Momentously May

Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Erie has seen so many historical events happen within the month of May. Among them are, top to bottom, left to right, Ann B. Davis, who went on to play Alice on The Brady Bunch, was born; citizens protested outside of Hammermill as they planned to build a pulp mill in Selma, Alabama; Colonel Strong Vincent assumed command of the Army of the Potomac's 3rd Brigade during the Civil War; Pontiac's Rebellion begins; an F4 tornado hit Albion; Fred Rogers gave the commencement speech at Edinboro, and the Netflix documentary about the infamous Pizza Bomber debuted..

There's nothing like May in Erie. After months of being cooped up inside (or being outside battling lake effect snow and polar vortexes), spring always seems to arrive just in time. The familiar sounds of birds chirping and neighbors mowing returns along with the welcome smells of bonfires and barbecues once again filling the air.

"All things seem possible in May," naturalist Edwin Way Teale once wrote. Indeed, May is a month of renewal and possibility — and in Erie's past, it's also full of memorable moments and interesting occurrences. The following is not at all meant to be a comprehensive timeline of the most important events to ever happen in Erie history during May. Instead, these are little glimpses into Erie's springtime past, some significant and some seemingly inconsequential, some remembered today and some forgotten.

1763: Pontiac's Rebellion begins. A confederation of indigenous nations, including Ottawa, Delaware, Potawatomie, Shawnee, Seneca, Wyandot, Ojibwe, and Huron, formed to resist further European colonization and threats to their sovereignty. In June, Fort Presque Isle fell to the confederation, with most of its inhabitants killed.

1795: On May 22, Ralph Rutledge and his son were attacked and killed just a month before the surveying of Erie was set to begin on land that is now Downtown Erie. At the time, it was reported to have been committed by Native Americans angry about encroachment on their land. According to The History of Erie County, "This spot was for many years supposed to be haunted, and many a person walked a wide detour around the place, especially after dark, rather than venture to withstand the mental terrors accompanying a trip past it."

1805: The Waterford Turnpike Co. was formed by Thomas Forster and Judah Colt with the goal of connecting Erie to Waterford by road. It took four years to complete and was a tolled road until 1845.

1808: On May 21, Erie got its first dedicated newspaper, The Mirror, founded by printer George Wyeth. It lasted two years.

1826: On May 18, the first steamboat was launched in Erie, making it only the sixth American steamboat on Lake Erie. It was named William Penn and was sailed by Captain John F. Wright.

1830: The Erie Observer newspaper was founded by members of the local Masonic Order, including Daniel Dobbins and P.S.V. Hamot, who were unhappy with the anti-Masonic reporting of the Erie Gazette, which was owned by Joseph F. Sterrett. The editors of these papers clashed often.

1863: On May 20, Colonel Strong Vincent assumed command of the Army of the Potomac's 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Fifth Corps during the Civil War. Leading his brigade in the Battle of Gettysburg in July, he famously stood upon a boulder and yelled to his men, "Don't give an inch." He was struck by a bullet and died from his injury five days later — but not before being promoted to brigadier general. He is buried in the Erie Cemetery.

1866: The steamship Virginia landed in New York harbor with 19-year-old Englishman Henry Sims aboard. The voyage was a disaster, traversing through a six-day storm followed by an outbreak of cholera that killed over 100 on board, most being buried at sea. A week after the ship's quarantine was lifted, Sims arrived in Erie. He soon married Aurilia J. Charles of Harborcreek, started a family, and then built a successful machine shop and foundry.

1893: Mill Creek flooded for three days mid-month, claiming the life of 13-year-old Jacob Heberla. While not as deadly as the 1915 flood, it destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings throughout Erie. It was at that point the largest rainfall ever recorded in Erie.

1895: Mid-May snow hit Erie County, severely damaging local grape crops. This freeze was then followed immediately by unseasonably warm weather.

1912: Wesleyville was officially incorporated as a borough on May 31.

1926: On May 3, Ann B. Davis was born in Schenectady, New York. At age three, her family moved to Erie where she graduated from Strong Vincent High School. She continued on to a successful career on Broadway and in television, most famously portraying Alice Nelson on ABC's The Brady Bunch.

1930: Richard Anuszkiewicz was born in Erie to Polish immigrants Victoria and Adam Anuszkiewicz on May 23. He studied art under Joseph Plavcan at Erie Technical High School before attending Cleveland Institute of Art and Yale University School of Art. He then helped found the Op Art movement popularized in the 1960s.

