Jeannette furnace resumes production

Washington Post - May 17, 1936
Youngstown, Ohio, May 16 (AP) -- The Jeannette Blast Furnace of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. today resumed production after being idle for five years.

Some history of Jennie:

Built in 1917-1918 at a cost of $3 million, it was one of three blast furnaces in operation at the plant, then owned by the Brier Hill Steel Company. It was "blown in" or lighted on September 20, 1918 by its namesake, Mary Jeanette Thomas, daughter of W.A. Thomas, who was the President of Brier Hill Steel. The furnace was 90 feet tall and weighed 500 tons. It produced more than 11 million tons of steel in its lifetime, and is said to have produced 34,356 tons of pig iron in one month during the early years of iron production. Brier Hill Steel was purchased by YS&T in 1923. The Jeanette furnace went out of blast in September of 1977 when the Brier Hill Plant was shut down. It was one of the oldest blast furnaces in the United States, and the last of its kind in Youngstown.

The Jeanette furnace was torn down at 11:37 a.m. on Wednesday, January 29, 1997 to clear the 62-acre brownfield for use as an industrial park. Musician Bruce Springsteen refers to the Jeanette in the lyrics of his song "Youngstown," a melancholy musical tribute to the steelworkers of the Mahoning Valley.

Source: Youngstown Public Library

Moving to Youngstown? What an idea

A post on the DowntownYoungstown.com forums arose yesterday from someone who goes by the user name tenshoes asking something that few people do.

"I'm considering moving to Youngstown. Can you comment on Youngstown as a place for a family?"

Some of the replies are striking, and make me proud to be from Youngstown. A fine summary:

• ..."I've never worried about my safety while driving through the worst parts"...
• ..."Youngstown does have a lot to offer that the “big cities” have to offer...
• ..."[Some people] slam the area that they live in saying its terrible and such, but yet they are still there. If it was really that bad, don't you think they would have moved out?...
• ..."Downtown and YSU campus are amazing and has alot going for it"...
• ..."Youngstown has a lot to offer, you NEED to go look for it. It is there..."

The best reply: In the last three days there has been downtown the Blue Man Group, 6 shows at community theaters, hockey, a lecture by a world-famous author, mystery dinner theater, a cd release party under the stars at the planetarium, jazz, a gallery opening, and number other music shows and pieces of nightlife. I will be en route to an operatic performance at a church downtown in 15 minutes.But I look at Youngstown as an exciting canvas for making one's mark. Teachers, administrators, and public officials are all very approachable. And we would welcome any individual who wants to get a great education and flourish in this town.

It is great to see people taking pride in where they live. So often you talk to people who are from Youngstown and they simply repeat the negative stereotypes which have existed for thirty years. They contribute nothing to our redevelopment but laugh at the attempt, because all they can think of is the way it used to be, not the way it is or will be. I feel bad for those people, because like the reply stated, Youngstown is an exciting canvas. You just have to bring the paint.

By the numbers

• 3, 525 - The average attendance for the Youngstown Steelhounds during the 2006-2007 season
• 4, 067 - The average attendance during the 2005-2006 season.
• $3,000 - $6,000 - The average amount the Chevy Center makes off of one Steelhounds game.
• $5,000 - $25,000 - What the center expects to make from the Mahoning Valley Thunder per game.
• $88, 424 - The Chevy Centre's anticipated loss for April to June 2007.
• $96,632 - The anticipated loss for July to September.
  
  Source: Vindicator, Sunday, March 11, 2007

Youngstown had decades of warning, Toffler says

Friday, March 9, 2007
Youngstown needs to be home to new technologies and ideas, an author says.

By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — It's easy but foolish and shortsighted to blame the Mahoning Valley's losing thousands of manufacturing jobs between 1995 and 2005 solely on outsourcing and globalization.

If Youngstown is going to continue to make an economic comeback, it needs to understand its challenges in a broader context.

These are a few of the opinions Alvin Toffler offered in a lecture he gave Thursday at Stambaugh Auditorium. His appearance was sponsored by Youngstown State University.

Toffler wrote several best-selling books such as "Future Shock." He spoke about the numerous significant economic and societal changes that have their roots going back at least 50 years. His latest book, written with his wife, Heidi, is "Revolutionary Wealth."

"The usual explanations [regarding job losses] are simple-minded at best and wrong at worst," Toffler told his audience of a few hundred.

The decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs got under way in the 1950s, and in 1956, such jobs fell below 50 percent of the nation's work force for the first time, he noted.

Time of change

Contrary to popular opinion, the '50s was anything but a docile decade. It was a time of huge government investment in science, and when drugs became more prevalent in society; in addition, movies were starting to extol various negative values, Toffler pointed out.

The loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector didn't develop suddenly; Youngstown and other similar cities had "decades of warning" about economic changes that would occur, but many city leaders failed to see or comprehend their importance, he continued.

With today's economy, which Toffler referred to as the "third wave," Youngstown needs to be home to new technologies and ideas while embracing and adapting to changes brought about by an economy that's increasingly knowledge-based, he noted. Toffler praised the Youngstown 2010 plan and other local initiatives, saying they're steps in the right direction.

Becoming obsolete

Factors that are becoming less common are 9-to-5 jobs, work in offices and factories, and the structure of the nuclear family, Toffler said. More positions have variable schedules, and more people are working from their homes, he added.

You're only big time if Craig says so

And it looks like he finally has. For those who have lived in bigger cities, you are familair with Craigslist, the clearing house for selling that old couch, finding a roommate or reading the ever popular "rants and raves". Well, the creation of Craigslist Youngstown came and went without any notice on my part and I felt I would put it out there for the rest of the world to see (or at the two people that read my blog. Thanks mom and dad!). To check it out, navigate over to http://youngstown.craigslist.org/.

"And now you know…the rest of the story."

"Hello, Americans, this Is Paul Harvey!"... A few other blogs have posted a story which radio personality Paul Harvey did a few weeks ago on Youngstown. It is definitely worth a read. Phil Kidd posted the entire thing at DefendYoungstown.com

Youngstown is under appreciated only by its own citizens who are as yet unaware that running scared from the blast furnace flameout they've run on ahead of most of the rest of us.

It is positive stuff like that from nationally known people which will help Youngstown redefine itself. Check it out...

"Tell your neighbors it came from Haber's"

East Federal Street, 1960's. This will be part of an upcoming DVD on downtown Youngstown in the 1960s. Write to info@metromonthly.net for more information.


Music: "Afro-Harping" by Detroit jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby

More from Time

Fish were found in the Mahoning River in Youngstown last week. It was the first time in 25 years. Chemicals discharged into the Mahoning by the steel mills that line its banks for miles & miles normally kill all living things. Hot from steel mill sewage, the river has not frozen in many a puddler's memory, until this winter.

Source: Time Magazine, Monday, Jan. 09, 1933, link here

Youngstown boy shot in chest, remove bullet from the leg

In Youngstown last week a playmate accidentally shot Harry Besharre, 13. in the chest, directly over the heart. When Harry reached the hospital he complained less of the pain in his chest than of a gripe in his left groin. X-rays showed a strange accident. The 22-calibre bullet which struck the boy's heart was in the main artery of his left leg. It had traveled there, surmised surgeons, by piercing the heart and entering the left auricle. Contraction of the heart pushed the small lead pellet into the left ventricle, whence further pulsation drove it into the aorta, main feeder of the arterial system.

