21 WFMJ archives  / December 1953 | Christmas morning was brighter for thousands of families in the Youngstown area over the years thanks to money raised at the Alias Santa Claus shows by Vindicator and Telegram columnist Esther Hamilton at Stambaugh Auditorium. Here, Al Kindler, foreman of the candy butchers at the show 71 years ago, instructs Boy Scouts Jim Pescitani, Larry DiLoreto, and Jim Hawley on how to help the prominent men of the community who acted as "candy butchers," collecting donations from the audience. 

December 25


1999: Mill Creek MetroParks receives a $270,000 federal grant for watershed protection. The money will go toward education, tree planting, and conservation easements. 

Vindicator columnist Michael Lacivita recalls his 1931 Christmas during the Depression when he was seven and his sister found their stockings empty. That year, a photo of him and his Lincoln School classmates dressed for a play in Japanese attire appeared in the Youngstown Telegram. He could not imagine that 14 years later, he would be a U.S. sailor spending Christmas in Tokyo.   

President Bill Clinton issues 37 Christmas pardons, including one for Struthers Councilman Danny Thomas Jr. for a 1987 conviction. 
          

1984: In his Christmas sermon, Dr. Charles Yoost, pastor of Church Hill United Methodist Church in Liberty, says, "God is not a big Santa Claus in the sky who promises to give us anything we want if we are good, but rather he gives us everything we need to lead a full life."

The Youngstown Foundation distributed a record $1.6 million in 1984 to area organizations, agencies, and schools. The fund was created in 1918 by philanthropist Henry Stambaugh with a $50,000 contribution. 

Advertisement: After Christmas clearance sale at the Hummel Gift Shop, Garfield Road in New Springfield. Ten percent discount on all stock, up to 50 percent on selected items. 


1974: General Motors Corp., the Youngstown district's largest employer, added $428 million in payroll to the area's economy 1974 despite labor and sales problems.  

Detroit automakers are examining the remaining 26 years of the 20th century, contemplating smaller, better cars and possibly even a different type of engine. 

The number of jobless people in Ohio increased to 291,000 in November, or 6.1 percent of the civilian labor force, the highest in three years. 


1949: After a slow start, cash registers in retail stores began jingling, and they did so right up to closing on Christmas Eve. The volume is expected to be about the same as in 1948.

Bishop James McFadden of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese quietly celebrated his 69th birthday on Christmas Eve, spending most of the day at work in the chancery. 

Contributions total $42,071 to the 43rd annual Christmas Seal campaign of the Mahoning County Tuberculosis and Health Association.