The “Big Wind” in 1871

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“Something like a tornado” visited Dayton on Sunday July 9, 1871, read the newspaper headline on Monday, July 10, 1871.

The storm, described as less than a tornado and more of a “big wind”, blew through “creating great havoc in property and destroying precious human lives. The storm, which was a furious one, lasted about 30 minutes. It began in the northwest with a sultry atmosphere and a temperature of 96 degrees. About 2 p.m. there were angry growlings and menacing streaks of lightning above the horizon. There were a few drops of rain, a sudden rush of wind and the storm came on furiously. Branches fluttered in the air, shade trees went down in the gutters, signs were flung about like flails, great steeples, by the wind, swung to and fro like the tops of tall pine trees. The thunder was terrific, the lightning vivid, the wind most furious and the rain poured down as though the flood-gates of heaven had opened for a deluge.”
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E.E. Alderman & His Postcards

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Back in May of 2014, we shared a quick blurb about E.E. Alderman:

E. E. Alderman, a Daytonian interested in short wave reception, relayed thousands of messages to families during WWII. Families received news of whether their loved ones had died, were prisoners, or were coming home. By doing this for the Dayton community, it is estimated that he relayed messages to over 9,000 families.

As a result of this, one of our readers reached out to us to share two postcards that E.E. Alderman sent about his grandfather, Private G.M. Brown.

The first postcard, dated December 12, 1944, was addressed to the postmaster of Canandaigua, New York to notify the kin of Brown’s capture by the Germans.

12-12-1944 Front

12-12-1944 Back

The second post card was to Brown’s sister Doris, dated December 22, 1944. This message thanked her for her contribution to Alderman’s endeavors and notifying her that her brother was safe and well, although still a Prisoner of War.

12-22-1944 Front

12-22-1944 Back

Our reader, Pete Granger, has donated these postcards and many other documents related to his grandfather’s service to the National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center.

Dayton Facts II

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  • Samuel Thompson, leader of the first party to arrive in Dayton on April 1, 1796, died of drowning in the Mad River in 1827.
  • Dayton’s first fatality by accident was John Davis in 1799. He was chopping ice from around the water wheel of Daniel Cooper’s corn cracker mill when the wheel suddenly started, sucking him under and subsequently crushing him to death.
  • George Newcom, one of the best-known members of the first families in Dayton, built the first tavern in Dayton, which was also the first two story house, the first “seat of justice” and the social center of town. Church services were sometimes held in the tavern. Newcom also served for five years as the first sheriff of Dayton then eight years in the Ohio Senate.
  • George’s brother William Newcom (Sara’s several times great grandfather) served in the War of 1812 and died as a result of exposure to cold weather.

Johnny Morehouse

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If you ask any research author what the bane of their existence is, it’s when they publish their research on any topic just to find more information after publishing.In 2014 Dayton Unknown posted a story about Johnny Morehouse, and over the years we’ve gathered much more information about both his life and afterlife.

John Newton Morehouse, Jr. (known as Johnny) was born in 1855, the younger son of John Newton Morehouse, Sr., and Mary Margaret (Browning) Morehouse. John and Mary were married December 23, 1851. John Sr. was a shoe cobbler and the family lived in the back of their shoe repair store. By the time of Johnny’s death on August 14, 1860, John Sr. was divorced from Mary and married to Barbara, his second wife.

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The Kettering Bug – The World’s First Drone

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In 1917, the US Army asked Charles F. Kettering to design an unmanned “flying machine” which could hit a target from 40 miles away. Kettering designed the Kettering Aerial Torpedo (later known as the Kettering Bug) and it was built by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, with Orville Wright acting as the aeronautical consultant on the project. The Kettering Bug was a predecessor of today’s cruise missiles and UAVs.

Launched using a dolly-and-track system (similar to how the first flight was launched), the Bug was capable of striking targets up to 75 miles away and could travel at speeds of 50 miles per hour. The Bug consisted of an engine, fuselage, and wings and cost about $400 each to produce. The fuselage was made out of papier-mache and wood laminates, and the wings were built out of cardboard. The Bug also had a small onboard gyroscope to guide the Bug to its target.
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Phil the Werewolf

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Recently the City of Piqua asked Halloween Loving Mary Simmon’s to take down her “seasonal wolf decoration”. The statue, which Mary named Phil, is a 10-foot werewolf statue Mary didn’t take down after Halloween.

Although most of her neighbors and the commenters online love the statue and want it to stay, a few complainers have reported her to the city. The complaints prompted the notice, but Piqua has also said that Simmons can keep Phil up if she wants.

To continue with the “seasonal” label, Simmons is looking into dressing Phil for holidays, including a Thanksgiving outfit.

Dayton Facts

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  • Stivers School for the Arts was named for Civil War Veteran, Captain Charles Bryan Stivers, who later became a school principal.
  • Hedgeapple plants (aka Osage orange trees) were planted in the 1820s in Bellbrook as fences. A salesman came to Bellbrook and sold them to the farmers and pioneers, touting their ability to keep the cattle in and the hardness of the wood to make wheel spokes.
  • Middletown was named because its founder, Daniel Doty, estimated it was roughly equidistant between Cincinnati and Dayton.
  • Bellbrook Magnetic Springs was once considered to be a magic spot. Legend is that the native Americans believed the water was medicinal and came from all around to drink it. A similar legend holds in Yellow Springs, and it is believed the Yellow Spring water attracts supernatural energy. Maybe that’s why Bellbrook has so many hauntings?
  • The oldest known grave in Miami Valley is Henry Stettler, who died January 28, 1791.

More Street Names:

  • Broadwell — Silas Broadwell, a town marshal.
  • Chickahominy and Chickamauga Avenues — both are named for Civil War battles.
  • Master Avenue – Named for the Master Electric Company
  • The popular angel monument at Woodland is the grave of Asa McMillan, who operated a wool manufacturing company. The McMillAn Angel base and cross were carved from Dayton Limestone and the angel was sculpted in Italy from Carerra Marble. The right arm is resting on a stone slab and a rag in her left hand to symbolize wiping a slate clean after death and past sins are forgiven.
  • During excavation at Research Park for a DP&L building, the remains of two people were discovered. The coroner and an archeological firm were called out to investigate. An estimated 75 bodies were buried at the location, which is believed to be the site of a 19th century Shaker cemetery, as the Shakers once lived on that section of land.