There is where the boy, having survived the puncture of his heart, ran his second greatest risk. One branch of the aorta goes to the head and brain. The other branch goes to the trunk and limbs. Had the bullet been carried by the flowing blood and pulsing artery up toward the brain, it would quickly have plugged some small bore artery, caused quick death. Instead, the pellet turned downward, worked into the left iliac artery, then the left femoral. Surgeons last week left it there, hoping it would work further down the leg where its removal would be less risky to Harry Besharre's life.

Source: Time Magazine, Monday, Jan. 11, 1932, link here

Lazy days of summer at the pool farther off than hoped

To steal the lead from a Vindy article from last week, those wanting to swim at a new North Pool are going to have to wait until August. That's the planned opening for the NEW northside pool, assuming about 1,000 things which need to be done in advance of that date are accomplished. First and foremost, a contractor needs to signed on to the project. Thus far, the city has put the project out to bid three times. The first two times, no bids were submitted. This time the city wised up and changed the plans which should make it easier for the project to be completed by the target date. For a million dollar investment, lets hope something good comes back from some contractors.

The original pool, built in 1939, was torn down last summer and the pool house has already undergone a number of renovations including a new roof and shower facilities. Without the North Pool, the only public swimming pool in Youngstown is Borts Pool on Belle Vista Avenue on the West Side.

The picture, by the way, was taken by Pat Lowry before the new roof was put on the bathhouse.

Reprint from the Tribune-Chronicle

Residents’ tax burden gets painful

When Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams ran as an independent candidate, many Democrats speculated that he was a Republican in disguise.

Williams’ recent comments about raising taxes should sufficiently debunk that pre-election myth.

Williams recently told Mahoning County commissioners they should not seek a half-percent sales tax renewal. A true Republican would have added that the commissioners should work with what they have and take the tax off the books. But Williams instead told commissioners they should increase it to 1 percent and make it permanent.

‘‘It’s painfully obvious that the county cannot run on less than 1 percent,’’ Williams said.

The only thing painfully obvious is local residents’ tax burden.

County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti had said the board was considering three options: request renewing the half-percent sales tax for another five-year term, request a 10-year renewal or request a permanent levy. Hopefully Traficanti and his colleagues will ignore Williams’ suggestion.

Williams wants more help from the county to follow through on his recent zero-tolerance criminal position. After a quadruple homicide further highlighted Youngstown’s violent reputation, Williams ordered a 30-day police blitz to capture every undesirable no matter how insignificant the offense.

Youngstown police are now flooding the county court system with all those undesirables. Their efforts will be thwarted if the county has trouble prosecuting the cases quickly or if the county runs out of jail space.

But Williams found a way to target crime without increasing Youngstown’s taxes. So, too, must county commissioners find a way to handle the criminal influx without increasing taxes.

It is a matter of priority.

Quote of the Day

How reliable is the Vindicator? The better question is how reliable are its trucks! At 2:00 a.m. this morning, a Vindy delivery driver and his trainee were shot at while delivering newspaper bundles on the South Side near the Youngstown Playhouse. Two men approached the pair of Vindicator employees who retreated to the truck while one of the men took dead aim at the driver's chest. Luckily, the raised dashboard stopped one bullet while the vehicle's radiator stopped the other. Neither was hurt and the suspect's fled.

The full story is available here. As for the driver, he believes the Mayor's new zero tolerance policy "is a bunch of crap — it ain't working as far as I'm concerned." In a move to show what a great employer they are, the Vindy gave him the rest of the day off. No word on whether the trainee will show up for her second day of work.

Winter Wonderland

I would like to say that I can take credit for these photos, but I found them at DowntownYoungstown.com who took them from The Vindicator. The State Theatre, the Paramount Theatre and today's Draught House (the Singer Sewing Machine shop) are all visible.

More manpower

YOUNGSTOWN — The Ohio State Highway Patrol has allocated several troopers to patrol within the city limits with a goal of reducing urban fatalities, said Mayor Jay Williams. The goal, he said, is consistent with the city's proactive efforts to help create a safer community. Troopers will focus on U.S. and state routes within the city. This will allow city officers to focus more sharply on the residential neighborhoods and businesses within the city. The joint effort will last until early March and serve as a trial period to evaluate the collaboration, the mayor said. He expects future joint efforts will occur this year.

Statistics Lesson

According to The Vindicator, from Feb. 2 to 2 p.m. February 11, there have been:

• 28 felony and 110 misdemeanor arrests.
  
• 12 firearms and $6,598 in cash recovered.
  
• 25 minor misdemeanor citations issued.
  
• 547 traffic stops and 124 stops of pedestrians.
  
• 261 traffic citations issued, and 39 parking tickets.

New! Newsfeeds

If you want to know when a new post has been made to Youngstown Pride, all you have to do is subscribe to one of our new newsfeeds located on the right hand control panelbottom at the bottom. If you use a newsfeed program not located on this page, let me know I can add a link to it.

Learning from Youngstown

A few weeks ago a stir was created by articles in USA Today and The New York Times on the redevelopment of Youngstown. Bloggers in Youngstown weren't the only ones to comment. Follow this link to go to Pittsblog and an article entitled "Learning from Youngstown".

Probation for Arson? Only in Youngstown

This should tick you off. Four people were involved in setting their Rhoda Avenue house in Youngstown on fire FOUR TIMES for insurance money. Because the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office and the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court didn't communicate properly, the four ended up with probation only - FOR ARSON. According to Alvin Ware, captain of the Youngstown Fire Department's Arson Bureau, many personal belongings were removed from the house and placed in storage before the four separate fires were set.

Youngstown has a long history of arson fires, including those set last winter when almost thirty arson fires were occurred on North Side. If this is the type of prosecution we can expect for such crimes, where is the deterrence for the criminals? Arson fires put lives at risk, especially those of the firefighters whose job it is to extinguish these blazes. Countless days of lost time have been reported in the last year by firefighters injured in Youngstown arson's, including by several firefighters who have fallen through rotted or burned out floors. Probation for those who commit such crimes, especially when they are committed for personal gain, because of a mix up by the prosecutor's office is sad and shouldn't be tolerated.

Check out the full article at YoungstownFire.com.

New links

I added three new links to the Links section on the right.

1. The Rayen School, Class of 1955 - They have a great website with a lot of local school history.
2. Whatever Happened to Idora Park? - This site has excellent photos of the old park, including several I had never seen before. Even though I was five when the park closed, I have a few memories of the park. My dad was also the manager of the famous French Fry Stand for a few years.
3. The Center for Working-Class Studies - The CWCS at YSU was the first center of its kind in the United States devoted to the study of working-class life and culture.

All are worth checking out if you have the time.

A few new photos

A postcard I have never seen before, Federal Street at night. I am guessing this is from the early 1920's.

I found this picture on the website of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. It lists this building as the Thomas Lambros Federal Courthouse. First, I thought this building was built as the Post Office and remained as such until Mahoning County purchased it as an annex space. Second, this isn't the current courthouse, which is across the street from where this building still stands. If anyone has any further history on this building, let me know.

A packed downtown

Last week was a good week by all standards for Downtown Youngstown. According to the nearly official source DowntownYoungstown.com, last Saturday night there were 9,000 people downtown enjoying a variety of events.