1945: On May 2, the Erie Daily Times ran the front page headline: "IKE THINKS HITLER IS DEAD." In the lower corner is a photograph of the hanging dead body of Benito Mussolini. Over the following days, there were more confirmations of his death and on May 8, the front page read: "[Victory in Europe] Proclaimed! Truman Announces Nazi Surrender." As celebratory bells rang out in Erie, there was no wild cheering in downtown, only "quiet happiness and hope for the future."

1947: Rabbi Max C. Currick died. In 1901, he became rabbi of Erie's Temple Anshe Hesed and was extremely prolific in the community, writing for all three major newspapers (and authoring several nationally-known books) while also being involved with the Community Chest of Erie County, Erie Public Library, Erie Playhouse, American Red Cross, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the War Labor Board during World War II. The Erie Daily Times described him on their front page as "one of Erie's most influential citizens" and someone who desired "creating peace and good will between racial groups and the general welfare of mankind."

1965: On May 11, hundreds protested outside of Erie's Hammermill Paper Company headquarters over their planned construction of a pulp mill outside of Selma, Alabama during the midst of a voting rights campaign in that city. Dr. C.T. Vivian, a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr.'s and a leader within the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, arrived in the city to negotiate with Hammermill executives.

1968: On May 18, 21-year-old Donald Keith Rahn died in Vietnam. He was known for being intelligent, quiet, and polite. He's buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Forty Erie residents died in the Vietnam War.

1970: Six months into his Vietnam tour, Army Staff Sergeant Tom Ridge's appendix ruptured in May of 1970. He was sent back to the states where he finished law school, then became assistant district attorney in Erie County, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Governor of Pennsylvania, and the first Secretary of Homeland Security.

1977: Star Wars was released. The local movie critic stated that George Lucas is "as opportunistic and artistically shallow" as other new directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Brian DePalma. "The script defies analysis," he added, criticizing the story, dialogue, and acting. Another local review calling it a "brilliant epic" was published a few days later. "[S]omewhere along the way, someone decided that if a work of art was commercially successful, it instantly lost its right to be called art," defended the critic.

1985: On the evening of May 31, there was a massive outbreak of 43 tornadoes across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, killing 89 people and injuring over 1,000, making it the deadliest weather event of the decade. An F-4 tornado slammed into Albion, Pa., injuring 82 and killing 12. "Every tree was twisted, splintered, and covered with mud," a Red Cross volunteer recalled. "What trees had limbs were covered with debris. Twisted metal, clothes, and other pieces of homes. Cars flipped around every which way."

1990: Tech Memorial High School students protested and held a march over potential cuts to their academic programs, holding signs saying "Save Tech" and "We want education, not politics." One freshman told the Erie Times-News, "Tech is a family."

1994: After decades of being in an unmarked New York grave, the remains of composer Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) were brought back to Erie to be reinterred at the Erie Cemetery. A memorial service was held at Perry Square on May 28 with over 400 in attendance before his remains were taken to the cemetery by a horse-drawn hearse. "Harry must be dancing. He is home, free at last," said local jazz musician Mary Alice Brown after a performance of his spirituals. Ada Lawrence, who'd known Burleigh personally and helped with the efforts to bring him home, told the Erie Times-News, "Here was a man who had received so much adulation from the world, but he never lost sight of where he came from."

1995: On May 27, the Bicentennial Parade was held celebrating Erie's 200th year. Meanwhile, with the Erie Sailors no more, the Erie SeaWolves were preparing for their inaugural season at Jerry Uht Park. During this month, McDowell High School graduate and NFL running back James Conner was also born.

1998: Mr. Fred Rogers gave the keynote speech at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania's commencement. "It's you I like," he tells the audience. "When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that helps you to wonder and dream and feel for others. That's the part of you that will make the biggest difference in this world."

2007: Gas prices hit a record high $3.27 per gallon. Adjusted for inflation, that would be nearly $5 per gallon today. "This is killing us," one local resident told the Erie Times-News.

2018: Netflix released Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist on May 11, the popular true crime docuseries on the "pizza bomber" case involving Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Brian Wells, to favorable reviews. "[I]t's Diehl-Armstrong who, long after Evil Genius has concluded, proves most difficult to shake," writes The Daily Beast.

Jonathan Burdick runs the public history project Rust & Dirt. He can be reached at jburdick@eriereader.com