Idora Park: Yesterday and Today

Yesterday

Today

Breaking News: Mayor Williams enjoys Outback

According to several first person sources, Youngstown mayor Jay Williams is a big fan of Outback Steakhouse. Williams was spotted at the popular Boardman restauraunt Saturday night, sharing the same side of the booth with his wife. Maybe the conversation went something like this:

Jay and Sonja are having dinner.
Jay: Sonja, come sit next to me.
Sonja: Aww...
Jay: I'm tired of looking at you.

T.P. Lowry, 16

The North Side lost a legend on Saturday when T.P. Lowry, 16, was killed in a tragic vehicle accident. T.P. was a lifelong resident of the North Heights neighborhood, living on Bradley Lane for the last 13 years.

T.P. was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed birdwatching and hunting small game. He was particularly fond of the neighborhood squirrels who were constantly under his gaze. While T.P. never had a formal education, it could be said that he was educated on the streets of Youngstown. It was there that he learned to fight, challenging anyone that threatened him, his family or his home. He was also fond of sleeping, eating, and throwing up from overeating, which he was known to do on a near daily basis.

T.P. is survived by his parents, Pat and Becky and three siblings, Joe, Caroline and Colleen. He had several cousins in the neighborhood as well. A private service was held on Sunday.

Happy Birthday!

The Youngstown Playhouse, the nation’s longest running community theater, is celebrating its 80th birthday this year!

While we are on baseball...

I found this article on Vindy.com. Apparently Roger Clemens is endorsing a locally invented baseball product. Called Strike Out Strippz, they assist young pitchers develop their game but allowing them to visualize their throw and increase muscle memory. It has already garnered a lot of press.

Pitching aid creators get Clemens' support
Saturday, May 27, 2006
The technique created by Jack Kucek of Canfield and Greg Smith of Columbiana teaches the mechanics.

By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

CANFIELD — Canfield resident Jack Kucek, who pitched in the major leagues from 1971-81, along with his partner Greg Smith of Columbiana, have formed a business called Strike Out Strippz.

Roger Clemens, who is ninth on the majors' all-time list for pitching wins (341), is a seven-time Cy Young award winner and American League MVP in 1986, signed a contract with Kucek in New York last week to endorse Strike Out Strippz.

A DVD and video were produced and will be available with an instruction book some time in August on the Internet.

Fans can log on at www.Learn2Pitch.com to order the DVD for $39. Anyone who pre-orders it will be eligible for an autographed Clemens baseball.

Observation

"The product was designed from watching and pitching against some of the greatest pitchers ever such as Nolan Ryan, Catfish Hunter, Clemens and others," said Kucek.

"Clemens wants to teach kids how to pitch and they have been working on making the DVD and video a reality since last Oct. 17," said Kucek.

A national television commercial introducing Strike Out Strippz will be out in about a month.

--More--


Jack Kucek, former major league pitcher and Strike Out Strippz inventor standing with the Rocket himself, Roger Clemens. Photo from Strike Out Strippz

Youngstown breaking the color barrier

George Shuba, a lifelong Youngstown resident, served for seven seasons as utility outfielder and lefthanded pinch hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His seven seasons included a World Series championship in 1955.

Shuba is often remembered for his symbolic role in breaking down major league baseball's tenacious "color barrier." In 1946, he was captured in a legendary photograph shaking hands with Jackie Robinson, when the two men were teammates for the Montreal Royals, a farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. The moment was described as "the first interracial handshake" in North American baseball's recent history. Robinson then left to play for the Dodgers the following year, but not before winning the Little World series and being chased by exultant Montréal fans right to the train as he left. Wrote Sam Maltin, a stringer for the Pittsburgh Courier: "It was probably the only day in history that a black man ran from a white mob with love instead of lynching on its mind."

Shuba made his professional debut with the Dodgers on July 2, 1948.

At the peak of his playing career, Shuba delivered a pinch-hit homer in the 1953 World Series opener, which the New York Yankees won 9-5. Knee surgery, however, reduced his effectiveness after that season. Shuba played his final game Sept. 25, 1955.

Following his retirement, Shuba returned to Youngstown, where he lives today. A 2006 article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune noted that Shuba continues to take pride in the photograph of his groundbreaking handshake with teammate Robinson. A copy of the photo currently hangs behind his favorite living-room chair.

Law and Order

Youngstown Police Force of 1885
Standing, Left to Right: Philip Eberhard, John Kelley, Edward Merriman, Geo. Moyer, William McMillan, W. Williams, M. Kennedy, Elias Jones.
Sitting, Left to Right: Samuel Ward, David Evans, William Williams, J. W. Lindesmith.
(from “History of the Police Department of Youngstown, Ohio.” Youngstown, OH: Board of Public Safety, 1906)

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Youngstown Vindicator, Oct 23, 1934
Melvin Purvis and Charles 'Pretty Boy' Floyd

Blvd. of Broken Dreams

No more. This is West Federal Street looking east.

Going up and coming down

While I was home this weekend I was able to snap a few pictures around Youngstown. Two buildings in particular are worth sharing. The first is the new music hall next to Powers Auditorium. The Beecher Flad Pavilion is comprised of a new 600-seat auditorium for orchestra, brass, and choral performances; new kitchen facilities, new dressing rooms, expanded loading docks, and soundproofing so that Powers and the new auditorium can be used simultaneously.



The second building is slated for demolition soon. The Youngstown Sheet and Tube office building is located on Martin Luther King near Division Street. The city currently has control of the building, which it obtained in March 2006. This photo was taken from the new ramp from Division Street ramp onto Robinwood. I think so, anyway. No online map has been updated to show the new streets.

The Saturday Photo Upload

You'll Find 'Em Plump in Youngstown! What the hell does that mean? I don't know, but this early postcard is pretty funny.


I'm not sure what the Tad Fithian Agency did or where these offices were located, but it was in Youngstown.

Update: YP-
My guess is that the Tad Fithian is the modern day Fithian Contracting Co., on Market Street near the Sparkle. I think it's the same building as the one in the picture, although it's been renovated somewhat over the years.
-MM (MightyMahoning)


Stone's Restaraunt was located in downtown Youngstown in the 1950's. Sorry that this is a photo of a postcard.


