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Stories by Mary McCarty
Survivor recalls fleeing historic Great Dayton Flood
On this day 100 years ago, Daytonians awoke to a cacophony of fire sirens, church bells and factory whistles, but few had any notion that it would be the deadliest day in city history —what would be known forever afterward as the Great Dayton Flood. The night before, many had ...
100 years later: Dayton forever changed by the Great Flood of 1913
With each passing year, the human tie gets a little more frayed. For this year’s 100th anniversary of the Great Dayton Flood of 1913, the newspaper could find only two survivors of the second-deadliest flood in American history. One of them, 100-year-old Robert Ferneding, was just eight months old when ...
Flood survivors’ written accounts provide treasure trove for families
All over the Miami Valley, the Great Dayton Flood of 1913 is once again taking center stage in our living rooms and public places.A surprising number of present-day residents have oral or written histories passed down by their parents and grandparents, as I learned when I asked readers to share ...
Impact from My Lai case still felt
Dayton attorney Merle Wilberding has special reason to remember that today is the 45th anniversary of the infamous My Lai massacre.The case prepared Wilberding for another internationally-publicized case many years later — representing the family of Maria Lauterbach, the pregnant Marine who was murdered in 2007 by fellow Marine Cesar ...
Church cheers Argentine pope
Local Catholics rejoiced Wednesday over the historic election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, the first Latin American pope. Flor Ortega, a junior at the University of Dayton and a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, wept as she watched the announcement at UD’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Union. She called ...
Reactions of Pope Francis at the 266th pontiff
“As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, (Pope Francis) carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than 2,000 years — that in each other we see the face of God. As the first pope from the Americas, ...
Downton Abbey: When does high-toned melodrama go over the top?
Downton Abbey fans are in a state of revolt.That may seem too strong a term for such a genteel, Anglophile, tea-swilling set, but I assure you that it’s an understatement, if anything, after the tragic third-season finale.As my friend Ellen Rehg of St. Louis put it, “I don’t know how ...
Columnist sees unlikely link between tales of Richard III, Oscar Pistorius
Why are we so riveted by the discovery of the remains of King Richard III?Perhaps no archaeological find has so captured the public imagination since the excavation of King Tutankhamun’s nearly intact tomb in 1922.Sure, it was a British monarch — and not just any British monarch, but Richard III, ...
Audra McDonald to shine at Schuster 10th anniversary gala
The last time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald came to Dayton, she serenaded voters in the basement of the Montgomery County Administration Building while she observed the early voting process on behalf of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Some fans recognized her and asked, astonished, “What are you doing here?” ...
More than 215k sign local rape victim’s petitions
Sheila Thomas of Dayton feels so passionately about the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act that she is delivering a petition signed by 215,000 Americans Thursday morning to the local offices of House Speaker John Boehner and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner.Thomas, who was raped at gunpoint in 1983, believes ...
Fatal campus fire prompts push for safety
When a fire broke out on New Year’s Day near the University of Cincinnati, students Chad Kohls of Centerville and Ellen Garner of Tipp City were trapped in a third-floor bedroom with no way out except a stairway filled with toxic smoke. Both died days later from smoke inhalation, ending ...
Local Catholic leaders react to Pope Benedict XVI resignation
Leading local Catholics praised Pope Benedict XVI’s humility and love for his church as he announced Monday he would become the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years. “I see it as a grace moment,” said Miguel Diaz, a University of Dayton professor of faith and culture who worked ...
Murder of ex-SEAL sniper raises big questions
Even as memorial services are being held today for author and retired Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, his murder is raising questions about the wisdom of putting armed weapons into the hands of a disturbed individual. Eddie Ray Routh is charged with murdering Kyle, 38 —reputed to be the deadliest ...
Father, son share close relationship — and now a kidney
For most people, it would seem to be a monumental matter: the life-saving gift of a kidney from father to son.James Harden Jr. quietly shrugs it off, explaining why he volunteered to be a kidney donor for his 66-year-old father, James Harden Sr. of Trotwood: “It’s the way I was ...
Family, police still search for closure in Erica Baker disappearance 14 years later
Fourteen years after 9-year-old Erica Baker disappeared without a trace, Kettering police and her family members are revealing publicly for the first time their fears that she may initially have survived the hit-and-run accident long believed to have caused her death. Longtime lead detective Sgt. Bob Green speculated Wednesday that ...
Baptists threaten to leave Scouts if gay ban lifted
The majority of Baptist churches locally would drop out of the Boy Scouts if the organization lifts its longtime ban on gay leaders and scouts, a local Baptist church leader predicted last week. “We are stepping away from God’s word, and that’s the wrong direction,” said Steve Siglich, an Eagle ...
Obama bends on birth control
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday proposed a work-around for religious nonprofits that object to providing health insurance that covers birth control. The government’s new regulation attempts to create a barrier between religious groups and contraception coverage, through insurers or a third party, that would still give women free ...
Do you have an opinion on possible ban on gays lifed by Boy Scouts?
The Dayton Daily News is looking for readers who might be affected by the Boy Scouts of America’s expected change in its policy banning gay Scouts and leaders. The BSA is expected to announce it will leave the decision up to its 290 local governing councils and 116,000 sponsoring religious ...
Veterans can wait years for benefits
It took only minutes for Bill Korber to be sprayed with Agent Orange that rained down on his patrol boat “like they were giving us a shower.” The 64-year-old Vietnam veteran from Dayton has waited nearly four years to resolve his disability claim with the VA — and his case ...
What does tale of Te’o tell us about modern romance?
However you look at it, the bizarre tale of Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o is a love story for our times.Assume, for a moment, that he’s telling the truth — Te’o was the dupe of an online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, whom he never met and who may never have ...
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