On Youngstown

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown–General Fireproofing

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On February 13, 1972, one of the front page stories in the Youngstown Vindicator was titled “GF is Struggling in Financial Vise.” The “vise” was rising labor costs and price ceilings determined by growing competition. The story discusses measures the company was taking from strengthening its sales efforts to dispersing its plants in the hope of lowering labor costs. It mentioned that this was raising questions about the security of the 4200 factory jobs in Youngstown. Only one of eight new products had been assigned to Youngstown in recent years. This was a warning signal of what was to come. My father-in-law retired from GF about this time, perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall. Many furniture lines were discontinued. By 1989 the company was bankrupt, purchased by TANG Industries of Gallatin, TN. They renamed it GF Office Furniture Ltd. That company was dissolved in 2008, bringing to an end an illustrious Youngstown-based manufacturer, once a world leader in office furniture.

The company began in 1902 by Herbert White. Initially, they manufactured fireproof construction materials, perhaps explaining the origins of the name. During the Panic of 1907, they pivoted to focusing on steel office furniture. They started with a four draw vertical file in 1910 followed by a fireproof safe in 1912. In 1923, they decided to implement an assembly line approach to manufacturing steel office desks. In 1925, they introduced their 1600 Series, that they continued to make with updates until the 1970’s. My wife still has one of these desks that her father bought her when she was in school.

The ALCOA Company introduced the first aluminum chair in 1925. By 1929 General Fireproofing began manufacturing aluminum office chairs that they call “Goodform.” They added the Comfort Master executive office chair line in 1937. By the end of World War II, Youngstown was the largest aluminum working district in the country with General Fireproofing as one of the anchors.

During the war, General Fireproofing, like many factories, was converted to war production, manufacturing aircraft parts. They quickly converted back to office furniture after the war, reaching pre-war sales levels by 1946. In 1948, they introduced their Mode-Maker line of office furniture, designed by noted industrial designer Raymond Loewy, featuring streamlined, flowing lines and curves rather than sharp corners. We also had one of these desks, pictured below, now residing at my son’s home.

GF Mode-Maker Desk, Photo by Robert Trube

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, General Fireproofing was the industry leader in office desks, shelving, file cabinets, and aluminum office chairs. They furnished railroad passenger cars and sailing ships in the heyday of these modes of transport.

Sadly, competitors making cheaper and inferior equipment challenged that industry dominance. By 1990, the once bustling industrial complex that comprised General Fireproofing was idled for good, and has sat unoccupied, slowly deteriorating ever since. This drone footage, shot in 2019 is both sad, and still suggests the once-great factories on these grounds.

The company is now defunct and their buildings decaying. But their furniture is virtually indestructible. It’s not contemporary, but it works. File drawers still open and close smoothly. Desk drawers close properly. Many have taken their furniture to auto paint shops and gotten them refinished. Our desk is still the original gun metal grey. We also have a like-new set of file drawers. They remind us of a time when design and quality workmanship mattered. They remind us of a once great company that shipped its products all over the world–from Youngstown.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Mill Layoffs

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Ohio Works Reunion video with footage of U. S. Steel Ohio Works

Long before Black Monday, a reality steel workers dealt with were periodic layoffs. During economic slowdowns, demand for steel dropped. Sometimes, in preparations for strikes, companies would build stockpiles. Layoffs could follow.

That’s what happened in the summer of 1971. The companies and unions averted a strike. Six days after the new contract had been approved, layoffs occurred all over the country. In Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, 47,000 workers were laid off. In Gary, Indiana, 34,000 workers were idled. And in Youngstown, 2,700 workers at U.S. Steel’s Ohio Works were laid off on July 17.

One big difference between strikes and layoffs is that the latter were eligible for unemployment benefits. In 1971, the average hourly wage was $4.57 an hour (the contract increased that by about $1 an hour) or about $183 for a 40 hour week. Unemployment benefits came to an average of $110 a week plus supplemental benefits. Many workers, at least at the beginning, thought of this as an extended vacation. It was a good time to take on remodeling projects–at least as long as the unemployment benefits lasted.

It was 50 years ago on February 4, 1972 that the announcement was made that workers were being called back to the Ohio Works. It was a good thing. Their unemployment benefits, set to expire in January, were extended by thirteen weeks. Five open hearths were being readied, with production to begin by February 14. One blast furnace would be started up on February 18 and rolling mills would begin on February 16.

The one hitch was that not all 2700 would be called back at once and the article in the Youngstown Vindicator does not indicate the initial number being recalled nor whether all eventually would be. That was the uncertainty that the fathers of many of my friends lived with, as they wondered if they would be back to work before unemployment ran out. What began as a vacation and a chance to work on home projects became a time of belt-tightening, of looking for side jobs, and checking in with the union local (in this case, local 1330) about any news about their jobs.