Last, but not least, Parkway Towers looks very grand in this postcard. The Towers still exist at the corner of Park and Fifth.

Go Penguins!

I try to keep this blog as politically correct as possible, with historic photos and articles on Youngstown's redevelopment, but that is not always possible. On that note, I present two instances where I recently have seen some representation of the Youngstown State Penguins in my travels. The first was at a friend's graduation from Loyola University of Chicago this past weekend. Low and behold, hanging from the rafters of LUC's Gentile Center was a red and white banner celebrating, or perhaps simply showing, YSU's participation in the Horizon League basketball conference. There is nothing I appreciated more than seeing a little bit of home 400 miles away.

The second time was just yesterday when I happened to be at the barber shop. Of course no self respecting barber would dare open his shop without a fine selection of magazines to keep waiting customers happy. On this particular day, the latest issue of Maxim happened to be out. While I am generally more interested in the random facts and party jokes, I happened to open to page 32 to find June's 'Campus Cutie.'

Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------

From Maxim Online
Chill out with this sexy Penguin from Youngstown State.
Name: Heather
Birthdate: June 28, 1983
School: Youngstown State University
Major: Business
Future Job: Start my own makeup company

Harding Elementary - 1929

5th grade, Mrs. Bell's Class at Harding School in Youngstown, OH, about 1929 or 1930.

Carolyn Loewit Kovsky (1919-1994) is in the second row, fifth girl to the left. Her cousin, Jean Brunswick Wolff (1919-1999) is in the third row, first girl to the left.

Carolyn was the daughter of George Loewit (1889-1962) and Sadye Friedman Loewit (1888-1968. Jean was the daughter of Max Brunswick Sr. (1879-1930) and Dorothy Friedman Brunswick (1885-1973).

The rest of children are unknown.

The Rice Hotel

The new Rice Hotel, located opposite the Republic Rubber Works, Youngstown, OH, was being built in 1912 when this photo was taken.

The Mahoning Valley Thunder?

Apparently using the word 'Youngstown' in naming a sports team does not have the appeal of say, 'Mahoning Valley.' For the second time, a minor league sports team has moved to the area with 'Mahoning Valley' in the name. First were the Scrappers, now we are proud to introduce the Mahoning Valley Thunder, our new af2 indoor arena football team. Some pics of the presser are below.

It appears that this team will be a direct competitor for marketing with the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, an apparent hack arena football team playing at the Ice Zone in Boardman. Please check out http://mightymahoning.blogspot.com for more on that debacle!


Congressman Tim Ryan provided some remarks during the event.


The new logo of the Mahoning Valley Thunder.

Good ole days

Seventy-eight years before I graduated from Ursuline, this stellar group of young lads and lasses was walking the halls of 'the old building.' This is the Ursuline High School class of 1922. They missed World War I by just three years but they suffered the depression and most likely sent their own children off to World War II. The stories they could tell, if still alive today, I'm sure could fill volumes.

Fat Man Walking

15 pair of shoes, 12 pairs of pants, three shirts, 30 pairs of socks.

That is what Youngstown native Steve Vaught (born Stephen James Liller) has worn through on his walk across the United States. Today Steve will walk across the George Washington Bridge, entering New York City over a year after he left San Diego. He has battled sore legs and knees, bad weather, and poor diet among other difficulties, but he has perservered. He has lost over 100 pounds, and although that was his primary reason for the walk, he says he has gained a lot more in insight and perspective into himself and the world. If you want to follow the path of a fellow Youngstowner, granted you have one day to do it, or read more about his journey, you can find more about him at Fat Man Walking.

Local building honored in national magazine

A Youngstown candy maker invented the Good Humor Bar

By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

YOUNGSTOWN — A downtown building is honored in today's Parade magazine for being one of the places that helped shape America's history and culture.

The three-story building at 325 W. Federal St. was where Harry Burt created the Good Humor Bar, the nation's first ice cream on a stick.

The 11 sites selected by the Sunday magazine and the National Trust for Historic Preservation will receive a plaque, while one site — a Virginia resettlement community built by blacks during the Depression — earned a $50,000 restoration grant.

Who nominated it?

Ronald Faniro, a Youngstown architect, nominated the Youngstown building in an essay contest run by Parade last year.

He said he hoped to bring recognition to a significant event in Youngstown's history that isn't widely known. Now that the building has wider recognition, Faniro hopes it is more likely to be preserved.

He said the building owner, Jeff Clark, has maintained the building well, but a historical plaque should ensure the building receives attention in future years.

"This should be considered as one of America's treasures, right here in Youngstown," he said.

Clark operates Ross Radio, an electronics equipment store, from the building. Faniro, whose company specializes in preserving historical buildings, said this building is one of several that make up one of the nation's best collections of terra cotta facades. These buildings were designed by some of the leading architects of the time, he said.

Good Humor history

Faniro said he nominated the building because he knew the Good Humor Bar had national recognition.

In 1920, Burt was running an ice cream parlor and candy-making business when he created a smooth chocolate coating that was compatible with ice cream.

He decided the combination was too messy, but his son, Harry Jr., suggested freezing wooden sticks into the ice cream.

Burt called his creation the Good Humor Bar, capitalizing on the belief then that a person's "humor," or temperament, was related to the humor of the palate, or sense of taste. He received a patent three years later.

Burt sent out a fleet of 12 chauffeur-driven trucks, complete with bells, to market his product. After he died in 1926, his wife, Cora, sold franchises at $100 each and the ice cream treats became known throughout the Midwest.

The Good Humor Corp. of America was formed to acquire the patents and consolidate operations, and a New York investor, M.J. Meehan, acquired 75 percent of its shares in 1930.

The fleet of Good Humor trucks expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, as the Meehan family sold the company in 1961 to the Thomas J. Lipton Co., now a subsidiary of Unilever.

The direct-selling business was phased out in 1976, in favor of sales at stores. The Good Humor trucks that remain on the road today are owned by ice cream distributors or private individuals.

For more on Harry Burt and the Good Humor Bar, check out these links:
National Archives article
Wikipedia article
Ice Cream USA

Spend your life in bed? OK!