• Chevy Center, 5,000, motocross rally
  
• Beeghly Center, 3,700, YSU vs. UIC
  
• B&O Station Banquet Hall, several hundred, Murder mystery theatre
  

YSU went on to defeat the UIC Flames for the first time in school history and the bars looked like they were busy. Never mind the cold, it was a great night to be downtown enjoying a wide variety of events which Youngstown has to offer. More nights like these can definitely be expected into the summer!

Charles J. Lowry, 1924 - 2007

Private-First Class Charles J. Lowry
Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division

Charles J. Lowry, life-long resident of Youngstown, father of eleven children, grandfather of eighteen and great-grandather to two, died early Sunday morning at his home after a long illness. He was born November 10, 1924, the only child of Charles E. and Margaret M. Lowry, attended McKinley Elementary School, and graduated from Ursuline High School in 1942. He spent time in the United States Army during World War II, receiving the Purple Heart. He married Jean Grocutt at Saint Columba in 1948. Jean passed away in February 1987. He was well known in Yougstown for owning Lowry's Custard Stand, first on Belmont Avenue and then for a long time on Logan Avenue. He retired from the United States Post Office and in his retirement, gave his time to the St. Vincent DePaul Society, for whom he opened and operated their first soup kitchen on Front Street from 1981 until 1987. He remained active in the St. Edward's St. Vincent DePaul Society until recently. He also was known for organizing bus trips to Saint Anne de Beaupre Shrine in Quebec, Canada and Notre Dame football games. In 2000, he was inducted into the Ursuline High School Athletic Hall of Fame, the first tennis player to be inducted.

Chuck's Honorable Discharge papers from the United States Army in 1945. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for being wounded during the battle for Brest, France on August 28, 1944. He spent almost two years in hospitals both in England and at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.

Chuck with his new bride Jean and Grandpa Pepperney on his wedding day, May 29, 1948.

Chuck with his granddaughter Caroline and her new husband Jon on their wedding day, November 25, 2006.

Chuck and Jean on their wedding day, May 29, 1948.

Chuck and Jean with little Pat on the front stoop at their house on Mansell.

Chuck and Pat

I'm sure he is plotting his way out of this event.

Chuck and Jean celebrating Christmas at his son Pat's house on Dennick Avenue in 1986.

Chuck with his daughters Mary and Kathy out at Chuck's house in Liberty.

Chuck's 80th birthday was celebrated in grand Lowry style.

More of his 80th birthday party, with son Mike in the foreground and daughter Margaret next to him.

Look out to Miss Lotte Lenya and old Lucy Brown
Yes, that line forms on the right, babe
Now that Macky’s back in town …

To leave comments and reflections of Chuck, select the "# Comments" link below this line.

Even by Youngstown standards

A great op-ed in today's Tribune-Chronicle really gets at the heart of what's wrong with so many in this city: they are apathetic towards crime. The recent murders of four individuals brought the comment from Mayor Jay Williams that the crime was ‘‘shocking, even by Youngstown standards.’’ That implies even at the highest level of city government that that crime is expected and accepted. Why it takes the execution-style murder of four people for the police to beef up patrols is beyond me. Youngstown has been near the top of the Most Dangerous Cities list for a long time. The Trib believes the time has come to change the assumptions about Youngstown, and we should too.

And so it begins

It has been expected for a long time now, but the financially strapped Forum Health system has taken the first major step to shut down its Youngstown operations, namely Tod Children's Hospital and Northside Hospital. The complex on Gypsy Lane has existed since the early 1900's, first as City Hospital - Northside Unit and then became a part of the Youngstown Hospital Association which became the Western Reserve Care Center before that was bought out by Forum.

It was announced today, with Forum Health's approval, that Akron Children's Hospital is partnering with St. Elizabeth Health Center to take over pediatric services currently offered at Tod Children's Hospital. Once the deal is finalized and approved, Tod Children's Hospital will close and patients will eventually be transferred to St. Elizabeth's new Boardman hospital, which is under construction. Akron Children's will be in charge of running the new pediatric unit and the neonatal intensive care unit.

It is incredible that just 11 years ago, we had four acute care hospitals in the city limits (Southside, Northside, St. Elizabth's, and Youngstown Osteopathic) plus Woodside (psych) and Tod's (children). Within two years, we will have just one. A quick look at this list shows just how many hospitals have closed in Ohio in the since 1980.

In the long run, the closure of Forum Northside and Tod Children's is inevitable. Many of their problems, outside of poor management, come from a horrible public image, primarily regarding patient care. For some reason over the years they have developed an image of being a "welfare hospital". I don't necessarily think that it true, but a lot of people do. Operating a health care system is expensive but having a poor public image while trying to do it makes it damn near impossible to operate in the black.

Regardless of the issues surrounding this closure, it is nice to see the Forum Board is putting some plan into action. A quick closure of Forum without any transition plan would sink the hospital system in Youngstown. St. Elizabeth's would be swamped and it too would probably crumble. It has neither the funds nor the beds to take on the weight of Northside. Hopefully some future outside help like we see with Akron Children's, some better management from St. Elizabeth's, and the addition of the Boardman hospital will help secure the hospital system within Youngstown.

NOTE: I found this link on downtownyoungstown.com which is a copy of the letter recently sent to all Forum Health employees announcing the closure.

Quote of the Date

"It reflects America ... a cross-section of America that we know and love," Bishop Murry said of the ethnic diversity of the diocese.

Master plan leaves Wick-Pollock in shadows

Master plan leaves Wick-Pollock in shadows

YSU administrators announced the Wick-Pollock Inn renovations two years ago, saying that they were to begin in late 2005 or early 2006. In 2004, Sweet told The Jambar that the mansion and its rock garden would be at the core of YSU's restoration mission. Currently, there are no restoration plans in the works for the inn until a developer is chosen, Sweet said. Sweet's ultimate vision for the inn is to some day turn it into a hotel, while using it as a learning laboratory for the hospitality students from the College of Health and Human Services. "I'm actually in conversations with three different developers as we speak," Sweet said.

All of this is a shame. The Inn is one of those buildings that could be a focal point for Downtown Youngstown and instead it sits empty and forgotten. Kudos to the YSU Student Government for taking an interest in the gardens but shame on the University for letting the rest of the property wallow.

The Pope's foot soldier

Well, after only two years of guessing and waiting, the Diocese of Youngstown finally has a new Bishop. Catholics in the area had all but given up, believing that the Vatican had forgotten them. Not so I guess. Considering that the previous bishop, Tom Tobin, was sent to Rhode Island the week Pope John Paul II died, one could imagine that Pope Bendict XVI was a little busy getting the house in order to worry about Youngstown. Regardless, one has apparently been named.

The winner? George V. Murry, SJ. According to his biography on the website of the National Black Catholic Congress, Murry was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1948. After graduating from Catholic Elementary and High School, he attended St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, and St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1972, he entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and was ordained to the priesthood in 1979.

Bishop Murry holds a Masters of Divinity Degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and a Masters of Philosphy and Ph.D. in American Cultural History from The George Washington University, Washington, DC. Bishop Murry has served as a University Professor, President of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, DC, and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit before being appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago by Pope Paul II in 1995. He was appointed Bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, July 1999.

Interesting to see a Jesuit come to Youngstown. This has not been a traditional stronghold area for the Jesuits, who tend to maintain communities in big cities and near their schools. The nearest Jesuit communities are in Cuyahoga Falls at Walsh Jesuit High School and in Cleveland, at my alma mater, John Carroll University.

