a leader of the American Nazi party. After many more failed attempts, he gave up and went home. During that time, he saw a psychiatrist, but did not mention his assassination attempts or his obsession with Jodie Foster.

When Carter lost the reelection campaign to Ronald Reagan, Hinckley turned his sights to President Reagan. He fired 6 shots and hit President Reagan and 3 of his attendants in front of the Washington Hilton before the Secret Service subdued him. President Reagan suffered a shot to the lung, missing his heart. During the chaos, he’d been shoved into the limo by a Secret Service agent and was unaware he’d been injured. He spent 12 days in the hospital before returning to the White House. Press Secretary James Brady was severely injured, suffering permanent brain damage after a shot to his head.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental health facility. He was ultimately released in 2018.

Local Author – Marcia Treadway

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Marcia Treadway is a retired journalist and a grandmother who lives in Dayton, Ohio with her husband, Bob. Marcia has written hundreds of articles for a national newspaper and worked in communication for a local school district for over ten years. She used scientific methods in her transnormal research to provide insight into the natural and supernatural world.

Marica may not appear as the type to have pursued ghost-hunting, yet there she was in Bellbrook, doing just that. Marcia’s instincts as a reporter led her to investigate phenomena that had no earthly explanations. Her skepticism soon became fascination and she couldn’t discount other people’s stories after witnessing a few bizarre happenings firsthand.

Marcia’s book, Transcending the Heart: When God Brought Me the Ghosts (soon to be renamed Seeker: From Skeptic to Believer) will captivate anyone who suspects there’s something beyond the universe other than what we can see or touch.

Dead and Gone

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It was a typical morning at the Reed family home in August 1891 when the oldest son, twenty-five-year-old Charles J. Reed, walked into the house. The family house in Xenia was not very large, containing two bedrooms, the dining room / kitchen area, and one sitting room. The family was gathered around the table eating breakfast when Charles entered. He had walked just a few steps past the table when he suddenly collapsed. He fell to the floor in a heap and never woke up.

Immediately, the father sent a boy to fetch a doctor while the remaining family members carried Charles’s body into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was positioned and covered with a sheet until the doctor could arrive.

The doctor walked into the home within twenty minutes of the collapse. He noticed that the door to the bedroom was closed and the entire family was sitting in the room outside it. When he noticed the arrival of the doctor, the father jumped up to open the bedroom door for him. The doctor walked into the bedroom with the grieving members of Charles’s family (mother, father, two sisters) close behind. He noticed the rigid outlines of the body under the sheet and a cloth over the face. Through the cloth, the doctor could see facial features and the profile of Charles’s face.

When the doctor approached and lifted the cloth from the corpse’s face, he was stunned to see nothing under the cloth. He quickly pulled the sheet away from the body and saw only empty space. Despite having seen the outline of a body through the cloth, there was nothing on the bed. Stunned, the family members and doctor simply looked from one another to the bed, speechless. It took a moment for the three ladies present to react, swooning onto the floor. While the doctor attended to the ladies, the father stood in a dumbfounded state, muttering incoherently and staring unseeing into the distance.

Once the ladies were brought back to consciousness, the doctor walked to the only window in the room and studied it. The window was locked from the inside and had clearly not been opened for a while. Since there was no body, no coroner’s inquest was held. An investigation into the disappearance was made but no answers have ever been found. Charles J. Reed was dead and gone

Read this and other tales of the weird in Dayton Ghosts & Legends, available through Amazon and major book retailers. Autographed copies available directly from the author on SaraKaushal.com

1911 Pearls of Wisdom

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An article from the Dayton Herald dated June 1911 titled “Current Credulities” shared pearls of wisdom common at the time. Here they are:

  • A cold, wet May, a barn full of hay
  • Rain before seven, clear before eleven
  • Tea kettle suddenly sings means news
  • Move in the light of the moon for luck
  • Broad front teeth mean that one is generous
  • If a baby does not fall out of bed, it will be a fool
  • A group of bubbles on a cup of coffee signifies money
  • If a child cries out during baptism, it is the devil going out of it
  • At cards it is bad luck to play against the grain of the table.
  • Water spilled on the doorstep means the coming of a stranger
  • Whoever eats the last piece of bread on the plate will be an old maid