I try not to post non-Youngstown related material, but I saw this on CNN this morning and thought others might enjoy it. Erin (don't know her last name) is a women participating in a NASA study at the Cleveland Clinic who basically has to spend 12 weeks in bed. Actually, she is strapped into a harness hanging more or less horizontally with her head down at a 6 degree angle. She is blogging about her whole experience here: http://stardustholiday.blogspot.com/

The Paramount Theater

Word on the street is that an Illinois firm, Grand Venues, has bought the Paramount Theater. They plan to turn the building into a performance space and theater. They paid $79,900 for it with renovations estimated to cost $3.5 million. They hope to have the building open within two to three years. Check out the article in the Vindy to read more about the upcoming work.

Looking for a home? Try eBay!

If you have something to sell, eBay is the place to sell it. The online auction house has almost everything - including eight Youngstown homes which are on the market. Want a fixer-upper? Try this house on East Chalmers. It has vinyl siding! For only a few thousand bucks, you can own one of these lovely homes on Chalmers, Garland, Pearl, Ravewood, LaClede, and Saranac. They all need work and are located in neighborhoods which I would classify as blighted, but I didn't see one that couldn't be renovated and rented or sold as a single family home. The potential for the price is there. Seven of the eight are selling for the $11,000 or less. The eighth house is my favorite however. Not the house itself, but the ad: Almost Austintown! Youngstown West Bungalow. Almost in Austintown? I'm sorry to report that in this day and age, living in Youngstown is better than living in Austintown. Youngstown's renaissance is just beginning. Austintown is entering the Dark Ages. Plus, at $69,900, you could by a much nicer house in the North Heights neighborhood on the North Side.

In the Pittsburgh/Youngstown, Ohio, district, steel companies produced 188,000 net tons for the week ended April 22. That was up from the 184,000 net tons they made the prior week, AISI data shows.

The Incredible Shrinking City

Belinda Lanks of Metropolismag.com published an interesting story last week on the shrinking nature of Youngstown. She ends by pegging Youngstown as a future bedroom community to Cleveland and Pittsburgh, a parting gift to a once-roaring steel town. While thinking of Youngstown as a bedroom community like Parma or Mayfield Heights makes me shudder, the reality is that this is possible. The demise of industry in Youngstown has made it difficult for anything else to step up in its place and lead to a revitalized city. Check out the article at Metropolismag.com and thanks to ShoutYoungstown for originally posting the link.

WYTV Moves Downtown (Sort of)

According to downtownyoungstown.com, WFMJ will now have a little competition with its downtown news broadcasts. WYTV has worked out a partnership with the Bean Counter Cafe on E. Federal Street to begin broadcasting part of its morning program from the cafe. The Bean Counter is currently expanding their facility to include a larger seating area and a full bar.

“The end goal was never to close Northside, although continued financial losses could give us no other choice.” From the Forum Flash, the employee newsletter for Forum Health employees, April 24, 2006.

Board to vote on fare increase

The Youngstown-based bus service now has about 6,300 daily riders.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Faced with a potential $1.5 million deficit, layoffs and service cuts loom for the Western Reserve Transit Authority, and the WRTA board will vote next month on the system's first fare increase since 1999.

Jim Ferraro, WRTA executive director, said the board also may ask voters to approve a sales tax. He said most transit systems in Ohio are funded with a sales tax.

Without more public money, staff and service cuts are imminent, including the possible loss of the increasingly popular night bus service, he said.

The board has scheduled a public hearing at 9 a.m. Friday to gather public input on the proposed fare increases.

The meeting will be in the board room at WRTA's administrative offices, 604 Mahoning Ave. The board also will accept comments in writing from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through May 5.

Under the proposal, student fares will continue to be 75 cents, and the cost of student coupon books will remain the same at $35 for 50 tickets. Zone fares will still be free.

Adult coupon books will increase by $12.50, from $50 to $62.50 for each book of 50 tickets. Other changes in pass fares include a $6 increase in adult passes from $32 to $38, and a $3 increase in passes for elderly and disabled riders from $16 to $19 per month.

Adult fares will increase 25 cents from $1 to $1.25. Fares for the elderly and disabled will increase 10 cents, from 50 cents to 60 cents.

Transfers, currently free, will be 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for elderly and disabled riders. Trolley fares, currently 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for elderly and disabled riders, will be 30 cents and 15 cents, respectively.

Special-services fares, currently $1, will be $2. There will be a new special-services option of a monthly pass for $38.

What's behind this

Ferraro said loss of federal funding and increases in insurance, diesel fuel and natural gas could result in a deficit as much as $1.5 million.

"Sometimes there is a decrease in ridership after a fare increase," Ferraro said. "We don't want to do anything that would drastically affect ridership, but there was no way we could anticipate these fuel prices."

"We never dreamed we'd be looking at $2.12 a gallon when we did the budget," said Tom Nugen, director of transportation. "And $2.12 a gallon doesn't include taxes or insurance."

Nugen said in 2004, WRTA paid an average of $1.07 per gallon for bus fuel. In January 2002, the per-gallon price was 69 cents.

Ferraro said the last load of fuel was $2.12 a gallon. WRTA takes fuel shipments every six days, now at a cost of $20,000 per load, with a $250 surcharge on each delivery.

He said if ridership stays the same, the revenue from the fare increases — about $300,000 at best — still won't be enough to cover operating expenses.

Ferraro said loss of federal funding, the effects of hurricanes Rita and Katrina on shipping, and soaring fuel prices have created a perfect storm of financial disaster just as ridership eclipsed the board's goal of 6,000 daily riders in March.

"It's sad this happens just as we finally reach 6,000 riders," he said. "We average about 6,300 riders on weekdays. Some people might not believe that, but the fare boxes don't lie."

"We're not happy with what we have to do," Ferraro added. "More and more people depend on WRTA to get to and from work."

Ferraro said many buses are at capacity with people standing in the aisles.

Here's an example

"We just had the driver of the Market Street bus call and tell us he couldn't pick up anyone. He was totally full leaving the station," Ferraro said. "He said he had people standing clear up to the fare box. That bus seats 34, so he had to have at least 50 people on that bus.

"We sent another bus out behind him to pick up people until people started getting off and there was room on his bus."

Ferraro said WRTA faces a loss of $800,000 to $900,000 just in funding cuts alone.