Bishop Murry has a large and difficult task ahead of him. He must lead a congregation that has dwindled in numbers, closed schools and lost priests to retirement. These problems are Church-wide and not unique to Youngstown, but still they exist and must be tackled. A failing Church in Youngstown means a failing City. With Youngstown on the rebound, there is no reason the Church can't keep pace.

Youngstown near top for at-risk mortgages

Youngstown currently ranks behind only Memphis and Detriot in the at-risk mortgage market according to the CoreLogic, a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of residential mortgage risk management services. They examined 379 metropolitan statistical areas for its data on at-risk mortgage markets. Rounding out the top five highest risk markets are Warren, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

"From low unemployment to high foreclosures, our data indicates that mortgage risk and fraud will continue to play an important role in the overall health of the housing market," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a statement. "Fraud and collateral risk are still on the rise, as is foreclosure activity, but the silver lining is low unemployment and a small increase in house price appreciation."

Lincoln arrives in Youngstown

The headline could easily be from an 1860's issue of the Mahoning Regsiter but instead, it refers to the latest acquisition by the Butler Institute of American Art. It was just revealed that the Butler obtained Norman Rockwell's ''Lincoln the Railsplitter'', the first Rockwell in its collection. The price? A mere $1.6 million. This is the Butler's first Rockwell, closing a gap in its massive collection of purely American art.

Looking back

Youngstown blogs

I will blog Youngstown

In getting back into this, I have found a large collection of new bloggers to add to the rolls. You can see some of them on the links section to the right. This may have had something to do with it.

http://walrussblog.com/blog3/2006/12/07/i-will-blog-youngstown/

2:1

For each Youngstown native with a college degree, there are two vacant properties.

Fifth Avenue Historic District

Another apology for my lack of postings. This article was supposed to be the impetus to get me to continue my posting on this board. This was in the Vindicator on Christmas day and presents a special look at the the Fifth Avenue Historic District. Well worth the read.

Three groups work together to ensure that the striking neighborhoods will be preserved.

By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — When Ted Szmaj bought his home on Fifth Avenue in Youngstown eight years ago, he had no idea he was moving into a neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

He chose his home for its character, charm and quality construction — and inadvertently settled in the nation's most affordable historic district.

That designation was recently bestowed on the Crandall Park–Fifth Avenue Historic District by Old House Journal, a magazine focused on preservation and restoration of historic homes. The magazine's article said houses in that area cost about $110,000 each.

Mark Peyko, president of the North Side Citizens' Coalition, said the organization is delighted that a national publication has recognized Youngstown and its reasonably priced housing. "I think the affordability is a reflection of the affordability in this whole area," he said.

The historic designation has brought a dollar appreciation, especially to the homes along Fifth Avenue and added value in people's minds, Peyko noted. "More care is being given to a lot of the homes now," he said.

About the area

The Crandall Park-Fifth Avenue Historic District encompasses an L-shaped area roughly bounded by Tod Lane, Ohio Avenue, Redondo Road, Catalina Avenue, Guadalupe Avenue and Fifth Avenue from Gypsy Lane to Fairgreen Avenue. The district covers 1,200 acres comprising 126 buildings and two structures, most of which are residential, according to the National Register's Web site.

The community is one of two North Side neighborhoods placed on the National Register in 1990. The other is the Wick Park Historic District.

To be classified as historic, a property must be at least 50 years old. Most of the Crandall Park-Fifth Avenue homes were built between 1900 and 1930. It must also hold historic significance.

In this case, that historic value is related to an event and architecture/engineering, Peyko said. He believes the event was the development of Youngstown by the steel magnates.

The Crandall Park neighborhood was originally built as a planned housing development, according to Peyko. The former Realty Trust Company developed the property to serve steel executives, bankers, doctors and business owners.

Prominent residents

Some of the notable people who lived in the historic area were Joseph and Dora Schwebel, founders of the Schwebel Baking Co.; shoe store magnate Joseph Lustig; clothier Bert Printz; black lawyer and legislator William R. Stewart; architect Morris Scheibel; florist Harry Walther; and industrialists Myron Israel Arms II, George Brainard, William Wilkoff, Myron Curtis and Frank Purnell.

"The orientation of the homes to the park was designed to create a setting that people would want," Peyko said.

Norma J. Stefanik, urban designer with the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at Youngstown State University, moved into the Crandall Park area because of the older homes.

"I am a preservation architect and I just loved the details, the craftsmanship and the materials," she said.

Most of the homes, which vary from 11/2-story bungalows to large mansions, were designed by architects, Peyko said.

"Even though some of them are smaller, they still have their own personality and character. To duplicate that type of work [today] would be extremely expensive," Stefanick noted.

Desirable features

Homes in the Fifth Avenue corridor boast amenities such as original hardwood floors, marble and granite fireplaces, double-sized lots, classic kitchens with original cabinets and butcher block countertops.

The architecture and setting along with proximity to YSU, downtown and hospitals attract many home buyers to the area, said Gayle Gillespie, real estate agent for Coldwell Banker First Place.

Gillespie, who has been selling homes on the North Side for 18 years and also lives there, said the figure quoted in the article is not totally accurate. "Prices for homes on Fifth Avenue, Tod Lane and Gypsy Lane now range from $130,000 to $320,000," she said. Homes on the neighborhood's side streets, appraised between $80,000 and $120,000, more accurately reflect the magazine's assessment.

Patrick McBane, president of the [Crandall] Park Side Neighbors, put down roots in the neighborhood 18 years ago because of the urban multicultural flavor.

"The mixed neighborhood in terms of ethnicity was attractive to us," McBane said. Equally appealing was the living space. "My wife and I do a lot of entertaining and these homes really lend themselves to entertaining. You can have 25 people in your home and not feel like you're crowded," McBane added.

Time of change

The Park Side Neighbors came together 20 years ago when the closing of the mills, migration to suburbs and death of longtime homeowners brought transition and crime to the area.

"Because the houses were so big, upkeep was difficult," said Szmaj, president of Fifth Avenue Boulevard Neighbors.

Large homes were being divided into rental units.

"One of the biggest reasons for seeking the historic designation was to preserve what was left," said Szmaj.

Members of the North Side Citizens' Coalition spent much of the 1980s assembling research materials, photographs, maps and other documentation necessary for inclusion in the National Register.

Those who live in the neighborhood now say there is a feeling of camaraderie. "There's a great sense of community for our group," McBane said. All three groups work to continue improving the North Side and address problems that may arise.

The Park Side Neighbors hold bimonthly meetings and host three or four social functions each year. Because the group maintains a very active block watch, McBane said crime is minimal. "We have no major issues happening within our seven- or eight-block corridor."

The Fifth Avenue Boulevard Neighbors recently sponsored a Christmas tour of homes to raise money for a historic district permanent marker and create awareness. The group has marked six of the neighborhood streets with historic plaques. Its goal is to erect 19 more signs at neighborhood intersections.

"It will instill pride in the neighborhood and give recognition that this is a historic district," Szmaj said.

Getting to Know My Downtown in the Third Grade

3rd-grade pupils to learn about city
Monday, January 22, 2007
The city schools found an innovative way to meet state education standards.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Some 600 third-graders in the Youngstown City Schools will be getting guided tours of the city's downtown area this fall in a program designed to give kids some knowledge and ownership of their community.

