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OSNABURG HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 131 Nassau Street E, East Canton, OH (2026)

06/11/2026

This Day in History
June 11
1949
Hank Williams Sr., makes his Grand Ole Opry debut

On June 11, 1949, country singer Hank Williams Sr., takes to the microphone of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast for the first time. That debut remains one of the most famous in the history of the legendary live country-music performance program. He electrified a live audience at Ryman Auditorium that called Williams out for six encores and had to be implored not to call him out for more in order to allow the rest of the show to go on.

In the tragically short life of country legend Hank Williams Sr., there were many broken relationships, both personal and professional, that resulted from his self-destructive behavior. One such relationship was with the most important institution in his chosen field: the Opry, which had been broadcast weekly on WSN Nashville since 1925. Shortly before it cost him his life, Hank’s drinking cost him his membership in the Opry, just three years after his triumphant debut.

Hank Williams was only 25 years old when he was invited to appear for the first time on the Grand Ole Opry. As a young man growing up dirt poor in southern Alabama, he began supporting his family at the age of seven by shining shoes and selling peanuts. But by 14 at least, he was already performing as a professional musician. The life of a “professional musician” playing the blood-bucket honky-tonks of the Deep South bore little resemblance to the lifestyle that would later become available to him, but it was there, in country music’s backwater proving grounds, that Hank Williams developed his heavily blues-influenced style and began writing his own music. Williams left music behind during WWII, but then he went to Nashville in 1946 hoping to sell some of his songs. Quickly signed to a publishing contract by one of Nashville’s most prominent music publishers, Fred Rose, Williams soon had a recording contract with MGM and his first hit record with “Move It On Over” (1947).

Williams’ heavy drinking had already earned him a reputation in the industry, however—a reputation that ruled out an invitation to appear on The Grand Ole Opry. It was the Opry’s biggest competition, The Louisiana Hayride, that first exposed Williams to a wide radio audience, but when his 1949 record “Lovesick Blues” became a monumental popular hit, the powers that be in Nashville relented, and Williams made his Opry debut. His performance on this day in 1949, during which he performed six encores of “Lovesick Blues” for a wildly enthusiastic live audience, led to regular appearances over the next three years, until the Opry fired Williams in July 1952 over his heavy drinking. Six months later, Hank Williams died of alcohol-induced heart failure at the age of 29.

06/10/2026

This Day in History
June 10
1944
Joe Nuxhall makes MLB debut at 15

On June 10, 1944, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest person ever to play Major League Baseball when he pitches in a game for the Cincinnati Reds. Nuxhall threw two-thirds of the ninth inning in an 18-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals; he was pulled only after one wild pitch and allowing five runs on five walks and two hits. The game was played during World War II, when it became common for adolescent and older players to fill in for big leaguers fighting overseas.

In 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt wrote to Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to ask that baseball continue even though the United States was going to war: “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before.” Landis obliged, and play continued even as the stars of the era left to enroll in the armed forces. Detroit Tigers first baseman Hank Greenberg was among the players who had enlisted even before 1941, in the prime of his Hall of Fame career. After the 1942 season, more than 500 big league players enlisted, including stars Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Dom DiMaggio and P*e Wee Reese.

Meanwhile, the major leagues had to make do with whoever was available, and the 15-year-old Nuxhall was just one of many new players who normally wouldn’t have come close to a shot at the big leagues. Others included Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder who hit .218 and drove in 13 runs in 77 games with the St. Louis Browns in 1945, and 16-year-old Carl Scheib, who pitched for the Philadelphia A’s in 1943. Eighteen-year-old Vern Benson got to hit twice for the A’s that year, while 17-year-old Cass Michaels began his 12-year major league career many years ahead of schedule playing third base for the White Sox. Older players also got in on the act: Mike Ryba and Al Simmons were among the former major leaguers who returned to fill in for their younger counterparts overseas.

As for Nuxhall, though the June 10 outing was his only appearance in 1944, he rejoined the Reds in 1952 when he was 23 years old and pitched 15 seasons in the big leagues. He ended his career with a 135-117 record and a 3.90 ERA. He died in 2007.

06/09/2026

This Day in History
June 9
1893
22 die in collapse of Ford’s Theatre, site of Lincoln assassination

In Washington, D.C. on June 9, 1893, the interior of ramshackle Ford’s Theatre collapses, causing the deaths of 22 people. The building—where President Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865—houses hundreds of clerks employed by the War Department’s Records and Pensions Division. An investigation determines the cause of the tragedy was a pier that had given way during excavation in the basement for an electric-light plant.