He said funding from one federal grant aimed at helping people have transportation to and from work, for example, was just $266,000 this year, and WRTA had to split that with transit authorities in two other communities. Previously the same grant provided WRTA with $750,000; now there's no guarantee of any funding from that grant, he said.

Two levies approved by voters in November 2005 generate about $2 million annually, but the levies were renewals, so they don't generate any new money, Ferraro added.

tullis@vindy.com

Snap the Whip!

I have to admit that something here in D.C. recently made me proud of Youngstown. I made a trip to the National Gallery of Art on the Mall to take in the Winslow Homer show they were showing (it closed at the end of February). Homer is one of the eminent American artists and his works capture American life, from the hardships of the Civil War to longshoremen rescuing drowning sailors in the Northeast, in ways that other artists can only attempt. His most famous work perhaps, is Snap the Whip, detailing the game that young kids play in an attempt to send their friends flying across a field. Certainly no show on Homer would be complete without this painting and yet, it wasn't present. I knew why. The Butler wasn't about to give it up! This piece has the good fortune of being a gem in Youngstown, as part of the permanent collection of the Butler Institute of American Art. The Butler's collection is currently at 20,000 pieces of American art, including paintings, statues, and photography. If you haven't been there recently, I recommend checking it out. They are currently exhibiting several shows in The Beecher Center, housed in the south wing of the Butler's Youngstown location. It is the first museum addition dedicated solely to new media and electronic art.

$2M debt passes to Forum in default Oakhill Renaissance closing announced

Friday, April 21, 2006
By DEBORA SHAULIS and WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS

YOUNGSTOWN — Forum Health officials say the nonprofit owners of Oakhill Renaissance Place have defaulted on a $2 million development loan that the health system is now responsible for.

Forum disclosed that information Thursday, after Southside Community Development Corporation told Oakhill's 25 tenants to prepare for the building's closing "as early as April 30, if necessary."

Forum Health is projecting $60 million in losses for 2006 without what it calls a radical restructuring and $25 million in concessions from its unionized employees.

"This failure on the part of the Southside Community Development Corporation has forced Forum Health to deplete its resources by $1.9 million at a time of tremendous financial challenge for the system," officials said in a prepared statement.

Oakhill Renaissance Place, 345 Oak Hill Ave., is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center. The volunteer SCDC was formed in 1998 to convert the building into a community hub as part of South Side revitalization.

Tenants of Oakhill

Oakhill's tenants include Youngstown City Health Department, the Mahoning County coroner's office and morgue, Mahoning Valley Hospital for long-term acute care patients, and various educational and social service agencies.

Janet Yaniglos, vice chair of SCDC's board of trustees, said tenants employ more than 200 people and occupy 45 percent of the building.

The board is saddened that its recent efforts to keep Oakhill open have been unsuccessful, Yaniglos said Thursday during a brief press conference.

The relationship between Forum Health and SCDC has been unclear in recent weeks.

A number of city and county officials have said Forum Health had been financially supporting Oakhill, with figures ranging from $80,000 to $100,000 per month.

Reports denied

SCDC director Adrian R. Byrne recently denied those reports, telling a reporter that Forum's financial stake in Oakhill was "discretionary." Byrne said: "They supported us when they felt like it ... They'd help us if something broke."

Atty. Stuart Laven Jr. of Cleveland, who represents SCDC, said Thursday that Forum Health had provided a "substantial amount" of money for Oakhill's operations. Laven was identified as SCDC's spokesman, but he didn't return other phone calls seeking additional comment.

"Forum Health entered the Southside arrangement as a goodwill effort to our community back in September 2001," the health system's statement read. "Having sold the building to our community for $1, we agreed to help subsidize its operations for a period of nine months only and guaranteed a $2 million loan to develop the property. Forum Health has had numerous conversations with their management since the beginning of this year informing them that we would no longer be providing this subsidy."

Created a crisis

SCDC said the loss of what it called third-party financial support created a crisis that led to a decision to close the facility.

Some tenants were surprised to receive eviction notices Wednesday.

"Our little bubble is just kind of deflated," said Jacqueline Burley, director of Protestant Family Services, a faith-based program that supports people in emergency situations by providing food and helping with utility bills.

Protestant Family Services was in the middle of a five-year lease at Oakhill. "I was looking forward to renewing it," Burley said, adding that she would have preferred a 10-year contract. At Oakhill, Protestant Family Services enjoyed access to the building's conference center, storage space, handicap-accessible features and central location with bus service.

"I sure wish someone would come through and pick up the pieces so we can stay here," Burley said. Otherwise, the program will continue in a new location, she added.

Bert Cene, director of Mahoning Columbiana Training Association, said that agency's youth center in Oakhill Renaissance Place will probably move to MCTA's offices at Front and Market streets. Cene said he'd prefer not to house adult and youth employment programs in the same building. The youth center has been in the Oakhill complex since 2004.

Too little notice

The city health department "can't realistically move in two weeks," said Jason Whitehead, chief of staff for Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams.

City health commissioner Neil Altman said he knows of no available space that is set up for medical purposes as is the Oakhill building. It is extremely expensive to retrofit a building for medical use, he said.

"We looked for space for 10 years before this became available. All we had to do to move in was install a piece of security glass for the records department," Altman said.

The health commissioner said he plans to meet with Williams, he hoped today, to see if he has any ideas.

Mahoning Valley Hospital is Oakhill's largest tenant. SCDC said talks are ongoing about keeping the building open on a short-term basis for the hospital's sake. Oakhill's contract for maintenance services ends April 30, however.

Michael Senchak, president of Mahoning Valley Hospital, was unavailable to comment Thursday. Senchak told a reporter Monday that his board is looking at property in Boardman to build a hospital and relocate.

SCDC has been consistent in saying it needed an anchor tenant at Oakhill. Earlier this month, Byrne said tenant leases generated about $1.4 million in annual revenues, but that income didn't offset all expenses.

SCDC saw a potential anchor in Mahoning County. Two years ago, it offered to donate Oakhill to the county and chip in $500,000 for renovations to consolidate county offices, including the Department of Job and Family Services. Two different boards of county commissioners have studied the offer but did not take action.