"Getting to Know My Downtown in the Third Grade" is a joint effort involving the city schools, the city, Youngstown CityScape, Youngstown State University, Ronald Cornell Faniro Architect Inc. and the American Architectural Foundation, all of whom are putting in either money or services to launch the $17,000 effort.

It's all part of finding an innovative way to implement state academic content standards for the third grade, said Pat Bradley, supervisor of social studies K-12 and kindergarten for the city schools.

Part of those standards directs that third-graders must be educated about their communities — past and present, near and far.

In Youngstown's case, that involves learning about the city's history and becoming familiar with the downtown district, its architecture, physical features, its government and more, Bradley said.

Understanding community

"Third grade is a good time to begin understanding their community," she said, adding that it helps them know who they are and where they come from.

"We looked for what we could do to help kids learn about and learn to love downtown," said Holly Burnett-Hanley, a research associate with YSU's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, who is helping design the program.

The project will look back 200 years to Youngstown's beginnings as a river town and explain how it grew and changed to what it is today, Burnett-Hanley said.

Youngstown's program will take an interdisciplinary approach, Bradley said.

It won't be just social studies but will involve work in the language arts, math, art, science and technology.

The effort is being aided by Matt Farragher of Youngstown, a Ball State University graduate student who is assisting with developing the program standards and teacher guide for his doctoral thesis.

Rather than just talking about the community in the classroom, the program will be a "hands-on project," Bradley said.

The children will build models of the downtown and get "trip-tiks" (similar to the AAA travel guide TripTiks) for a guided tour of the downtown to look at landmarks and building architecture and visit places such as city hall and the county courthouse to learn where government is located and how it works.

Connecting past, future

The third-graders will not only get a sense of what the buildings look like today and how they are used, but a look at their history and their future under Youngstown's 2010 revitalization plan, Bradley said.

They will also visit places such as Powers Auditorium and The Butler Institute of American Art to help get a broader sense of their community.

Faniro will build a 3-D model of the downtown district for use by the pupils as well as participate in developing the program materials.

A committee of third-grade teachers representing each city elementary school is involved in drafting the teacher guides for the program, which is to be implemented in the fall.

It's all designed to give the children some perspective about where Youngstown is coming from and where it is going.

They are the future of the city and knowing about their community will help them become responsible citizens, Bradley said.

gwin@vindy.com

USA Today: Youngstown, Ohio and the shrinking city

This is what McPaper (USA Today) had to say about Youngstown in a recent article. There is a very good article on the shrinking cities such as St. Louis and Richmond here.

Youngstown, Ohio, is an exception. It has fully embraced its shrinkage. The population, now about 83,000, is less than half what it was when the steel industry collapsed in the 1970s.

"You look at the facts and come up with solutions," chief planner Anthony Kobak says. "The first step the city has come to terms with is being a small city."

Youngstown approved a 2010 plan. The goal: "A safe, clean, enjoyable, sustainable, attractive city," Kobak says.

The city long was better known for gritty steel mills than green space. Now that the mills are gone, there is plenty of space. With the help of a grant, Youngstown preserved 260 acres. It's targeting neighborhoods and redesigning them with the help of residents who stayed.

The city may let homeowners buy abandoned lots next door to create gardens. It's considering relaxing zoning rules to allow small horse farms or apple orchards. It's offering incentives for people to move out of abandoned areas.

"If you had three or four square blocks that at one time had 40 homes per block and now have maybe five homes total, we could relocate those people across the street and convert the vacant area into a large city park," Kobak says.Residents would live be living across from a park rather than being surrounded by decrepit homes and lots overgrown with weeds.

"If we're looking to preserve an area for green space, we may offer that person relocation money rather than rehab money," Kobak says.

Being busy

Is no excuse for the lack of posts recently. I have some new stuff that I will try and get up soon. In the mean time, Happy Halloween!

Youngstown Pride contributor in the Youngstown Business Journal

If you get a chance, check out the latest issue of the Business Journal. Youngstown Pride contributor Rick Rowlands is the subject of an article detailing his desire to repair and preserve the 4,000-horsepower, 250-ton engine that helped power Youngstown Sheet & Tube’s Brier Hill Works.

Calling all Youngstown actors

Our friends over at Might Mahoning sent over the following that is worth a look to all of Youngstown's aspiring actors.

HANDS OF STEEL

Seeking local actors for audition in Documentary-Drama

Honoring Steel workers of Youngstown

Call 330-506-3907

This doesn't appear to be related to the low budget sci-fi film of the same name...

Best... Video... Ever

I have no idea who saves this stuff and 13 years later puts it on the internet, but WOW, is this great.



Steve Fortunato? Where are you now?

YSU wins Publisher's Clearing House

Not quite that big, but the Williamson family cashed in big with the University to the tune of $5 million. The donation from the family of Youngstown broadcast pioneer Warren P. Williamson will be used to help build a new $30 million building for the University's Williamson College of Business Administration.

Williamson founded WKBN at age 26 and during its early year ran the station out of his Youngstown home.

It is this type of support which will go a long way to increase the national standing of YSU. I understand that buildings aren't the only thing necessary to build great programs at a school, but when students have state of the art classrooms with excellent access to research, they are that much more ahead of their counterparts at other schools.

Along with several other recent new buildings completed at YSU (the Wellness Center, Education School, etc.), YSU is really working hard to brand itself as a high tech school in what most people think of as a low tech city. With their effort to reconnect to downtown and the outlets there such as the Youngstown Business Incubator, we aren't going to be low tech for much longer.

More Changes for Downtown Youngstown

The barriers are up, and the demolition is about to begin. All of the buildings between the Youngstown Business Incubator and the Semple Building (which sits up against Home Savings & Loan) are ready to be demolished to make way for an expansion of the YBI. The YBI is bursting at the seams, especially with the success of Turning Technology, Softec and other high technology companies.

The new building is being built with federal and state funds, some of that money being secured by Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Mike DeWine. Just a few weeks ago, Ryan, DeWine and Benjamin Erulkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Economic Development Administration, presented a check for $2 million to the YBI to finalize the funding for the construction of the new $5.4 million building. This will be the third building to become part of the YBI.

"The new center will house graduate companies from YBI, with construction commencing in September 2006. YBI will continue to aggressively work toward leveraging the new 55,000 square foot complex into a dedicated muti-building campus focused on software development for global markets." from the YBI website.

Quote of the Day

"I think it's golf and yoga from here on out for me." Congressman Tim Ryan, upon leaving Bethesda Naval Hospital, as reported in the Plain Dealer online edition.

Ryan was injured Wednesday in the 2nd Annual Longest Yard football game in which the Guards (members of the United States Capitol Police) played the convicts (ironically, Members of Congress) to raise money for the family members of USCP officers killed in the line of duty.

Youngstown Landmark is Reassembled!

On September 18 the Tod Engine, which powered a rolling mill at Youngstown Sheet and Tube for 65 years, was reassembled at the Tod Engine Heritage Park on Youngstown Hubbard Road. The engine was removed from North Star Steel Ohio ten years ago and stored in a warehouse in Girard until Monday when the last two parts were moved to the museum site.

The completion of the reassembly of the large parts means that come next Memorial Day Youngstown will have yet another tourist attraction for residents and visitors to enjoy. Work will continue over the fall and winter to erect a building over the engine and make other preparations for next year's grand opening.

