Feb. 1984: After 55 years as the town druggist, Albert (Bud) Johnson, at right, retired as co-owner of Erbaugh & Johnson, Yellow Springs’ corner drug store since 1929. Pictured to Johnson’s left are Carl Johnson (who took over the store after Bud’s retirement) and Vera Johnson. (YS News archives)
News from the Past: February 2026
- Published: February 28, 2026
75 years ago: 1951
Fels finds snow was radioactive. “Fels Research Institute scientists Monday reported radio activity in snow falling last week in the village of Yellow Springs … but none in the village water supply.”
Antioch Pioneer seed. “A stockholders’ meeting of the Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn company was held Monday morning in President Douglas McGregor’s office at Antioch College. … The Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn company grew out of the Antioch hybrid corn project.”
Boy Scout Week observed by Yellow Springs troop. “Second Class badges were awarded to Jack Stewart, Dick Dillon, Bill Mefford, David DeWine, Douglas Williams and Kingsley Perry.”
Not a Browns fan. “[Yellow Springs resident] State Representative Lowell Fess is reported [to have been] vocal in opposition to a resolution in the Ohio general assembly yesterday which would have commended the Cleveland Browns professional football team. Mr. Fess said he could concur in the praise of some individuals in the resolution, but not of Arthur McBride, Sr. [Browns founder who in 1951 was accused of considerable mafia connections].”
50 years ago: 1976
Dogs in the Glen. “The Glen Helen administration’s drive to get rid of unwanted stray dogs in the Glen netted only two, caught last Wednesday, Glen director Ralph Ramey reports.”
Scouts not frozen. “The local Explorer Post braved five-below-zero weather Saturday night to camp in tents during an expedition to eastern Ohio. Eleven Post members and counselors Don Hollister and Helen Mengelsdorf made the trip. … ‘Everyone survived,’ Don said.”
Anthrax scare. “The possibility that rug yarn imported from Pakistan and sold by Yellow Springs Strings (Kings Yard) could be infected with deadly anthrax spores has brought an abundance of newspaper columns and radio air time to the shop this past week.”
35 years ago: 1991
Water tests. “Recent tests on samples of Village well water show that a contaminant [1, 1-dichloroethane] first found in Village wells in 1989 is still present in one of the wells, but seems to be decreasing in concentration.”
Read-In-Chain. “The Wilberforce alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority will host a Read-In-Chain of African American Literature on Sunday … at Central Chapel AME Church. … The Read-In-Chain is a national event sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English.”
WYSO. “When WYSO public radio station went on the air 33 years ago, it was a 10-watt station that could barely be heard outside of Yellow Springs, its home base. … Since the beginning, WYSO has functioned as a training ground for Antioch student volunteers. … The station currently employs five full-time staff members, who supervise a corps of 80 volunteers, 20 of whom are Antioch students.”
25 years ago: 2001
Dogs tops in Metro Buckeye league. “With aggressiveness and hustle, the Yellow Springs High School boys basketball team claimed [won!] the Metro Buckeye Conference title, for the third straight year, with a 92-79 win at home on Friday over Miami Valley. The Bulldogs finished 11–1 in the conference and 15–5 overall for the regular season.”
Local filmmaker wins at Sundance Film Festival. “Jim Klein thinks of himself as an ‘independent journalist’ who happens to edit movies. His nose for news and skill in editing movies was recently praised when Scouts Honor, a recent movie Klein edited, shared the Documentary Audience Award and won the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.”
No smoking? “Children’s Medical Center is offering a five-week smoking cessation program for students at Yellow Springs High School beginning in mid-February. Any student wishing to quit smoking is encouraged to participate.”
10 years agO: 2016
Snow dazzle. “On Feb. 11 at 10:20 a.m. an officer responded to a call that a vehicle that had been swaying erratically as it was driven through town was stopped at Young’s Jersey Dairy. The officer found the driver was an elderly man who said he was OK, but had had a hard time seeing the road due to snow reflection.”
Central Chapel celebrates 150 years. “The church was founded in 1866 by a Xenia pastor named Charley Jones, his son and a group of 13 men and women from Yellow Springs. The group first met at Old Central School House off of what’s now Route 370 [Bryan Park Road].”
Future of food. “The Antioch College Food Committee will present ‘Visions of a Sustainable Food System: Imagining the Future of Food” on … March 4 … in South Gym of the Wellness Center.”
Oh, deer — guess what’s for dinner. “A motorist struck and killed a deer on Xenia Avenue. The officer who responded attended not only to the frazzled driver but also to the unfortunate deer, which was dead upon impact. … Yellow Springs, like many jurisdictions in the state, has a plan for such circumstances: the deer-strike list, a list of people whom police dispatchers call to retrieve the deer.”
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