Vindicator file photo / December 1954 | Before there was a “Black Friday” before there were malls and long before there was a “Cyber Monday,” people did their Christmas shopping the old fashioned way, crowding the streets of downtown Youngstown, as this December 1954 photo of shoppers on Federal Street attests.  

November 29

1994: U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Lorain, says the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) contains a provision to eliminate the guaranteed minimum rate on U.S. savings bond, which he says would hurt middle-class families.

The Western Reserve Transit Authority unveils the nation’s first indoor natural gas refueling station that will be used to fuel the WRTA's fleet of natural gas buses. 

The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce issues a report saying it has helped 46 businesses bring investments and new jobs to the area.

1979: The Warren-Trumbull Community Services Agency is critically short of funds and must either borrow or shut down, said Executive Director Delores Smith. 

Jones & Laughin Steel Corp. announces the closing of its Brier Hill Works, meaning 1,400 workers will lose their jobs by year's end.    

Representatives of the unbeaten South High School football team receive the Youngstown Rotary Club's City Series Championship trophy.

1969: Two gunmen wearing ski masks hold up the Lordstown branch of Second National Bank of Warren and escape with $19,000 after herding 13 employees and customers into a side office. 

Trumbull County commissioners avert a threatened walkout by county employees by promising that work done in December will be compensated in the first pay of January, even though the county will run out of money in December.

The traffic death toll nationwide for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend reaches 330 after the first two days. The National Safety Council predicts 700 fatalities. In Youngstown, Mary Grace Boughner, 4, is fatally injured in a two-car crash at W. Federal and Worthington streets in which eight people were injured.

1944: Clarence P. Gould, professor of history at Youngstown College, tells the Youngstown League of Women Voters that "even a poor peace plan will work if we're prepared to make it work, but the best plan will fail without preparation."  

Seven Youngstown district men, war-weary and starved for a glimpse of home, arrive at Camp Atterbury, Ind., to await leave after 30 months of jungle warfare. They are Joseph Bernard, Donald Evans, Francis Saunders, Joseph Campello,  Hayden Brown, Peter Pasvanis and Steven Slavina.

Paul Lucas, Academy Award-winning actor, made four local appearances for the Sixth War Loan Drive. Distinguished in appearance, he charmed audiences with his sincerity.