Rescue workers quickly arrived on the scene, toiling “like demons” to search for victims and to remove debris. Clerks recalled screams of co-workers. One witness said Civil War veterans who worked in the building were the “wildest and craziest.” In a panic, some employees jumped from the second floor, using an awning to brace their fall.

Businesses and homes in the immediate area were used as makeshift hospitals. Anguished relatives rushed to the scene. Some onlookers watched events unfold from the rooftops of buildings.

“Plunged in a chasm of death,” read a newspaper headline.

A Washington Post reporter visited the home of a victim whose body was the last one recovered. “Say, mister, when is papa coming home?” asked the tearful boy. “He will come home tomorrow, won’t he?”

One man thought there was a "curse" on the building since Lincoln's assassination. "...if I had my way [Ford's Theater] should be entirely demolished and the ground be forever left unbuilt upon,” he told a reporter.

Ford's Theatre remained a federal office building until 1932. After undergoing extensive renovations, it was re-opened as a theater in 1968. The national historic site underwent extensive renovations again in the 2000s.

06/08/2026

This Day in History
June 8
1924
Final sighting of George Mallory on Mount Everest

On June 8, 1924, English geologist Noel Odell catches sight of George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, two fellow members of a British expedition to climb Mount Everest, far in the distance, each man a “tiny black spot” silhouetted against the snow. By Odell’s reckoning, they are within about 800 vertical feet of the summit. It is the last time either Mallory or Irvine will be seen alive.

A schoolteacher by profession and a World War I veteran, the 37-year-old Mallory was already one of England’s most celebrated climbers. This marked his third attempt in three years to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, something no known climber had ever accomplished. Irvine, 22, had little climbing experience, but had expertise on the oxygen-tank apparatus that would make it easier for them to breathe at the high altitude.

Whether Mallory and Irvine ever reached the summit remains one of history’s most tantalizing mysteries. It wasn’t until May 29, 1953 that Everest would finally be conquered beyond any doubt, by New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide from Nepal.

A 1999 expedition discovered Mallory’s body some 27,000 feet up the mountain, lying face-down and much of it well-preserved. He had apparently fallen, breaking a leg and possibly an arm. A small Kodak camera he was believed to be carrying was nowhere to be found. The expedition had hoped it would hold clues to whether he and Irvine were coming down from the peak after successfully summiting—or still on their way up.

The expedition left Mallory where he lay, but covered his body with stones to afford it some protection.

Irvine’s body has never been officially found, although rumors persist that it was discovered in the 1970s and secretly removed by the Chinese government, possibly with the missing camera. In September 2024, a boot and sock with the label "A.C. Irvine" stitched into it were found by a National Geographic documentary team on a glacier below the north face of Everest. A foot was recovered inside the boot as well.

06/07/2026

The Apple Barrel-

Years ago customers began driving down a long country lane to buy fruit at Varian's Orchards, Stark Counties oldest commercial Orchard.

This tradition continued for a century, until 1972, a roadside market was erected for customer convenience. It was built all of cedar in the shape of a barrel and named it, "Apple Barrel".

For security purposes, the market has no windows. Amish barn builders were first consulted, but none knew how to build a round barn without a center silo for support.

Osnaburg craftsman, Harvey Hookway devised a plan and built the barn sans center support. His plan is now patented.

The Apple Barrel now operated by the fourth generation of the Varian Family, was furnished with antiques, mostly found in sheds, attics and cellars on the Varian Farm. They reflect the 100 years of the Orchard's existence.

Tucked away in southeast Stark County, you will find Varian Orchards. This 325 acre farm includes apple and peach orchards, fields, forests, lakes, and stunning views for the background for an amazing venue for weddings and other events. Since 1914, this working orchard has been owned by the Varian family. The spacious area includes facilities for indoor and outdoor events for weddings, receptions, showers, reunions, corporate group and club activities and much more.

Does anyone have happy memories of this fine old building?

Feel Free to share your memories.

Article was printed in the Stark County Sampler Tour Guide. A Driving and Walking Tour of the Historic Structures and Sites in the East Canton Area, Sunday, August 21, 1994.
https://www.visitcanton.com/

06/06/2026

This Day in History
June 6
1933
First drive-in movie theater opens

On June 6, 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Camden Drive-In, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Park-In Theaters–the term “drive-in” came to be widely used only later–was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. Reportedly inspired by his mother’s struggle to sit comfortably in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles.

