This Week in Dayton History: Dairy Point ice cream wedding, La Comedia thrives and more stories to remember

May 15—Dayton has a fascinating history, which the Dayton Daily News has been there to chronicle since 1898.

Each week, we're going into the archives for stories both important and interesting that happened this week through the years.

Here's a look at some stories from the week of May 12-18.

May 14, 1962: Baseball history under glass

George Kiser, of Xenia, was a big baseball card collector. In 1912, he took 72 of his favorite cards and framed them under glass.

Back then, baseball cards were distributed in packs of cigarettes.

Years later, the framed cards were handed down to his nephew, Bud Clark, who, at the time of this story, was in possession of them for 32 years. The collection was hanging in his bedroom, where it had been for 21 years.

The cards, which would be highly valuable today, included greats such as Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and several other Hall of Famers.

Bud, a sports fanatic, said it was his uncle who took him to his first baseball game, the Cincinnati Reds vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933.

May 14, 1972: Local prostitutes: No licenses, please

Licensing and restriction of Dayton's free-roaming prostitutes to designated "houses" was being contemplated in a Dayton city commission proposal for state legislation.

Nevada was cited as a place where prostitution was legal and conducted in medically inspected houses.

The Dayton Daily News interviewed a cross-section of prostitutes who had a near-unanimous opinion against becoming licensed and legal.

"If you are licensed, you will have to pay income tax. The man will see to that. And if you have to work in a house, you won't make as much money," said one prostitute.

She said she meets "interesting people" as a freelancer and being in a house "would be just like a job, you punch in, you punch out."

Another prostitute who was in support of the legislation was facing two soliciting cases in Dayton Municipal court.

A prime aim of legalization was to be make health inspections mandatory for prostitutes. Many of the women interviewed expressed a willingness to take health exams and even carry a health card.

May 16, 1982: La Comedia offers theater at easy-to-digest price

La Comedia Dinner Theatre was a popular spot for drinking, dining and entertainment in the late 1970s and '80s, and that trend continues there today.

For many patrons, 135,000 annually at the time, it was their first introduction to live theater.

In 1982, a full buffet meal and a show would cost from $8.99 to $15.99. Alcohol was extra.

Patrons were seated at tables topped with yellow tablecloths on several tiers overlooking the buffet and stage. Colored overhead lights signified which section of the house may queue up for food, so the waiting line was never long.

La Comedia productions at the time consisted of time-proven favorites such as "Fiddler on the Roof," "The Music Man," "South Pacific" and "Oklahoma."

May 14, 1982: Truckers draw bead on Mead

About 40 drivers pulled their semi-tractors into downtown Dayton and parked them outside the Mead Corp. headquarters building in 1982.

Five representatives for the drivers then went in to talk to Mead executives about their jobs.

Mead Corp. had notified their employer, Trans-Fleet Enterprise, that the company had decided to terminate their contract to provide drivers for Mead.

In all, Mead was using 94 drivers employed by Trans-Fleet to drive 77 Mead trucks.

The trucking industry was going through deregulation, and Mead said it would be less expensive if they sold their trucks and hired a commercial carrier to move their goods.

The sides spoke for an hour, but the drivers, who said they would do anything to keep their jobs, still were left worried about being laid off.

May 17, 1992: Ice cream brings hot romance

Jim Roegge met Catherine Ann Swihart met at the Dairy Point ice cream store on Burkhardt Ave.

"We met here, we got engaged here, and now we're getting married here," he said.

On a warm Saturday, Roegge kept working, serving ice cream until minutes before the 2:30 p.m. ceremony.

The bride managed the store during the day, but first came to the Dairy Point three years earlier to buy ice cream.

They got to talking and Roegge learned she had just been laid off from her job at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and offered her a job on the spot.

After the ceremony, Catherine called for two small vanilla cones. And then the pair linked arms for a first taste of their married life.