The Tod Engine weighs over 250 tons, produced 4,000 horsepower and is one of the largest stationary steam engines in the United States. It is a Mechanical and Materials Engineering Landmark.

For more information visit the Tod Engine website and photos of the reassembly are in this Webshots Album.

Quote of the Day

Michael Hoague, attorney for Maurice Clarett had this to say following Clarett's sentencing: "If you travel in his neighborhood in Youngstown, you see a lot of people for whatever reason wearing their tank tops with their flak vests. It's a way of life with the people that he grew up with."

Has this guy even been to Youngstown?

What goes around, comes around

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

Maurice Clarett will spend the next three and a half years in prison. Well it's about time. The gist of the deal is that to end the two criminal cases against him, he pleads guilty to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. He gets a 7 1/2-year sentence with release possible after 3 1/2 years and then five years of probation after the prison sentence.

What exactly does this mean? Well, for starters it means that one of the most promising running backs in the country won't be playing football any time soon. He will be lucky to see daylight for more than an hour a day.

Secondly it may mean that the Mahoning Valley Hitmen may come to a sudden stop. Wouldn't that just be sweet. No more third string team playing in a third string venue with third string management. Without Clarett, they lack a single notable player. They retain the idiotic and bombastic leader in Jim Terry, which is unfortunate but he too will fall (not criminally, I imagine, but probably financially).

The bottom line is that there is no way the Valley can sustain two arena football teams. With the bigger money and bigger venue, the Thunder will be the dominate team. I see very few people heading to Masury to see the Hitmen play on an indoor soccer field when the Thunder have a brand new arena downtown in which to play. That is not to mention that there are other things to do downtown such as restauraunts and bars which, last time I was there, Masury lacks.

Bright times are ahead, folks, and without Clarett and the Hitmen, they are even brighter.

What can $1 buy these days? Alot for the MV Thunder

City approves $1 deal for storage of field
Friday, September 15, 2006
A new football field would cost about $175,000, a city official says.

By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The city's board of control approved a $1 lease agreement to store the Mahoning Valley Thunder's football field in an industrial building the day the field arrived in Youngstown.

The lease, approved Thursday, runs through April 1, 2007, about the time that the AF2 [Arena Football 2] season starts. The lease is with Trumbull Industrial Manufacturing Inc. for the use of the second floor of an industrial building the company owns on Andrews Avenue. The field arrived Thursday.

Trumbull Industrial had the empty space and was kind enough to lease it for $1 to support the city and the team, said Kyle L. Miasek, the city's deputy finance director.

The Thunder will play its home games in the city-owned Chevrolet Centre. The city bought the field, about five years old, for $83,000 from Georgia Sports Enterprises LLC, the parent company of the former Macon Knights AF2 team, which folded this year, said Kyle L. Miasek, the city's deputy finance director.

A new AF2 field — which is 50 yards with two eight-yard end zones — would cost about $175,000, he said.

The field is in "very good shape," Miasek said. It was last used Aug. 26 during the ArenaCup championship game in Puerto Rico. The Spokane Shock defeated the Green Bay Blizzard 57-34 in the AF2 title game.

Michael Hold, the Thunder's head coach and the Knights' former head coach, speaks highly of the field, Miasek said.

The parts

The portable football field consists of about 17 rolls of synthetic turf, most of them 15 feet by 4.5 feet; 80 pads to be placed around the perimeter of the arena's hockey boards; two steel goal posts and supporting netting.

The city needed about 3,000 to 4,000 square feet to store the field, and the storage area on Andrews Avenue is significantly larger than that, Miasek said.

Lectures address struggling region

Friday, September 15, 2006
Mahoning Valley manufacturing jobs have shrunk to 20 percent.

By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — For a struggling urban neighborhood to turn itself around and thrive, a series of intertwined and interconnected investments and perceptions need to be made.

That was one of the main themes espoused in a pair of lectures given Thursday at the Holiday Inn on South Avenue that were part of a three-day conference hosted by the Ohio chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

More than 320 architects from across the state are in town to attend sessions for the AIA Ohio 2006 convention, which wraps up Saturday.

In his presentation "Going from Gray to Green," Hunter Morrison provided a brief history of the demise of Youngstown's steel mills up to how the city adopted the Youngstown 2010 plan. Morrison, director of Youngstown State University's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, also pointed out YSU's link to the city's redevelopment and revitalization efforts.

With a smaller population due largely to job losses and more people moving to the suburbs or elsewhere, Youngstown needs to view itself as a shrinking city and adjust land use and other plans to fit that model, Morrison noted.

With that, he continued, deciding where reinvestment is most needed and what can be done with more land, for example, can be achieved more practically.

Regional economy

Other components Morrison mentioned were having the city define itself as part of a regional economy, improving its image and quality of life, and coming up with a plan of action.

Years ago, about 50 percent to 60 percent of jobs in the Mahoning Valley were in the manufacturing sector; today the figure is closer to 20 percent, Morrison noted. Efforts to get more health-care workers and others who work in diverse fields to live and spend money in the city should be ongoing, he said.

Other attempts to bring many neighborhoods back need to continue, Morrison added. Those include creating more neighborhood parks; restoring, cleaning and making more accessible the Mahoning River; attacking racism and other divisions; and figuring out the best uses for the about 12,000 vacant parcels in the city, he noted.

"This is a problem but also an opportunity," Morrison said of handling the vacant properties.

Touts successes

Morrison touted Youngstown's successes of recent years such as the Eleanor Flad Pavilion, the Chevrolet Centre and the Nathaniel R. Jones federal courthouse.

Complex issues

Blighted neighborhoods need more than fixing because they are influenced largely by complex market and other forces, said Stefani Danes of Perkins Eastman Architects of Pittsburgh.

In their presentation "Doing More with Less: Revitalizing Neighborhoods in Weak-Market Cities," Danes and Jack Johnston described a pattern they said often contributes to a neighborhood's deterioration.

Johnston, president of Pittsburgh-based Jaxon Development Co., noted that neighborhoods need to maintain a balance between investment and disinvestment.

Johnston and Danes used as a model a blighted area in Pittsburgh's Middle Hill District, which has more vacant than occupied homes.

Neighborhood decline can begin with something small but insidious, which can create a negative spiral, they pointed out. Over time, negative impressions form, confidence erodes, people start moving out and property values decrease, they said.

First impressions are critical to get people to invest in a neighborhood, Johnston and Danes added.

To reverse such a downward spiral, they continued, it's important to concentrate on a piecemeal approach to improving an area, establish diversity initiatives, build on an area's strengths and assets and have new housing fit in with a neighborhood's character.

William McDonough, a nationally renowned architect, will give the keynote address at 9 a.m. today at Stambaugh Auditorium, Youngstown. A walking tour of downtown also will be provided.

News and Comments

The Mahoning River Corrodor of Opportunity, the name given to the sites of the former Youngstown Sheet and Tube Campell Works, Republic Steel Haselton Works and YS&T Struthers Works, is being touted as a premier site for new business. Just last year a new $3 million bridge was built on the site of the old Stop 14 gate in to the Campbell Works. However, I am at a loss to explain why trucks are still no longer permitted to travel the 1/4 mile up Shirley Road from Poland Avenue to I-680. Why do trucks still have to travel up Walton Ave. to Midlothian to I-680, or an even more tortuous route up 616 to 224 when a more direct route to the Interstate is available via Shirley Road? Someone must have the answer!

