The Lady Be Good

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Remnants of a plane at Wright Patterson Air Force Museum hold quite the ghost story. This story comes from Sara’s book Dayton Ghosts & Legends:Lady Be Good – In 1943, 25 B-24Ds of the 376th Bomb Group took off from their base in Libya for an attack against facilities in Naples. All but one returned that night. The one missing was the Lady Be Good. It took nearly 16 years for the plane to be discovered in the Libyan desert. When a ground party reached the plane in March 1959, evidence showed the crew had gotten lost in the dark and flew south over the base into the desert. When the fuel ran out, the men attempted to flee from the plane and head north, back to base.

LBG Journal

Excepts from co-pilot Robert F. Toner’s journal. Source: Lady Be Good.net

A long search for the remains returned eight of the nine crew members. One was located near the plane and seven were far north of the plane. Five of the crew had walked 78 miles before succumbing to the desert and one man had gone 109 miles. Additionally, the men had lived for eight days, which was miraculously longer than the two day survival expectation of men in those conditions. No trace of the ninth man was ever found.
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Local Author: Marshall Weiss

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Author of Stories of Jewish Dayton and Jewish Community of Dayton, Dayton resident Marshall Weiss is also the editor and publisher of The Dayton Jewish Observer, which he established more than twenty years ago for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

He was a past president of The American Jewish Press Association and helped establish the Jewish Scholastic Press Association for high school students. Marshall is the recipient of numerous first-place awards from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and Simon Rockower Awards given by the American Jewish Press Association. He received Religion News Association’s first-place Cassels Award for Excellence in Religion Reporting at Small Newspapers in 2017.

More Summer Events

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  • What: Dayton Celtic Festival
    Date: July 26-28
    Where: Riverscape MetroPark, 111 E Monument Avenue, Dayton

  • What: Demolition Derby
    Date: July 29
    Time: 7 pm
    Where: Greene County Fairgrounds

  • What: All Ohio Balloon Fest
    Date: August 8-10
    Where: Union County Airport, 1500 Weaver Road Entrance, Marysville

  • What: Germanfest Picnic
    Date: August 9-11
    Where: 1400 E. 5th Street, Dayton

  • What: Taco and Nacho Fest
    Date: August 24
    Time: 3-10 pm
    Where: 10400 Innovation Drive

Collins School

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For the purpose of building a school, Samuel and Rebecca Collins deeded 1.28 acres of land to Beavercreek Township in 1854. Two brick school houses were built with stone, including fireplaces for heat. Until decreased enrollment forced the school to close in 1944, children were educated from first through eighth grade in the red brick building still standing today.

Thirty eight years later, Helen Bryson Brantley (great granddaughter to Samuel and Rebecca Collins) and her husband Virgil purchased the property to restore the schoolhouse, which had deteriorated and been vandalized. They rebuilt the pony sheds and privies on their foundations. Collins School was rededicated on August 30, 1986.

Two teachers were enlisted to research and organize a curriculum. Later that fall, students were invited to attend to experience a day of the 3 Rs; “readin’ ritin’ and rithmetic’” as it would have been experienced during the schools operating days. Today, roughly 2,400 students and adults experience Collins School each year. They learn citizenship, read from McGuffey Readers, practice writing on slates, and play period appropriate games in the school yard. Collins School is located in Xenia at 2804 West Enon Road.

Fun Fact: Sara and Bethany both went on field trips to Collins School when they were in elementary school!

Civil War Veteran John Deis

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If you visit Calvary Cemetery, you will see the name John Deis carved into the base of a cannon in the soldiers’ section.

Deis was born in Baden, Germany on March 21, 1837, the oldest of five children to parents Philip and Franciska. They came to this country when John was 11. As soon as he was old enough to vote for president, John voted for Abraham Lincoln. Soon after that election, Lincoln called for volunteers for the Union Army. John immediately organized a company of men from the Dayton area then marched them to Fort Dennison, near Cincinnati. They enlisted and became Company M, First Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery with Deis as commander. He soon became 1st Sergeant and served until the end of 1864.

Deis’ military career included the battles of Pittsburgh Landing, Shiloh Corinth, Stone River, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, serving under Tecumseh, General Sherman, and William S. Rosecrans. John’s younger brother Philip had also joined but was unfortunately killed in Georgia during General Sherman’s March to the Sea.

When he returned to the war, he organized an officer’s club called the Old Grand Post #23, Grand Army of the Republic. He was Grand Marshall in many parades and took charge of Memorial Day. Deis helped to get the cannon erected in the soldier’s section of Calvary Cemetery. It was dedicated on May 30, 1901. His name was carved on the base as tribute.

John married Elizabeth Belm in 1861. Together they had 13 children with at least 6 living to adulthood. Deis was a member of The Knights of Columbus, St. John’s Society, and Holy Trinity Church. He also helped secure the site for St. Joseph’s Orphanage. John died in 1923 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in a family plot along with his brother Philip.

