Brent Mason

December 24, 1967 – Now 8, Brent Mason of Van Wert, teaches himself to play guitar by ear - a Christmas carole, perhaps. Mason is discovered by Chet Atkins and will perform with George Strait, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain and Neil Diamond. His guitar is heard on commercials for Sears, Budweiser and Betty Crocker, and Mason wins 14 awards as guitarist of the year from the Academy of Country Music.
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Hank Williams

December 22, 1948 – With Christmas bearing down on them, Hank Williams and his wife, Audrey, who was pregnant with Hank Jr., head to Cincinnati to the former Herzog studios at 811 Race St. downtown to record There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight, Lovesick Blues, I Heard My Mother Praying for Me and Lost on the River with Audrey. Lovesick Blues would pave the way for Williams’ debut at the Grand Old Opry and make him a country music icon.
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Archie Griffin

December 21, 1972 – This football season, OSU running back Archie Griffin, a Columbus native, is enjoying an incredible 8.9 yard average carry. Griffin would go on to become the only back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner in history.
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Fascinating Ohio

December 20, 1999 – Who goes fishing in the dead of winter? Bud Clute boats out onto Lake Erie. The Chardon resident catches a 17.33-pound, 36-inch burbot for a state record.
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Robert Urich

December 19, 1946 – The late Robert Urich, noted for his TV role in Spencer for Hire, Vega$ and 18 other shows, is born in Steubenville.
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Orville and Wilbur Wright

December 17, 1903 - Orville Wright climbs into a wood and canvas contraption at Kitty Hawk, N.C., and what follows changes the world forever: 12 seconds and 120 feet of controlled, powered flight.
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Christmas gift to Chillicothe

December 16, 1987 - John Mellencamp, a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, plays the first of two free shows as a “Christmas gift” to Chillicothe. Mellencamp’s anthem “Small Town” led producer and fan Chip Arlidge at Chillicothe's WCFB-FM to chase Mellencamp for the shows for nearly two years. "And I ain't even done with the night....."
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Alan Freed

December 15, 1921 – Alan Freed is born in Windber, Pa., but the family moves to Salem, Ohio, where he graduates from Salem High School. Freed creates a band – the Sultans of Swing – takes an interest in radio and becomes a DJ at WKBN in Youngstown and WAKR in Akron. Thanks to Cleveland record store owner Leo Mintz, he lands at WJW in Cleveland and hosts a late-night R&B show. Rock and roll is born!
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Mrs. Jones

December 13, 1972 - Me and Mrs. Jones by soul crooner Billy Paul is atop the charts as a No. 1 single. Written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, the song was written after they saw somebody they knew meeting Mrs. Jones, who was from Yellow Springs, in a café they both frequented…”We got a thannnnng, going on…..”
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Survivor

December 12, 2004 – Chris Daugherty, a soft-spoken construction worker and Ohio Department of Transportation crewman from West Jefferson, wins $1 million on the reality TV show Survivor: Vanuatu. His secret? Be the nicest guy.
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Terri Garr

December 11, 1946 – Actress Terri Garr is born in Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland. A graduate of Magnificat High School in Rocky River, Garr danced in several Elvis Presley movies, was on The Andy Griffith Show and received an Academy Award nomination for Tootsie. In October 2002, Garr announced that she had multiple sclerosis and became a spokesperson for research for that terrible disease.

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Otis Redding

December 10, 1967 – Otis Redding leaves Cleveland bound for Madison, Wisc. He would never make it. His plane crashes, and all on board die.
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Eddie George

December 9, 1995 – Running back Eddie George wins the 61st Heisman Trophy for his time on the gridiron at Ohio State University. In this 1995 season, he rushed for a school record 1,927 yards and 24 touchdowns to give him an incredible career average of 152.2 yards per game.
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Patterson Homestead

Make plans to enjoy a seasonal three-course holiday dinner amid the candlelight of the Patterson Homestead in Dayton. Call (937) 293-2841 for reservations at the restored house/museum.
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Oooops

December 7, 1972 – Lucille Perk, wife of Cleveland mayor Ralph Perk, spurns an invitation to attend a dinner at the White House with President Richard M. Nixon because she didn’t really want to go. So she told her staff to tell the White House staff that it was her bowling night. Oooops. The national media have a field day with that one.
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Hooks

Dec. 6, 1866 – Ernest is Pflueger born. His father, E.A. Pflueger. created fishing lures at night at the kitchen table above his Howard St. grocery store. Thanks to Ernest, Akron would become a fishing lure mecca, and by 1916 would produce more fishing hooks than anyplace else on earth.
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George Armstrong Custer

Dec. 5, 1839 – New Rumley – George Armstrong Custer is born in this eastern Ohio hamlet. A marker and statue dedicated to Custer, who graduated last in his class at West Point and would die with two brothers at Little Big Horn, is along Ohio 646 on the west side of town.
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Only the lonely

Dec. 4, 1988 – Roy Orbison’s last concert occurs in Akron in the Civic Theater two days before his death. Under the ceiling of twinkling stars and puffy clouds, about 2,000 hear his soaring falsetto at the sold-out Sunday night show: "Only the lonely..."
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The fastest man alive

Dec. 3, 2007 – Summit County near Akron in Springfield - Art Arfons dies. Once the fastest man alive, he is buried with wrenches in his hands, a J79 jet operating manual and a jar of his beloved Bonneville salt at his side. He once tested jets by anchoring them to trees in his backyard, which must have annoyed the neighbors terribly.
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John Brown

Dec. 2, 1959 – Akron church bells peal for former Hudson resident and fervent abolitionist John Brown. Brown once herded sheep through what is now downtown Akron while ruminating on the evils of slavery. He raided a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, W. Va., was captured by Robert E. Lee and hanged.
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