On September 28- October 1 the Society of Industrial Archeology will hold their Fall Tour in Youngstown. The SIA will be visiting several local companies and historic sites including McDonald Steel, Castlo Industrial Park, and the GE Ohio Lamp Plant. This is the first SIA sponsored event in Youngstown, and with the rich industrial heritage we have I certainly hope won't be the last.

The Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association has begun site work at their new property along Poland Avenue across the street from US Trading. A graded roadbed was put down and the track is about to be laid in preparation for bringing some of their historic rail equipment to the site. The MVRHA has an interesting colection of two dozen railroad cars used by local railroads and they have been looking for a home for them since 1988. The organization also maintains the YS&T 301, an 0-6-0 Baldwin steam locomotive at the Canfield Fairgrounds.

I've heard that the MVRHA will be sponsoring a whistle blow on the day after Thanksgiving in the B&O Station parking lot. A whistle blow is an event where dozens of steam whistles are brought in, placed on a manifold and blown on steam from a portable boiler. For anyone who has not heard the melodious chimes of a steam whistle in person, this event is a must attend! More details as I get them.

A New Contributor Joins Youngstown Pride

Hello. I've just signed on as a contributor to the Youngstown Pride blog and I hope to become a regular contributor. I am 32 years old and for the past ten years I have been heavily involved with industrial preservation in Youngstown. I am building a small industrial museum on Youngstown Hubbard Road called the Tod Engine Heritage Park. Its mainly a showcase of machines and equipment that was once used by industry in the Youngstown area. Our centerpiece is of course the mighty Tod Engine, a 250 ton behemoth which once powered a rolling mill at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Brier Hill Works. We have other smaller pices of equipment and pledges of some other equipment to help fill out the exhibits.

I started the Tod Engine project because I was unhappy with the final form of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. That project was originally supposed to have been built at the Jeannette Blast Furnace site in Brier Hill, however after some political pressure was applied it was changed to the facility which we have today. While the YHCIL is still a wonderful, first class museum facility, it does lack in one area, and that is the almost total absense of some of the machinery that makes the steel industry so fascinating to study.

So when the Tod Engine became available in 1995 I decided that it would make an excellent opportunity to address some of the shortcomings of the YHCIL by collecting and exhibiting the machines of the steel industry. Aside from the Tod Engine we have saved two smaller steam engines, a rolling mill stand, hot metal car, teeming ladle and possibly a locomotive. We have set our sights on acquiring other pieces of equipment and machinery as it becomes available.

The Tod is simply something that must be witnessed to fully appreciate. With a footprint the size of a normal house, it is hard to believe that it was just a small part of a larger machine which was just one step in the process of making seamless pipe, YS&T's signature product. It is truly a monument to Youngstown ingenuity and resourcefulness. Built here by local people, used by a local company making products bearing the city's name, it embodies the true spirit of what made Youngstown great.

My plans as a contributor to this blog is to share my observations, thoughts and feelings about the Mahoning Valley. I may share some historical information, call attention to some little known facts about the valley, or simply give an opinion or two about current issues. I will try to make regular contributions as time allows. Working full time and building a museum doesn't leave much time for anything else!

My lifelong dream

of living downtown can now be a reality, thanks to my friends at South Park Development. A sign has recently gone up to promote The Realty Tower apartments with the slogan Love Old, Live New. I love it. What more could we ask for than to wake up and look out our window to the awesome skyline that is downtown Youngstown. I could stare at it for hours.

In all seriousness, the Realty building and Wick Building (W Federal and N Phelps) are being converted to loft aparments. This is something that I have felt needed to happen a long time ago to complete the revitalization of downtown. As it is, there are few people living downtown, and most of those are in Amedia Plaza or in the other building at Market and Boardman. Just as important as bringing people downtown is keeping them downtown, and having people live there will surely serve as an additional stimulus to the downtown economy. Maybe we can even get some services down there, such as a small grocer or at the very least a drug store. Even better things are just around the corner...


The Realty Building
Originally uploaded by Youngstown Pride.

Help Wanted!

After some thought, I would like to add some additional commentators to Youngstown Pride. I am looking for one or two new bodies who would provide substantive additions to the site on a near daily basis; at least two posts per week. I take this idea off of my favorite Notre Dame blog, bluegraysky.blogspot.com, which has eight moderators all posting various ND football stories. If you think you would be interested in helping with Youngstown Pride, please let me know. I will still serve as the Admin.

(The sign is, of course, a joke. Irish-Americans, or even native born Irish, are welcome to apply. I'm Irish and I run this thing.)

Mark Your Calendars!

Show will report progress on 2010 plan
Wednesday, September 6, 2006

YOUNGSTOWN — "Where Do We Go From Here?," a production detailing progress made on the Youngstown 2010 comprehensive plan, will be Thursday in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University.

The show will be taped at 6 p.m. and will simulcast at 8 that evening on WYSU-FM 88.5 and PBS Channels 45/49.

Officials and representatives from Youngstown and YSU will participate in the panel discussion that includes opportunities for audience questions.

The program is the latest edition of "2010 Moving Ahead: A Forum for Reporting Progress," a series that focuses on the most recent developments in the Youngstown 2010 planning process.

Panel members will include Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams; William D'Avignon, director of the Community Development Agency; Anthony Kobak, chief planner for Youngstown; David C. Sweet, president of YSU; George McCloud, special assistant to the president for University Advancement; and Hunter Morrison, director of the YSU Center for Urban and Regional Studies.

This edition of "2010 Moving Ahead: A Forum for Reporting Progress" is the second program this year to be underwritten by the Tony LaRiccia family of Boardman.

http://www.vindy.com

Who's the man?

The Man on the Monument
Originally uploaded by Youngstown Pride.

The Man on the Monument, topping off Youngstown's Civil War memorial, has stood proud over the city since the late 1800's.

See 'Y' SR422 looks different!

Youngstown Bridges
Originally uploaded by daysleeper47.

Driving down SR422, you may see something different above your head on the new bridges that have just gone up. The bridges over 422 at Wick Avenue, Elm Street, Fifth Avenue, and Ford Avenue all have been upgraded or replaced, with a 'Y' added to both ends to highlight Youngstown and nearby Youngstown State. This great shot by yours truly was taken on the Elm Street bridge looking SW with Stambaugh Stadium as the backdrop.

Downtown Youngstown

Downtown Youngstown
Originally uploaded by daysleeper47.

Downtown Youngstown, looking north, as seen on a cloudy day, approx 9:00 a.m. on September 4, 2006.

Steel Town Studios

For living in Virginia, I consider myself pretty keyed in to what is happening back home, politically, economically and culturally. Apparently, I can miss a few things. I completely missed this one. Since 2000, local artist Bob Barko has been producing art which highlights the history of Youngstown, using backdrops such as Idora Park or Youngstown Sheet and Tube to really create images which reflect the rich history of this town. I first saw his work this afternoon at the Canfield Fair, where two beautiful pieces were hung in the Fine Arts building. A (not so) quick Google search took me to his website, http://www.steeltownstudios.com/ which features information on his gallery located downtown (8 N Phelps Street) as well as information about his work and his collection of historical Youngstown memorabilia. I highly recommend that you visit his site, and drop him an email at info@steeltownstudios.com if you are interested in purchasing anything.

100_0114
Originally uploaded by daysleeper47.

100_0115
Originally uploaded by daysleeper47.

