125 years
December 27, 1898
Quite a little blaze was made in the gas pipe trench near the Florentine Hotel this morning. The pipe had been opened to make a connection to run into the Haslup Steel Scraper factory. Considerable crude oil ran out of the pipe and was ignited. There was no damage.
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At the meeting of the Farmers’ Institute this afternoon, the following officers were elected: George Pfaadt, president; D.W. Richie, vice president; J.J. Huffman, secretary; S.R. Lytle, treasurer. The executive committee includes: J.N. Vandemark, C.P. Davenport, John T. Orbison, and J.C. Stipp.
100 years
December 27, 1923
Christmas, the only day in the year on which the “Spot” at Piqua, like the “Spot” in Sidney, is closed, was broken into sometime last night. The door had been kicked open and the interior of the place rifled but apparently, nothing was taken.
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A change in the name from Majestic to Sidney theatre, effective Jan. 1, was announced today by Daniel Gutilla, of Bellefontaine.
75 years
December 27, 1948
The annual necktie gift exchange that has become a traditional Christmas feature of the Sidney Kiwanis club marked the regular luncheon meeting of the club on Wednesday. Harry Binkley was chairman for the affair. Winner in the exchange was George Sturm, with Dr. Harry Barr’s tie second. Judges in the competition were Reuben Aschenbach, president of Rotary, and Paul Potter, president of Iutis.
50 years
December 27, 1973
New Hope Grange met at The Center for the Dec. 17 session, with members hearing reports by the state grange delegates, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Harshbarger. Mrs. Roscoe Smith, lecturer, used as her theme, “The Christmas Spirit,” opening with a reading. Mr. and Mrs. (Roger) Watkins, Miss Carol Archer, and Lee Archer presented a skit written by Mrs. Dick J. Adams. Mrs. Robert Middleton and Mrs. Joseph Strayer gave readings and the program closed with the singing of carols.
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Mrs. Virginia Matz, general chairman, has named 10 division leaders for the 1974 Sidney-Shelby County YMCA membership drive. Five are veterans from last year: Mrs. Michael Glasscock, George Coffield, William Lang, Bruce Boyd, and Chuck Hewitt. New division leaders will be Duke DeLoye, Thomas Shoemaker, Lynn Smith and Tom Skeren. John Amos, last year’s chairman, will head the 10th division.
25 years
December 27, 1998
Sidney native Rebecca Bowers, Brookville resident and building principal of Miami Valley Career Technology Center, has been selected as a member of the Ohio Vocational Education Leadership Institute.
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When Gary Van Fossen stepped into the office of Shelby County Commissioner in 1995, he brought a wealth of political and business experience to the position. Van Fossen retired from VisionMark Inc. in 1993 as vice president after 41 years with the company and its parent firm, Amos Press Inc. He served on Sidney City Council for eight years, six of those as mayor, and served on the Sidney City Board of Education for four years. On Thursday, Van Fossen will serve his last day as commissioner, being replaced by Dale DeLoye.
These news items from past issues of the Sidney Daily News are compiled by the Shelby County Historical Society (937-498-1653) as a public service to the community. Local history on the Internet! www.shelbycountyhistory.org. Visit the Sidney Daily News website, www.sidneydailynews.com to read the rest of the week’s columns.