The county rents space for JFS in McGuffey Plaza for $37,000 per month.

Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said the commissioners were still determining whether the county could afford to maintain the Oakhill property. Roof repairs were estimated at $600,000, he said.

shaulis@vindy.com

Wiki-fying Youngstown

About six months ago I had the pleasure to stumble across a little known website called Wikipedia. By little known, I mean I was one of the last people in my age bracket to learn about it. Upon browsing the articles on the site, I learned that there was so much the world can know about Youngstown that wasn't published elsewhere in a concise fashion. Therefore, I began to create and edit article relating to Youngstown. In such time I have created articles on The Vindicator, the Youngstown Fire Department, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Ursuline High School and the best sports team ever to play in Youngstown, the Pride. I have edited the main Youngstown article and countless others. All are works in progress, requiring the skills and knowledge of others to finish. So, if you are ever bored at work and want to spend some time on your editing skills, put them to work on Wikipedia... and maybe just share some of your Youngstown knowledge!

Picture of the Day

A sign leading the way home...

Banquet at the B&O?

It seems the magical B&O Station is back in business. Not so much as a full scale restaurant this time, but rather a banquet hall. Hosting everything from weddings to yoga classes, it really seems like they are branching out. Good for them. I hope this idea sticks. With the right marketing and an early influx of business, it might just work. Word of mouth is the key here. So many people have never been down to see the facilities that they need to really brand the site as a historic location within the city. It will be interesting to see what happens with this one.

Check it out here: http://banquetatthebno.com/home.html

On this date...

In Youngstown History:
April 18, 1956: J.L. Mauthe, president of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., reveals that the steel company is analyzing the expenditure of another $15 million to $20 million on expanding and improving its Mahoning Valley plants.

April 18, 1931: Youngstown firemen rescue Miss Margaret Calhoun from her upstairs room at 882 Mahoning Ave., where she was overcome by smoke after fire caused by a gasoline explosion damaged the house.

The Burgh ain't the steel city!

When I'm in need of a thirst quencher, I grab for an icy cold Steel City Beer! Proudly brewed by the Youngstown Brewing Company.

My angel is the centerfold

Not even closely related to Youngstown except that this is the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band playing the incredible J. Geils Band ''Centerfold'' at the Youngstown State Game from September 21, 2005. Our Penguins were marched on to the tune of 41-0.



(Get it? Marching Band. March of the Penguins. I crack myself up!)

A great interview with the late Bishop James Malone on the history of Ursuline High School, what it meant to him, and the city, can be found here, at the YSU Oral History Archives.

I discovered these incredible photos of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Jeannette blast furnace online.




Photos by Harald Finster, 05/24/1992, StahlArt Industrial Prints

Steel Museum library in trouble?

Partnerships weighed to maintain library
Friday, April 14, 2006
The Steel Museum will remain open, a spokeswoman says.

By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Representatives of the Ohio Historical Society, Youngstown State University and Mahoning Valley Historical Society are discussing partnerships that could lead to the transfer of the archives library from Youngstown Center of Industry and Labor, also know as the Steel Museum.

"We're not close to a decision," said Kathy Hoke, manager of communications and media relations for the Ohio Historical Society. "The right amount of discussion needs to take place."

The final decision rests with the Ohio Historical Society's board of trustees, Hoke noted.

There is "absolutely no substance" to rumors that the Steel Museum will close, Hoke said. "We're committed to continuing to operate the museum for the public benefit."

The museum and archives library are separate divisions of the Ohio Historical Society. Both are housed at 151 W. Wood St., across from St. Columba Cathedral. Annual attendance is estimated at 4,000, Hoke said. One-fourth of visitors use the archives library on the second floor, where admission is free. Exhibits are on the lower floors, and admission fees are charged.

Gist of talks

As for consolidation, "We have had discussions over a period of months," said H. William Lawson, director of Mahoning Valley Historical Society. The gist of those conversations has been, "If they were to pull back on their staffing and close that facility or pare it back drastically, what can we do locally to cooperate to keep services going?"

Ideas range from keeping the Steel Museum's archives library open with help from a "consortium of organizations with similar missions" to distributing the collection to local institutions if the Ohio Historical Society closes the space, Lawson said.

It's the Ohio Historical Society's decision to make, but "They aren't going to do anything that doesn't have local support," Lawson said. "The ultimate goal is to keep the collections in [the Steel Museum] available to the public. We have a large part to play about that."

Lawson doubts that Mahoning Valley Historical Society would be able to absorb all of the Steel Museum's archives. If the library closes, decisions must be made about which pieces of the collection are best suited for particular institutions, he said.

Martha Bishop, research assistant at the Steel Museum's archives library, said the collection contains records from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson and Carroll counties. That's because it's the only branch of the Ohio Historical Society's archives outside the main division in Columbus.

What's in archives

The archives library's holdings are largely related to steel but also concern labor, industrial and local history, Bishop said. Items include oral histories on videotape by steelworkers and their families; various newspapers on microfilm; maps; and Trumbull County land record ledgers that date back to the early 1800s.

Money will be a factor in the Ohio Historical Society's decision. As a nonprofit organization, it still receives 70 percent of its funding from state government. The overall amount has declined in recent years, however, and employee layoffs have occurred.

The society is no worse off than other cultural institutions that want to do more than their budgets will allow, Hoke said.

The archivist who manages the Steel Museum's collection divides his time between Youngstown and Columbus, where the Ohio Historical Center is located. "We have some critical staffing needs in state archives," Hoke said.

shaulis@vindy.com

The Old Welsh Congregational Church

The Old Welsh Congregational Church, located on Elm Street across from St. Columba Cathedral, is the oldest religious building in the downtown area. Built in 1861, the congregation worshipped there for over 100 years. In 1976, the Reverend Andrew Redmond and his congregation of 50 bought the church and renamed it The Messiah Holiness Church of God in Christ. They remained there until a fire in 1997. They were offered space in the St. Columba Cathedral for the congregation to continue its worship. Reverend Redmond looks forward to the day they can return to the old church building.

Some of the church has been restored, but much remains to be done. The siding still needs to be replaced on the outside and the windows need to be replaced.

