Parades were held almost every day throughout New Castle’s sesquicentennial week—the veterans parade, the youth parade, the agricultural parade, the old-timers parade, the fraternal parade. Tuesday, set aside for the celebration of industrial labour, was a quieter day. Nevertheless, the carnival midway on the city parking grounds by the central fire station was open and busy until after midnight.
No alcohol was sold at the midway, but much was consumed. While driving home at twenty to two in the morning, Norman Ross—who had earned a purple heart when he was shot on Christmas eve, 1944, during the battle of the bulge—was stopped by police and arrested for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. He was fined $100 and jailed for three days. When he got out, sesqui week was over.
(More on the sesquicentennial here.)
Sources: New Castle News (23 Jan 1945, “Pvt Norman Ross Wounded In Belgium”; 20 April 1945, “In US Armed Service”; 3 July 1948, “Week’s Celebration of City’s Sesqui To Start Sunday”; 8 July 1948, “Driver Is Held”).
Small Town Noir 
thats my grandpap, as u can probly tell he was awesome
I bet he was!
This was my dad. I can only hope a more flattering article was written about him for his service and dedication to his country during WWII. I am very proud to be his daughter!! Not sure why this was written, nevertheless, we should remember men like my father not for their mistakes or shortcomings, but rather for their bravery, devotion, and loyalty to their country!!
Hi Joyce. Thanks for writing. I’d love to write a more flattering article about your dad. If you have time, you could give me some information about him, and perhaps note down some thoughts about him — anything that might help me write a piece that has a more complete picture of his life.
I hope that, taken as a whole, the stories behind the mugshots on this site provide a sort of history of New Castle, and allow people a glimpse of what it was like to live there in the middle of last century. I have three mugshots of people who were arrested over the sesquicentennial weekend — your dad, Robert Modrak and Larry Day. The sesquicentennial weekend strikes me as a very important moment in New Castle’s history — it’s a sort of high-water mark for the town — and I wanted to make sure that I gave it due prominence. I agree that, in doing so, I’ve certainly not done justice to your dad, but I didn’t know enough about him to do more. As I said, I’d love it if you could fill in some more of the picture.