Working in the mills was hard and dangerous work. But the wages allowed the children of immigrants to own homes and begin to climb the economic ladder. But it was precarious in many ways besides working conditions, in this case a nearly seven month layoff. There really wasn’t anything you or the unions could do. Perhaps, though, it was a warning of what would come later in the decade of the 1970’s.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown–Ten Things We Did on Cold Winter Days

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My father-in-law after the Great Thanksgiving Snowstorm of 1950.

I was talking with a friend the other day about the cancellation of school because temperatures were getting down to zero. Cancel school? Never would have happened when we were growing up in Youngstown. Instead, these were the kinds of things we did as kids:

  1. We walked to school. Yes we bundled up in snowsuits, boots (stowed in old Schwebel’s wrappers), hats, scarves, and mittens that took 15 minutes to take off. But cold temperatures didn’t stop us.
  2. We came home and built snow forts and had epic snowball fights.
  3. We broke icicles off the roof and dueled. Better than laser sabres!
  4. With all that gear, we went sledding–Suicide Hill or Calvary Run in Mill Creek, Rocky Ridge, Crandall Park, and any other place with a good hill.
  5. The park lakes froze and we went skating, gathered around the fire, and drank hot chocolate.
  6. We went around to neighbors with a snow shovel in hand and offered to clear drives and walks.
  7. We played football in the snow. If the Browns and the Steelers could do it, so could we. Passing didn’t work very well, so it was mostly a ground game.
  8. On weekends, we’d go to the movies, for us at the Schenley Theater, and then stop at Petrillo’s Pizza for a slice or two.
  9. Then we’d go to a friends house for a marathon game of Monopoly.
  10. Then it was home for dinner–maybe some more hot chocolate. Warm and filled we would fall asleep in front of the TV.

The thing was, we kept moving, and didn’t notice the cold, or at least not too much. If you grew up in Youngstown, you wouldn’t let a little cold stop you. We had so much fun, and much of it was outdoors. That’s what it was to be Youngstown tough! Keep moving and stay warm, friends! And leave a comment about what you did during those cold winter days.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Elizabeth Hartman

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Elizabeth Hartman, From a publicity still, 1966. Photographer unknown. Public Domain.

The recent passing of renowned actor Sidney Poitier on January 6 of this year reminded many of us from Youngstown of Elizabeth Hartman who played opposite him in A Patch of Blue. In 1966, she received a Best Actress Nomination in the Academy Awards for her role, the youngest actress to do so. I remember how proud all of us were. We’d point to her on the screen or in a news story and say, “She’s from Youngstown!” And she was a slender, freckled redhead with all-American good looks that turned all our heads.

She was born Mary Elizabeth Hartman on December 23, 1943 to Claire (Mullaly) and Bill C. Hartman, a local building contractor. Even while in Boardman High School, she already was gaining notice for her acting, playing Laura in The Glass Menagerie as well as having roles in productions of A Clearing in the Woods and Our Town at the Youngstown Playhouse. She won a statewide award for her role in The Glass Menagerie.

After graduation in 1961, she attended Carnegie Mellon University, known for its theatre program. During summers, she acted with the Kenley Players and at the Cleveland Playhouse, where she had roles in The Mad Woman of Chaillot and Bus Stop. During her time in Pittsburgh, she met her husband Gill Dennis, a future director and screenwriter. They married in 1968.

In 1964, she moved to New York, auditioning for plays, and winning the leading role in Everybody Out, the Castle is Sinking. The play was not a success, but she received recognition and screen tests with MGM and Warner Brothers. That fall, she was offered the role in A Patch of Blue. Sadly, her father died at this time. In addition to her Academy nomination in 1966, she won a Golden Globe award as well as an achievement award from the National Association of Theater Owners.

She played in several major films between 1966 and 1973: The Group, You’re A Big Boy Now, The Beguiled, and the blockbuster Walking Tall in 1973, portraying Pauline Mullins, the wife of Sheriff Bufford Pusser. In 1975, she starred in the Tom Rickman play, Balaam, and played various TV roles over the next years. She began in a touring role of Morning’s at Seven in 1981, but left due to declining mental health. Her last on-screen performance was in a horror spoof, Full Moon High, playing Miss Montgomery. She also did acclaimed voiceovers for Don Bluth’s The Secret of NIMH in 1982. It was her last role.