As one of the oldest religious building in the area still at its original location, this is an important building and needs to be saved. A group of carpentars led by Dave Andello has contributed many hours to putting the church back in good repair. If you are interested in helping out, give Dave a call at 746-0551.

And then there was one...

With yesterday's announcement that Immaculate Conception and St. Mathias schools were closing at the end of this year, it leaves just one Catholic school in the city - St. Christine's on the West Side. It is a sad state when a city of 70,000 can't support more than one Catholic School, but the numbers just aren't there. According to the Vindy, enrollment at Immaculate Conception is at 63. As recently as 1998, there were 164 pupils. In the 1960s, there were more than 700 students. Only ten of the current 63 pupils are Catholic, and only four are from Immaculate Conception parish. Clearly that is not sustainable.

I can remember when as a young lad in the early 1990's at St. Rose in Girard, that St. Edward's (North Side), St. Dominic's (South Side), St. Anthony's (North Side), St. Brendan's (West Side), and St. Patrick's (South Side) could all field a team or two for the Parish Basketball League. Now all are closed and the only parochials in the area are St. Christine in Youngstown, Holy Family in Poland, St. Nicholas in Struthers, St. Joseph in Campbell and St. Luke and St. Charles, both in Boardman.

North Side Pool

If you haven't travelled Belmont Avenue and Tod Lane recently, you may not know that North Side Pool as you may have known it is just a memory. The city recently contracted to have the old pool removed, and they are promising that the new pool will be up and operating this summer. I have to admit, they are moving along at a pretty good clip. The bath house, which has always had a flat roof, now has a new peaked roof--almost.

Youngstown Pride wants you!

I am currently looking for new members who would be interested in posting articles relating to the history and current redevelopment of Youngstown. If you think you have what it takes, let me know (post a comment to this post). I am always looking for great photos, new or historic, and articles from the media or self-written. I hope to get more regular with the posting and can't do it alone!

Also, if you like to write about local politics, I want writers for The Daily Traficant, my not-so-daily site about politics and Jim Traficant. It is a mish-mash of stuff, but if someone wants to streamline it, let me know!

Shout Youngstown

Another Youngstown blog has struck my fancy. First was the blog Mighty Mahoning by my dear friend Manning, and now a blog called Shout Youngstown. Who would have thought that he/she could make Youngstown sound as cultured? Good stuff on how to redevelop the city. Shout Youngstown

People on the Move

Where else can you travel around a city for only a buck? Youngstown's WRTA transit system has been moving Youngstown resident's around the city for years. Check out their website for route and fare information at www.wrtaonline.com/.

Who was Frank Bohn?

In certain circles in the Youngstown-area, Frank Bohn is most famous for his 1915 statement, "Everybody breathing dirt, eating dirt - they call it "pay dirt," for Youngstown clean would be Youngstown out of work." Few interpret him as anything more than a steel worker who recognized the importance of the industry in the Mahonig Valley. His story, however, is that of an active American socialist. He was greatly concerned about the plight of the American worker, particularly in the booming steel industry of the early 1900's. He wrote many letters, propoganda pieces, and books describing what he considered the "future system of industrial society."(1) He was an organizer in the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) and the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance. He was a frequent contributor to The Masses, one of the dominant socialist arts magazines of the early 1900's, which described itself as a "revolutionary not a reform magazine."(2)

As a young man from Michigan, he was part of the state's delegation to the SLP's 1904 convention in Chicago. He was described as "affable, slick, polished, a fluent talker, making quite an impression."(3) He wholeheartedly believed in what he wrote, stating, "under Socialism industrial government as well as political government will be democratic. Its purpose will be to manage production and to establish and conduct the great social institutions required by civilized humanity. Political government will then, of course, have ceased to exist."(4) His ideas were revolutionary in the United States, yet no doubt struck a cord with recent European immigrants escaping harsh working conditions and intolerance in their native land and looking for a sense of community in their new country.

Bohn would later become the National Secretary of the SLP in the United States, although his mismanagement of the organization would see him removed several years later. He continued to write his beliefs on socialism however but became discredited within the organization, with the SLP today claiming that because of his lack of leadership, "he came nearer than anything to wiping out the Socialist Labor Party."

1) The Intellectual
2) Kaaterskill Books
3) www.slp.org/pdf/slphist/slp1_hk.pdf
4) Industrial Socialism. Haywood and Bohn. Charles Kerr and Co. 1906.

Seeing Life Decades Ago Through Lens of Youngstown

The Business JournalJul 11, 2005 8:05 a.m.

By Dan O’Brien

Two years ago, The Youngstown Historical Center -- best known to residents as the Steel Museum -- came dangerously close to suffering the same fate as the Mahoning Valley’s steel industry.

Instead of closing its doors, however, the facility is experiencing a new lease on life. Earlier this year the museum unveiled a new exhibit and officials expect that state funding for the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus – which operates the Youngstown center – will remain stable for the foreseeable future.

Moreover, Columbus has earmarked more funding to promote the facility and adopted a policy that allows sites to raise money independently to help pay for their operations and educational programs.

“The Historical Society is trying to make the sites more entrepreneurial,” says Nancy Haraburda, site manager at the Youngstown Historical Center. Before, any private contributions went into the society’s general fund and then were meted out among the 60 different sites throughout the state. “Now, people can make donations to a specific site, such as this one,” she says.

Stronger local support is precisely what the museum needs, Haraburda states. One of the biggest peeves she and others share is the overwhelming number of people in the community who have never visited the center and, consequently, have so many misconceptions about what it offers.

The rise and fall of steel in the Mahoning Valley is the focus of the center, Haraburda says, but it’s more useful to interpret the industry as a backdrop against a much more compelling story.

That story is the odyssey of the industrial worker during the 20th century, a theme evident as soon as the visitor steps inside the museum’s permanent collection, “By the Sweat of Their Brow: Forging the Steel Valley.” As the visitor walks in, he is greeted by a life-size mannequin of a steel worker fitted with protective glasses, a hard hat and industrial coveralls.

“We wanted to make sure that people know he is the most important part of the exhibit,” Haraburda says.