Local Author: Ken Serey

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Tipp City resident Ken Serey is a husband of 50 years, father of two grown children, and grandfather of five. While running an independent business with his brother helping those with visual impairments to live normal lives, Ken worked with veterans, inviting them to share their personal stories of war.

Ken’s book What’s The Story? is a collection of first-hand stories from Ohio veterans who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The stories come straight from the foxholes with 20/20 vision, recounting their experiences with Omaha Beach, the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler’s Hideaway, German POW camps, and more.

Upcoming Summer Events

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We hope you’re having fun this summer! Here are more events.

  • What: Americana Festival
    Date: July 3-4
    Where: Kickoff at Centerville High School, up Franklin Street

  • What: Firefly Party
    Date: July 5
    Time: 8:30 PM
    Where: Russ Nature Preserve

  • What: Seltzer Fest
    Date: July 6
    Time: 5 PM
    Where: The Greene, 4452 Buckeye Lane, Beavercreek

  • What: Dayton Mac and Cheese Fest
    Date: July 13th
    Time: 5 PM
    Where: Yellow Cab Tavern

  • What: Friends of SICSA Garage Sale
    Date: July 18th and 19th
    Time: Starts at 8 AM
    Where: The Old SICSA Building, 2600 Wilmington Pike, Kettering

      • Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley

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      Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley has received some recognition recently. The Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley Women’s Clinic was dedicated at the Dayton VA Campus on June 12. This will be her second namesake honor. On April 27, 2023, Fort Lee in Virginia was officially renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.

      Charity Edna Adams was born in Kitrell, North Carolina in 1918. Her father was a minister, and her mother was a former teacher. When she was a young girl, her family moved to South Carolina, which she later considered home.

      Charity was intellectually gifted and started school in second grade. By the end of elementary school, she was tested and scored ready to start high school. Her parents decided not to advance her any more grades since she was already a few grades ahead of her age group in school. Charity graduated school two years early as valedictorian. At Wilberforce College, Charity majored in Latin, Math, and Physics. She held a part-time job and was involved in many student activities before she graduated in 1938.

      During WWII, Charity was the first African American female officer in the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC, later called WAC). She led the 3rd Training Regiment, made up of two white and one black platoon. At Fort Des Moines, she was promoted to Major, which made her the highest-ranking female officer at the fort and one of the highest-ranking WAC officers in the country. She then deployed to Europe and led the first Black WAC unit to serve overseas. For her work in Europe, Charity was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest possible rank for WAC.
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      The Tragic Disappearance of T.C. Kidd

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      When Tom C. Kidd disappeared from his home on the morning of July 7, 1879, rumors swirled. Many assumed he had run off with another woman, but his wife knew that wasn’t the case. Tom was a dedicated and loyal husband and father. In the two years since he had moved to Dayton, he had earned the trust of any who had come in contact with him or did business with him. As the secretary of the Building Association, Tom was known to be kind, cheerful, and trustworthy, which earned him many friends.

      A week went by without news until the morning of July 15, when a letter arrived for his wife. It read:


      My Own Darling Wife:

      Dare I still call you so? Can you ever forgive your wretched, miserable, erring, wicked husband for the great wrong he has done you? If you can, your charity exceeds that of angels.

      You know, I presume as much concerning my trouble as I do myself. I know it happened, and I hardly know how. The association’s money was mixed with mine, and, as it was received at all times and in all places, was often forgotten or memorandums mislaid, and before I knew it I was a defaulter for, I supposed, $300 to $500. Then I grew desperate, trying in every way to redeem myself, (well, you know that business was next to nothing, and hoping and expecting by business and collections of debts owing me to come out all right.

      The result I need not state. I dared not post my books, for exposure was then inevitable. So they were left.

      The most cowardly act of my life I believe was leaving you the way I did. Yet when I left home in the morning I did not dream of it. It was an impulse of the moment, and I followed it. My intention was to commit suicide, and rid you and the world of such a worthless man, but I could not find it in my heart to commit the deed at home. I could not, so I left. Where I have been, Heaven knows – I do not! I know I have ridden and walked in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa, and I also know I have not eaten enough since I left for one meal, or slept enough for one night’s sleep. My body and mind have both been in a grand tumult, and this is the first time for days I have been able to recall your name and address.

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      Spook-Ghetti at Spaghetti Warehouse

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      Do you love Dayton history, Italian food, and ghosts?

      Enjoy a delicious Italian meal while listening to Haunted History and encounters of downtown Dayton and the warehouse. After dinner, take a haunted tour of the warehouse with local Paranormal Investigator Paula Dytko. For an extra $30 per person, experience getting to know the spirits of the Warehouse with the VIP 2-hour ghost hunt after Spook-ghetti ends. All levels of ghost investigators are welcome. Ages 16+.

      Call Spaghetti Warehouse at (937) 461-3913 to reserve your seat.

      Upcoming dates: June 6, July 11, August 1, and Sept 5