# What was the most newsworthy event to happen in your county (or equivalent) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119 "2014-08-08T19:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/81 "2014-08-12T20:23:48Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > And we have a little [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezPZxfS1jys) that lots of folks have heard of. You win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/82 "2014-08-13T00:59:11Z")
I live in Lucas County, OH. I’ll narrow it down to three but they’re all such old news as to no longer be famous to anyone but history buffs. A) The Toledo War of 1835 between Ohio and Michigan. Ohio won and got Toledo, Michigan got the UP. B) The 1919 world heavyweight title bout in which Jack Dempsey first won the title from Jess Willard. C) The 1934 Auto-Lite strike, one of the three most important events in US labor history. The weirdest news story out of Toledo has to be Fr. Gerald Robinson’s ritual murder of a nun on Holy Saturday in 1980, for which no suspect was found until 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/83 "2014-08-13T01:49:56Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > [The attempted assassination of Vernon Jordan.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Jordan) Another one from Fort Wayne, Myrtle Young died today. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuH1PhzOVR4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuH1PhzOVR4) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/84 "2014-08-13T04:08:22Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Three come to mind: > > [ul] > [li]April 16, 1947: [The Texas City explosion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster). A ship filled with fertilizer blew up, destroying most of this little city across the water from Galveston Island. The country’s worst industrial accident, with approximately 518 dead.[/li][/ul] True story: During the Depression, one of my Great Grandmother’s sisters moved to Texas City. Granny and her sister maintained a correspondence for years, but after March of 1947, Granny never heard another word. We’ve always wondered whether my great-great aunt was one of the unidentified victims of the explosion. > [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Well, it was 66 million years ago, and a huge event. > > [Chicxulub crater - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_Crater) > > Is there a prize? Sorry, **Loach** said I won! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/85 "2014-08-13T10:06:36Z")
I misread the thread as country - so the [1996 Dunblane Massacre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane#Massacre), for that one. We don’t really do counties here, my nearest major city is Glasgow, I think the [Clutha Vaults helicopter crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Glasgow_helicopter_crash) last year made the US news (one of the victims was from my town, so I’ll claim that as also counting for my local authority area). It also got a mention [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=709231). ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/86 "2014-08-13T14:23:00Z")
The Station Nightclub Fire … about a mile and a half from where I was living at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/87 "2014-08-13T16:04:20Z")
In recent memory, probably the beltway sniper shootings, as they took place in MD. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/88 "2014-08-14T00:30:47Z")
Nothing much in the county I live in, but in Grafton County, NH, in recent years, the Zantop murders. > **[2001 Dartmouth College murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Dartmouth_College_murders)** > > On January 27, 2001, Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop, aged 62 and 55 respectively, were stabbed to death at their home in Etna, New Hampshire. Originally from Germany, the couple had been teaching at Dartmouth since the 1970s. High school classmates James J. Parker, age 16, and Robert W. Tulloch, age 17, were charged with first-degree murder. > Parker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Tulloch, and was sentenced to 25 to life. Tulloch ... ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/89 "2014-08-14T09:20:06Z")
The release of Nelson Mandela is probably the biggest thing to come out of my city overall. In my particular suburb, probably the world’s first heart transplant, in 1967, was the most newsworthy event. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/90 "2014-08-14T09:38:13Z")
Where I’m from: Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK Well back in 1266, during [The Second Baron’s War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Barons%27_War) there was the [Siege of Kenilworth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kenilworth), which is believed to be the longest siege in English history. Around the same time tradition dictates that at [Parliament Piece](http://www.cwn.org.uk/environment/organisations/warwickshire-wildlife-trust/2000/06/000608-parliament-piece.htm) Henry III held the first English parliament. Both sites were about a ten minute walk from my childhood home. Where I live now: Stockholm, Sweden. I’m not up on Swedish history, but you all probably know about that [syndrome thing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome). ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/91 "2014-08-14T11:43:16Z")
Three miles or so from where I grew up was where [the Moors murders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moors_Murders) happened, which is probably the biggest thing. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/92 "2014-08-14T12:15:22Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The American Revolutionary War started here, which was probably all over CNN back then. Stole my answer. :mad:🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/93 "2014-08-14T14:01:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > In my particular suburb, probably the world’s first heart transplant, in 1967, was the most newsworthy event. Whoa, dude. As soon as I read your post, I was transported back to grade school where I read a book about that. The doc described holding the heart in his hands – it must have made a big impression on me because I can picture the classroom where I read it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/94 "2014-08-14T14:32:44Z")
Probably the Schenectady Massacre in the French and Indian War ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/95 "2014-08-14T15:29:23Z")
The Zodiac killer visited us here in the beautiful Napa Valley. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/96 "2014-08-14T16:11:13Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > The Station Nightclub Fire … about a mile and a half from where I was living at the time. This was going to be my choice too, but I would love to hear the talk radio take on the [Burning of the Gaspee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasp%C3%A9e_Affair). ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/97 "2014-08-14T16:22:03Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Three come to mind: > > [ul] > [li]April 21, 1836: [Sam Houston & the Texians defeated Santa Anna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto) near the San Jacinto River. The resulting Republic of Texas was eventually annexed by the USA. A border dispute provided an excuse for the Mexican-American War. Disagreement over the status of the immense resulting land grab helped contribute to the Civil War. [/li] > [li]September 8, 1900:[The Great Storm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane) hit Galveston, down on the Coast. The country’s worst natural disaster caused 6,000 to 12,000 deaths. [/li] > [li]April 16, 1947: [The Texas City explosion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster). A ship filled with fertilizer blew up, destroying most of this little city across the water from Galveston Island. The country’s worst industrial accident, with approximately 518 dead.[/li][/ul] That’s stretching a little to include the entire Houston metroplex area. If we limit it to Houston / Harris County, we have a juicy murder case, our “O. J. Simpson” type circus. In 1969, Houston socialite [Joan Robinson Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Robinson_Hill) died under suspicious circumstances and her husband was tried for murder. His trial ended with a mistrial and he was shot to death in the doorway of his home. That lead to another massive trial of Lilla Paulus, a local madam who apparently hired the hitman. The whole story is told quite well in Thomas Thompson’s book [Blood and Money](http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Money-Thomas-Thompson/dp/0786709472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408033205&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+and+money). I have a personal interest in it because I went to high school with Lilla Paulus’ daughter, who wound up being a star witness against her. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/98 "2014-08-14T16:48:32Z")
History wise, probably the [Battle of Guilford Courthouse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guilford_Court_House). Criminally, probably [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_Blood) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/99 "2014-08-14T17:27:47Z")
If you want to go way back, there was the riot in the courthouse in 1768 during the [War of the Regulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Regulation). Six of the Regulators were hanged here in 1771. More recently, the one thing I can think of that most people would have heard of would be the legal tussle between Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young in regards to getting her sex tape with Johnny Edwards back (y’all can decide exactly how “newsworthy” that was). ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-newsworthy-event-to-happen-in-your-county-or-equivalent/695119/100 "2014-08-14T17:29:58Z")
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