The collection occupies two floors filled with thousands of articles and artifacts related to industrial production – some from outside the Mahoning Valley. Tools forged from early iron manufacturing processes of the 18th century and early 19th centuries are on display, while methods of steel making during the 20th century are exhibited through videos and models. A pulpit from which workers monitored steel production was donated by LTV Steel.

A third floor is dedicated to archives on labor and industry. They consist of a library, company records, transcribed oral histories and microfilmed copies of local newspapers and workers publications.

In between is a tale of a sleepy frontier community that grew as Americans moved west and, in the 19th century, immigrants from Ireland, Germany, England, Scotland and Wales settled here as the iron and steel industry took root. By the first two decades of the 20th century, as immigrants from southern and eastern Europe joined the ranks of industrial workers, the Mahoning and nearby Shenango Valley emerged as the fifth-largest steel producing region in the world.

Smoke and soot was so ubiquitous that socialist labor leader Frank Bohn was prompted to write in 1915: “Everybody breathing dirt, eating dirt – they call it ‘pay dirt.’ For Youngstown, clean would be Youngstown out of work.” The quote, so prophetic in hindsight, is among several sayings interspersed throughout the exhibit.

Through the lens of Youngstown, visitors get a glimpse of the American urban and industrial experience, and can grasp firsthand the relationship between big business and community, Haraburda relates.

Featured among the displays is a mock-up of a sparsely furnished company house, circa 1931. The structures were usually constructed by a development arm of the corporation, such as the Buckeye Land Co., a subsidiary of The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., and then rented or sold to mill workers. Large employers exerted even more control over their work forces by establishing company stores, which they owned and operated.

Huge photographs picture pivotal moments in the community’s history, such as the 1916 riots in East Youngstown, today Campbell. That year, workers demanding a pay increase to 25 cents an hour at Sheet & Tube attempted to strike. After an altercation with company guards, workers vented their frustrations on the city, torching most of the business district. A contingent of the Ohio National Guard was called in to quell the disorder; three people were killed and 27 more were wounded.

Another huge photo depicts men posing for the camera at a nearby hospital, their feet, hands and faces wrapped in gauze to treat serious burns they suffered working in the mill.

“If a worker fell into a vat of molten metal,” Haraburda continues, “there was nothing you could do for him.” Instead, she relates, the company estimated the weight of the average steel worker to be 110 pounds. When such an accident occurred, 110 pounds of steel would be lopped off, cooled and then buried in place of the lost worker. The practice continued until the Second World War, when every ounce of steel was needed for the war effort.

A small exhibit is also devoted to the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, who called the 1937 “Little Steel” strike against the Republic Steel Co. and Sheet & Tube in Youngstown and Warren. That committee formed the basis of what is today the United Steelworkers of America.

There are short biographies of leading industrialists of the era: Andrew Carnegie, Joseph G. Butler and James Campbell. Aºnother display featuring patterns sculpted from wood used to form molds for intricate machine parts highlight the exquisite craftsmanship many of the steel workers possessed.

Small video screens are also spread throughout the exhibit. One in particular reflects on “Black Monday” – Sept. 19, 1977 – the day Youngstown Sheet & Tube announced it would close its Campbell Works, immediately displacing more than 5,000 workers. The short video touches upon the efforts of the community to save the mills, highlighting the attempts of the Ecumenical Coalition to buy Sheet & Tube’s Brier Hill Works and operate it under community ownership.

The museum hosts events and lectures, and receives many tour groups from local schools, Haraburda notes. This month, Youngstown State University’s Center for Working Class Studies is sponsoring a photo essay, “The Bittersweet Living,” which features the photography of Guy Saldanha. The exhibit spotlights the everyday life of working Americans.

The Youngstown Historical Center earlier this year unveiled a new exhibit, “Kilroy Was Here,” which depicts life in America during the 1940s. The exhibit was first displayed at the Historical Society in Columbus, then scaled down and moved to Youngstown in January.

Haraburda says traffic through the museum usually picks up at the end of May when more school groups are scheduled to visit. “We were very busy in January and February,” she reports. “We’ll have about 500 kids coming through this month [May].”
Harry Meshel, former state senator and majority leader during the 1980s, successfully lobbied for funds to construct the museum. He’s encouraged with the direction the facility is headed, he says. “At first, we had a devil of a time getting promotion from the historical society,” he recalls.

Meshel advocates establishing a local advisory board to support the museum, patterned along the same lines as other organized groups that contribute to the Butler Museum of American Art and the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. “Everyone who’s been through thinks it’s phenomenal,” Meshel says, adding officials in Cleveland are exploring a similar museum for that city.

Kathy Hoke, spokeswoman for the Ohio Historical Society, says state budget cuts make it hard to spend much money for marketing. “We rely on state funding very much,” she begins. “On the other hand, we want to work with local communities. In terms of enhancing the programs and services we have to offer, we’d like to have a strong local group at every site.”

A new brochure prominently features the Youngstown Historical Center as one of the Ohio Historical Society’s major sites, Hoke says.

Last year, 70% of the historical society’s $21.9 million budget came from the state, Hoke reports. Two years ago, state budget cuts nearly forced the Youngstown center to close, but at the last minute the Legislature found enough money to save the site. Funding for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, looks stable, she says.
“We’re doing the best we can with limited resources,” Hoke adds.

Ex-steel workers recall sad day plant closed

Friday, December 9, 2005
The Vindicator

A former steel worker said the job was harder than his tour of duty in Vietnam.

By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Their numbers are dwindling and their hair a little more gray, but the former employees of Youngstown Sheet & Tube's Campbell Seamless Pipe Mill are still a family.

About 50 former employees met Thursday night at Nancy's Place on Shady Run Road for what they bill as the annual Seamless Spaghetti Dinner.

The steel workers produced steel for a variety of industries, but the mill's bread and butter was producing seamless steel pipes of all sizes for oil pipelines, the largest as big as telephone poles in diameter and 50 feet long.

The mill closed in 1986 and the former employees, hourly and salaried workers alike, have gathered each Christmas season since 1988 to catch up on the latest news and recall the days when steel was the heartbeat of Youngstown; days when men worked beside their fathers and brothers and cousins and uncles and grandfathers.

It was hot, grimy, disgusting, but honest work that put food on the table and college diplomas into their children's hands. No one could imagine Youngstown without steel, but in August 1986, that day came for the seamless mill.