He experimented in the driveway of his own house with different projection and sound techniques, mounting a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, pinning a screen to some trees, and placing a radio behind the screen for sound. He also tested ways to guard against rain and other inclement weather, and devised the ideal spacing arrangement for a number of cars so that all would have a view of the screen.

The young entrepreneur received a patent for the concept in May of 1933 and opened Park-In Theaters, Inc. less than a month later, with an initial investment of $30,000. Advertising it as entertainment for the whole family, Hollingshead charged 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person, with no group paying more than one dollar. The idea caught on, and after Hollingshead’s patent was overturned in 1949, drive-in theaters began popping up all over the country. One of the largest was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York, which featured parking space for 2,500 cars, a kid’s playground and a full service restaurant, all on a 28-acre lot.

Drive-in theaters showed mostly B-movies—that is, not Hollywood’s finest fare—but some theaters featured the same movies that played in regular theaters. The initially poor sound quality—Hollingshead had mounted three speakers manufactured by RCA Victor near the screen—improved, and later technology made it possible for each car’s to play the movie’s soundtrack through its FM radio. The popularity of the drive-in spiked after World War II and reached its heyday in the late 1950s to mid-60s, with some 5,000 theaters across the country. Drive-ins became an icon of American culture, and a typical weekend destination not just for parents and children but also for teenage couples seeking some privacy. Since then, however, the rising price of real estate, especially in suburban areas, combined with the growing numbers of walk-in theaters and the rise of video rentals to curb the growth of the drive-in industry. Today, fewer than 500 drive-in theaters survive in the United States.

06/05/2026

This Day in History
June 5
1968
Robert F. Kennedy is fatally shot

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He was pronounced dead a day later, on June 6, 1968.

The summer of 1968 was a tempestuous time in American history. Both the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were peaking. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in the spring, igniting riots across the country. In the face of this unrest, President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to seek a second term in the upcoming presidential election. Robert Kennedy, John’s younger brother and former U.S. Attorney General, stepped into this breach and experienced a groundswell of support.

Kennedy was perceived by many to be the only person in American politics capable of uniting the people. He was beloved by the minority community for his integrity and devotion to the civil rights cause. After winning California’s primary, Kennedy was in the position to receive the Democratic nomination and face off against Richard Nixon in the general election.

As star athletes Rafer Johnson and Roosevelt Grier accompanied Kennedy out a rear exit of the Ambassador Hotel, Sirhan Sirhan stepped forward with a rolled up campaign poster, hiding his .22 revolver. He was only a foot away when he fired several shots at Kennedy. Grier and Johnson wrestled Sirhan to the ground, but not before five bystanders were wounded. Grier was distraught afterward and blamed himself for allowing Kennedy to be shot.

Sirhan, who was born in Palestine, confessed to the crime at his trial and received a death sentence on March 3, 1969. However, since the California State Supreme Court invalidated all death penalty sentences in 1972, Sirhan has spent the rest of his life in prison. According to the New York Times, he has since said that he believed Kennedy was “instrumental” in the oppression of Palestinians. Hubert Humphrey ended up running for the Democrats in 1968, but lost to Nixon.

06/04/2026

This Day in History
June 4
1876
Express train crosses the nation in 83 hours

A mere 83 hours after leaving New York City, the Transcontinental Express train arrives in San Francisco.

That any human being could travel across the entire nation in less than four days was inconceivable to previous generations of Americans. During the early 19th century, when Thomas Jefferson first dreamed of an American nation stretching from “sea to shining sea,” it took the president 10 days to travel the 225 miles from Monticello to Philadelphia via carriage. Even with frequent changing of horses, the 100-mile journey from New York to Philadelphia demanded two days hard travel in a light stagecoach. At such speeds, the coasts of the continent-wide American nation were months apart. How could such a vast country ever hope to remain united?

As early as 1802, Jefferson had some glimmer of an answer. “The introduction of so powerful an agent as steam,” he predicted, “[to a carriage on wheels] will make a great change in the situation of man.” Though Jefferson never saw a train in his lifetime, he had glimpsed the future with the idea. Within half a century, America would have more railroads than any other nation in the world. By 1869, the first transcontinental line linking the coasts was completed. Suddenly, a journey that had previously taken months using horses could be made in less than a week.

