Years Ago | September 2nd

21 WFMJ archives / September 2, 1983, | Despite water and traffic problems at the 138th Canfield Fair 40 years ago, every square foot of “fair city” was occupied 40 years ago, and Sunday attendance was estimated at 125,000.
September 2
1999: The Ohio Supreme Court affirms a ruling by the 7th District Court of Appeals that the cities of Sebring and Campbell do not have a constitutional right to opt out of the Mill Creek MetroPark District, which was established by a countywide vote in 1988. Residents of those cities must pay the park property tax.
Mahoning County Auditor George Tablack announced that he would challenge U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. in 2000, citing a need for "honest, competent leadership" in Washington.
Another candidate, state Sen. Robert F. Hagan, D-33rd, will kick off his campaign to run against Traficant during an appearance with family, friends, and supporters at the Canfield Fair.
1984: Idora Park hosted its last riders on a bittersweet Saturday. Many of those in the park were armed with cameras to preserve a piece of Youngstown's history. What's left of the park will go on the auction block in October.
The Vindicator unveils a new six-column format that replaces the 8-column design that had survived decades.
The Canfield Fair Board brings in a dozen school buses to ferry fairgoers from outside the fairgrounds to the fair after downpours turned nearby parking lots into muddy morasses.
1974: Bands of bright orange paint on poles throughout Youngstown mark spots where 9,100 city school students will be picked up by WRTA buses for transport to school.
A U.S. Air Force spy plane breaks the speed record between New York and London by nearly three hours, covering 3,490 miles in 1 hour and 56 minutes at an average speed of 1,817 mph.
Nine people are killed in two separate airplane crashes in Ohio, including a Wisconsin family of three that died in a crash near Alliance.
1949: Twenty men arrested in the Aug. 12 raid on the Jungle Inn plead guilty and are fined in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. Judge Lynn B. Griffith ordered the destruction of 100 slot machines confiscated in the raid. Most are fined $100, but proprietor Mike Farah is fined $1,000.
The Mahoning County grand jury recommended building a new county jail after jurors spent an hour and a half touring the 48-year-old building.
Yankee Lake, the popular dance hall and swimming hole on Route 7 north of Brookfield, is advertised for sale. No price is listed for the 200-acre lake, bathhouse, and 12-bedroom inn.