"We keep in touch and tell the old stories," said John Judin of Coitsville. He worked in the mill 17 years and has been in the insurance business for 20.

"It was a good-paying job with security at the time, and work we never thought we'd be without," Judin said. "And then we watched as the loss of steel devastated Youngstown."

The last shift

Paul Popovich of Boardman had nearly 30 years in on the day the seamless mill shut down. He was among about 30 workers on the midnight shift who were told that when they finished the order they were working on — 9 5/8-inch pipe — they would be done.

Popovich said the workers on that shift would often go across the street to Rocky's Tavern at Valley View on their lunch break. So when they were finished at 7 a.m., they went to Rocky's.

"It was a sad day," Popovich said. "We went in there and we were all crying. Rocky gave us all breakfast — whatever we wanted — on the house."

Jimmy Eiland of Youngstown's East Side worked in the mill for 15 years then got hired at the GM Assembly Plant in Lordstown after he was laid off from the mill.

He said he applied to work in the steel mill because "back then it was the only thing going on."

Eiland said although he is on a first-name basis with his Lordstown co-workers, it's nothing like the close-knit family atmosphere of the steel mill.

"We all knew each other and our families, and we went places together outside of work," he said.

Ray Hanuscak of Campbell said the workers took care of one another in the steel mill because pay was based on work output. The pay depended on all the steel workers' pulling together and encouraging one another to keep going in the tough times.

How hard it was

They remembered working summer days when it felt cool outside because it was so much hotter in the mill. They would be covered in sulfur and graphite that rained down on them, and they would flood the floor to keep cool.

Tony Tisler of Youngstown's West Side said he worked in the mill from 1969 to 1982, starting when he returned from a 13-month tour of Vietnam with the Marines.

Tisler, known as "Buffalo," worked a billet roller, turning the steel as it came out of the furnace. The work was worse than Vietnam, he said.

Mike Carney of Campbell worked in the mill for 28 years, retired, then worked 18 more as a United Steelworkers of America international representative.

He said the employees of the seamless mill were members of United Steelworkers of America Local 1418, which was 3,400 strong.

Carney said working later as a union representative was very rewarding. "I felt like I did a lot of good for a lot of people," he said. "The work was hard, but you did the job, and raised your kids. It was a way of life."

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Youngstown

While I am posting links, I found this blog related to the recent announcement that Allegiant Air will be flying into Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. Check it out for the latest news on the redevelopment of Youngstown's airport.

http://yngair.blogspot.com/

The Alternative is Here

Youngstown Pride is pleased to announce the creation of a sister blog, Mighty Mahoning, your alternative source for all things Youngstown. Created by a fellow North Sider and Ursuline alum, and inspired (so he says) by yours truly, it should be ripe with great Youngstown stuff. Check it out at http://mightymahoning.blogspot.com

Live from Powers... GLASS HARP!

Su per no va ( soo'per-no've)n. 1.A rare celestial phenomenon involving the explosion of most of the material in a star, resulting in an extremely bright, short lived object that emits vast amounts of energy. 2.The brief but intense career of Glass Harp.

In the late '60s and early '70s a power rock trio from Youngstown, Ohio called Glass Harp reached for the stars. They must have made contact, as references to stellar events seem to pervade much of their music. As a reviewer of their debut album observed,"...no fewer than five songs mention the sky, and three of the remaining ones talk about things like stars, rainbows, and the moon."

They were a bare bones group in the tradition of Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and fellow Ohio band, The James Gang. But Glass Harp developed a signature sound of their own-a progressive one that allowed the members, collectively and individually, to stretch beyond the confines of standard form; breaks in songs for guitar, bass, flute, and drum solos were de riguere , as extended improvisations that would take the bands performances into the late hours.



The trio's following was particularly amazed by the lighting style and precise technique of the bands 18 year old guitarist Phil Keaggy, who aside from his youth, had the use of only nine fingers. Neither strike impeded his ability to produce highly lyrical solos. Combined with the tasteful, rhythmic bass lines of Daniel Pecchio and the sharp, assertive drumming of John Sferra, Glass Harp created a wall of sound that would thrill sell-out capacities across the upper Midwest and beyond.

While the band dissolved on the cusp of achieving mainstream rock stardom, they garnered a large and loyal regional following. National notoriety followed as they toured with the likes of, Traffic,Yes, The Kinks, Humble Pie, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and Grand Funk Railroad. " They were just the warm-up group," recalls a journalist of the day, "But it was the first time I had heard a local group and felt that I had heard the headline concert."

With the release of their first album came more national attention, and even more enthusiasm back home-none of which was lost on the record company advertising execs, who exploited their burgeoning popularity with such ad copy as;

"The Glass Harp epidemic began about two weeks ago in Ohio and has been spreading so rapidly it has already affected some 36,000 in Cleveland alone. There is conclusive evidence to suggest that a new rock group Glass Harp is responsible for this epidemic. The release of their LP coincides almost exactly with the outbreak of this phenomenon.Contact your MCA Distributor today and become a carrier of the Glass Harp epidemic."

In all, the band's recorded output consisted of three critically- acclaimed LPs- all released on the Decca(MCA) label-Glass Harp, Synergy, and It Makes Me Glad. In spite of their short lived life, the band managed to imprint an indelible mark on the history of rock 'n' roll. Performing with some of the biggest bands of the day on stages ranging from the Filmore to Carnegie Hall.

-John August Schroeter, from the band's website at http://www.glassharp.net/

Star Oyster House

Star Oyster House had the best seafood in Youngstown according to this postcard. Located at 26-28-30 W. Boardman Street in downtown, it was also the oldest seafood place in town. Does anyone know when it closed?

Take me out to the ballgame...

This team represented The Ohio Works while playing in the Ohio-Penn League in 1906. Baseball is still strong in the Youngstown area, with the Minor League Mahoning Valley Scrapper playing not to far away in Niles.

Former slaves in Youngstown

After the Civil War ended, many former slaves moved north in an attempt to find a place less critical of the color of their skin. Many chose to make Youngstown their home. It developing industry made it a place where jobs were often available to blacks at a time when they couldn't find jobs elsewhere. This woman here is an example of a former slave who made her home in Youngstown.