Five days after the transcontinental railroad was completed, daily passenger service over the rails began. The speed and comfort offered by rail travel was so astonishing that many Americans could scarcely believe it, and popular magazines wrote glowing accounts of the amazing journey. For the wealthy, a trip on the transcontinental railroad was a luxurious experience. First-class passengers rode in beautifully appointed cars with plush velvet seats that converted into snug sleeping berths. The finer amenities included steam heat, fresh linen daily and gracious porters who catered to their every whim. For an extra $4 a day, the wealthy traveler could opt to take the weekly Pacific Hotel Express, which offered first-class dining on board. As one happy passenger wrote, “The rarest and richest of all my journeying through life is this three-thousand miles by rail.”

The trip was a good deal less speedy and comfortable for passengers unwilling or unable to pay the premium fares. Whereas most of the first-class passengers traveled the transcontinental line for business or pleasure, the third-class occupants were often emigrants hoping to make a new start in the West. A third-class ticket could be purchased for only $40–less than half the price of the first-class fare. At this low rate, the traveler received no luxuries. Their cars, fitted with rows of narrow wooden benches, were congested, noisy and uncomfortable. The railroad often attached the coach cars to freight cars that were constantly shunted aside to make way for the express trains. Consequently, the third-class traveler’s journey west might take 10 or more days. Even under these trying conditions, few travelers complained. Even 10 days spent sitting on a hard bench seat was preferable to six months walking alongside a Conestoga wagon on the Oregon Trail.

Railroad promotions, however, naturally focused on the speedy express trains. The arrival of the Transcontinental Express train in San Francisco on this day in 1876 was widely celebrated in the newspapers and magazines of the day. With this new express service, a businessman could leave New York City on Monday morning, spend 83 hours in relaxing comfort, and arrive refreshed and ready for work in San Francisco by Thursday evening. The powerful agent of steam had effectively shrunk a vast nation to a manageable size.

06/03/2026

This Day in History
June 3
1956
Rock ‘n’ roll is banned in Santa Cruz, California

On June 3, 1956, Santa Cruz, California captured national attention when city authorities announced a total ban on rock 'n' roll at public gatherings. Officials called the music “detrimental to both the health and morals of our youth and community.”

Santa Cruz, a favorite early haunt of author Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, became known by the mid-1960s as an established capital of the West Coast counterculture scene. Yet just 10 years earlier, the balance of power in this crunchy beach town 70 miles south of San Francisco tilted heavily toward the older side of the generation gap. In the early months of the rock-and-roll revolution, at a time when adult authorities around the country were struggling to come to terms with a booming population of teenagers with vastly different musical tastes and attitudes, the city laid down the gauntlet.

The ban came in reaction to a dance party the previous evening. Some 200 teenagers had packed the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on a Saturday night to dance to the music of Chuck Higgins and his Orchestra, a Los Angeles group with a regional hit record called “Pachuko Hop.” Santa Cruz police entered the auditorium just past midnight to check on the event, and what they found, according to Lieutenant Richard Overton, was a crowd “engaged in suggestive, stimulating and tantalizing motions induced by the provocative rhythms of an all-negro band.” But what might sound like a pretty great dance party to some did not to Lt. Overton, who immediately shut the dance down and sent the disappointed teenagers home early.

It may seem obvious now that Santa Cruz’s ban on “Rock-and-roll and other forms of frenzied music” was doomed to fail, but it was hardly the only such attempt. Just two weeks later in its June 18, 1956 issue, Time magazine reported on similar bans recently enacted in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and in San Antonio, Texas, where the city council’s fear of “undesirable elements” echoed the not-so-thinly-veiled concerns of Santa Cruz authorities over the racially integrated nature of the event that prompted the rock-and-roll ban issued on this day in 1956.

06/02/2026

This Day in History
June 2
1886
Grover Cleveland gets married in the White House

President Grover Cleveland becomes the first sitting president to marry in the White House on June 2, 1886.

Cleveland entered the White House as a bachelor and left a married man and father of two. His new wife was a young woman 27 years his junior named Frances Folsom. Frances was the daughter of a former law partner and Cleveland’s legal ward; Cleveland had literally known her since she was born. When she was 11, Frances’ father died and Cleveland became her legal guardian, remaining close friends with her mother. His pet name for Frances was Frank. Observers thought Cleveland would marry his friend’s widow and were completely surprised when, instead, he married Frances as soon as she turned 21.

In another White House first, Frances and Cleveland’s second daughter Esther became the first child born to a president in a White House bedroom.

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