Canfield Fair Photo Montage

The 160th Canfield Fair is about over. Today the carnies and other fair staff will remove the concessions, rides, animals, and tents and await next years fair. In the mean time, enjoy these holiday snaps...

The state of unions in the Valley

Labor Day 2006
LARRY RINGLER
Tribune Chronicle

WARREN — Labor unions will mark Labor Day Monday with an uneasy blend of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good:

l A growing cooperation between labor and business leaders to help save jobs and bring new employers into the Mahoning Valley.

l The growth of non-governmental organizations, or NGOs — grassroots groups that are growing outside traditional government and labor unions to represent worker interests.

The bad:

l The 116-year-old Delphi Packard Electric will be left with about 670 union workers after a round of retirements and buyouts cut the work force from 3,800 last year. In 1973, the auto parts maker, which is part of its parent Delphi Corp.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, had about 12,500 union workers in the early 1970s.

l From a peak of roughly 9,500 members in the 1970s, United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the General Motors Corp. Lordstown Complex assembly plant will have 2,500 by year’s end after workers grabbed incentives to retire or leave.

l From 1,450 a year ago at the next-door metal fabricating plant, UAW Local 1714 will wind up with about 950 in the same period.

The downright ugly:

l After representing 32.5 percent of U.S. workers at the peak in 1953, unions’ share of the labor pool shrank to 12.5 percent in 2005, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

l Longtime union strongholds Cleveland and Detroit are running one and two as the nation’s poorest cities, according to the U.S. Census report that came out last week.

Area union leaders try to stay positive during one of the toughest years they’ve ever faced.

‘‘Someone asked me if we’re weaker because of the people who took the buyout. Absolutely not,’’ said Local 1112 President Jim Graham, referring to workers at the Lordstown assembly plant who are taking GM’s money and running. ‘‘Retirees have a lot more time to work on campaigns and other events. We’ll be stronger because we’ll have more people.’’

Local 1714 President Jim Kaster said the retirees give unions more of a chance to ‘‘set our agenda by getting some pro-labor Democrats elected. We’re stronger because of our retirees.’’

Even though the steel industry faces more intense global competition than ever, unions must keep fighting for their members, said Ed Machingo, new president of United Steelworkers Local 1375 at WCI Steel Inc.

‘‘I was part of the 1995 strike,’’ he said, referring to the bitter work stoppage to win better pensions. ‘‘I’m not afraid to go there again if that’s what it has to be, but I don’t want to. There are things we can do to influence the company short of a strike.’’

The union has been staging weekly picketing at the mill since safety and money issues arose over a new contract that took effect when WCI emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy May 1. Union leaders also meet wtih their company counterparts weekly, and with the chief executive officer every other week, Machingo said.

Two longtime observers of the area’s labor movement agree unions are trying to adapt to the loss of jobs and stiff global competition, but added labor still wields considerable influence.

‘‘There most certainly has been a weakening of the local labor movement because of the de-industrialization of the 1980s and 90s,’’ John Russo, co-director of Youngstown State University’s Center for Working Class Studies, said, referring to periods of downsizing in the wake of recessions.

The remaining jobs have become more ‘‘episodic’’ with the rise of temporary and contract workers, he said.

The American Staffing Association, whose members represent more than 85 percent of industry revenues, said Monday that domestic staffing firms employed an average of 2.9 million temporary and contract workers per day in the April-June period, up 3.3 percent from the year-ago period.

‘‘Employee leasing is the future,’’ said James McTevia, whose Michigan-based company consults in corporate bankruptcies.

Russo credited women’s, human rights, church and other NGOs for pressuring companies such as Nike and retailers to treat workers better.

Much of what growth unions have enjoyed has come in the public sector, such as government and public schools. But even that sector is starting to feel the same pain as the private sector.

Fewer well-paid private sector jobs eventually erodes the tax base that supports universities, cities, counties and other public sector employers, Russo pointed out.

Lakeview School District in Cortland has a 1-mill renewal levy on the November ballot, but it also has a large number of Delphi Packard workers who face a uncertain future after retiring or giving up their job to get the company’s buyout.

‘‘No way I can vote for a levy right now,’’ Phil Budnik, one of the departing workers, said.

Changes that unions are going through mirror those that companies are going through as the world economy evolves, a local economic development expert said.

‘‘ ‘Evolving,’ is the word I’d use,’’ said Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Regional Chamber. ‘‘As the business world evolves, they’re evolving with it.’’

One major change by local labor leaders is that they’re becoming a more visible part of economic development. Local 1112 President Graham said he speaks every few months to new members of the chamber’s Grow Mahoning Valley economic development group. He also served on a committee to investigate the causes of a strike at Youngstown State University.

‘‘The Valley has been devastated. Everyone has to work together to get new industry and jobs,’’ he said.

Dulberger said labor played a key role in the Grow Mahoning Valley effort in the 1990s to mobilize area leaders to get more federal and state dollars for highways, sewers and other infrastructure.

*The group helped win funding for the 711 Connector highway that more tightly links Trumbull and Mahoning counties, along with the King Graves/Ohio 11 interchange that opens up land around the local airport for business development.*

‘‘All groups had the common goal of raising as much money as possible. By combining our resources, we could be that much more effective,’’ he said. ‘‘While we continue to disagree on some things, we didn’t have to look far to find things that we could agree on.’’

Dulberger said he understanding a longing for the unions’ glory days by some workers.

‘‘I’m one for remembering and honoring the past, but the phrase, ‘Get over it’ has a certain meaning to me,’’ he said. ‘‘We live in the world as it is today and as it will be tomorrow.’’

MV Hitmen sink lower?

I wasn't sure it was possible until I saw it, but the MV Hitmen have reached a new low. Since I am talking about things I saw at the Canfield Fair (see Steel Town Studios below), I happened to notice that the Hitmen had a booth at the fair. Yes, a full blown, carnie-driven booth. The purpose of this booth, with the "Get Whacked" slogan slapped across the top, was to throw a football and knock down cardboard cutouts of some mafiosi. The two guys running it look like they just got out of 110 Fifth Avenue and fit in well with the mullets running the other "legitmate and fair gaming" throughout the fair. I hope no one took advantage of this "entertainment". It is a shameful attempt by a worthless hack who really doesn't care about the image of this city or region.

Former Youngstown Pride player faces charges of assault, robbery

It pains me to write this, but I know that not everyone in Youngstown is perfect, and clearly not this guy. Apparently, a former Youngstown Pride player (from which this site is named), has been arrested on various robbery and felonious assault charges after shooting a Liberty police officer. See the Vindicator article below:

Former Youngstown Pride player faces charges of assault, robbery
Friday, September 1, 2006
WARREN — A former basketball standout accused of shooting a Liberty Township police officer is now under indictment by a Trumbull County grand jury on four charges.

Gary Robbins, 43, of Norwood Avenue, Youngstown, faces charges of aggravated robbery, robbery, assault on a peace officer and breaking and entering.

The robbery and aggravated robbery charges include specifications that Robbins is a repeat violent offender.

Liberty police Capt. Richard Tisone said Robbins' arrest record goes back to 1995 and includes theft, robbery, drug possession and a 1996 felonious assault conviction involving a police officer.

Robbins was a member of the Youngstown Pride professional basketball team in the late 1980s. He also was a member of the Youngstown State University Penguins basketball team from 1984 to 1986 and led the Penguins in scoring in 1986.

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