Front page news

Most people have never heard of the strychnine poisonings at Ohio State. But have you heard of Floyd Collins? Or Balto, one of the dogs to get diphtheria anti-toxin delivered to Nome, Alaska in the Great Race of Mercy? All three were front page news in February 1925.

Most citizens of the United States could not get enough of Floyd Collins the first two weeks of February 1925. On January 30, 1925, Floyd Collins became trapped 55 feet below ground while spelunking in Sand Cave, Kentucky. The rescue operation to save Collins became a national newspaper sensation and one of the first major news stories to be reported using the new technology of broadcast radio. (Charles Lindberg flew out film negatives for newspapers two years before his historic transatlantic flight became world news.)

In 1925, the small Alaskan town of Nome was in the throes of a deadly diphtheria epidemic. To save the town's inhabitants, 20 teams of sled dogs transported a vital anti-toxin over 674 miles of ice and snow, in just six days, through the most brutal winter conditions for decades. Balto (who may or may not have been the lead sled dog on the final stretch into Nome) became the most famous canine celebrity of the era and his statue is a popular tourist attraction in both Anchorage, Alaska and New York City's Central Park.

Obviously, Ohio residents were most intrigued by the strychnine poisonings. After all, it was two of its men who died and five more who were sickened. This was local news of the worst type.

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