Elizabeth Hartman had always struggled with depression. In 1978, she spent a year at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. She separated from her husband in 1979 and they divorced in 1984. She moved back to Pittsburgh, continuing to receive treatment for her depression from the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, while working at a local museum. On the morning of June 10, 1987, she called her psychiatrist saying she was very despondent. Later that day, she fell from her fifth floor apartment window to her death. No note was found. She lies at rest back in Youngstown, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

She was a brilliant actor, who could “become” a variety of roles. Her brother-in-law, Robert H. Shoop, Jr said of her, ″She had an unbelievable talent. She was able to portray so many people on the stage and yet, she wasn’t like any of them.″ In her New York Times obituary, Elizabeth Hartman is quoted from a 1969 interview, saying, ”That initial success beat me down. It spiraled me into a position where I didn’t belong. I was not ready for that. I suddenly found myself failing.” She rose meteorically, and then the roles slowed down as fickle Hollywood turned to others.

Given her early, meteoric rise, one wonders whether she ever had a chance to figure out who she was beyond her roles. Her struggle throughout her life suggests a physiological condition that the talk therapies of the day could not greatly help. The most effective anti-depressant medications only came online after her death.

One can never answer the questions of “what if?” All we can do is remember Elizabeth Hartman’s artistic excellence and honor her memory. We also can take pride in the local institutions, from high school theatre programs to the Youngstown Playhouse and the Kenley Players, that gave her the opportunity to develop her craft. Seeing those images of her with Sidney Poitier once again reminded me, “she was from Youngstown” but also that we lost her too soon.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — The Great County Seat Horse Race

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Vintage European style engraving featuring horse racing with jockeys by Charles Simon Pascal Soullier (1861). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. Licensed under CC0 1.0

One of the most fascinating stories in Joseph Green Butler’s History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is that of a horse race that occurred some time before 1810 on Federal Street. At stake? Whether Warren or Youngstown would be the county seat. You must remember that at this time, Warren had been designated the county seat ahead of the little village further down the Mahoning River.

The good people of Warren had a horse by the name of Dave that they thought could outrun anything. They even added a $500 wager, they were so sure of themselves.

The early founders of Youngstown were horse people. Judge George Tod, Judge William Rayen, James Hillman (who met John Young on his first surveying trip), and John Woodbridge. Judge Tod agreed to their bet and covered the $500 wager. He selected a bay mare owned by James Hillman and trained and curried the horse to perfection.

The race would begin at Judge Rayen’s home, located near Spring Common and run through the village on Federal Street ending at Crab Creek, a distance of about a mile. Everyone took off work that day. People from Youngstown lined up on the south side of the street. Those who came down from Warren were on the north side. A spectator observed that people “bet what money they had, bet watches, penknives, coats, hats, vests, and shoes.”

His account continues:

“Alexander Walker rode Fly, and under his tutelage the Youngstown horse forged ahead in passing Henry Wick’s store. At Hugh Bryson’s store Dave came alongside, but the spurt was unavailing as Walker plied his whip and gave a few Indian warwhoops and Fly shot ahead once more. Dave’s chance vanished then and there, for Fly reached Crab Creek six lengths ahead. In fact Fly had entered so thoroughly into the spirit of the affair by this time that she refused to stop at all and was brought up only at Daniel Sheehy’s cabin, a mile beyond the goal.”

Youngstown won the race and the $1000 purse. Youngstown bettors filled their pockets with winnings. But the county seat remained in Warren. It turns out that you can’t bet county seats and Youngstown wouldn’t even be the first county seat when Mahoning County was formed. Canfield held that honor from 1846 until 1876, when, after an Ohio Supreme Court decision, the county seat moved to Youngstown. It turn out that it takes more than a horse race to claim a county seat. But what a great story!

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Passbooks

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Mahoning Bank Passbook. Photo by Robert C. Trube

Remember passbooks? Like me, you may even have some old ones around your house like this one I found. This was how we saved money growing up in Youngstown.

It started for me when I set up my own lawn cutting business and started setting aside money to buy my own stereo. Each week, I would walk down to the Dollar Savings and Trust on Mahoning Avenue, a few blocks from my house (I don’t have that passbook anymore). I’d set aside some money for things like baseball cards and maybe save $10 a week.

The Dollar Savings and Trust on Mahoning Avenue was in a long, narrow building. When you walked in, there was an enclosed office in front, teller’s windows on the left, and on the right, a standing desk with chairs on either side. At the desk, you would fill out a deposit (or withdrawal) slip with your account, date, and amount, using one of those pens on a chain that seemed to work about half the time. Toward the back was a manager’s office and the safe with safe deposit boxes. I went in there a few times with my dad.

After you filled out the slip, you stepped across the aisle to an open teller window. After a while, you got to know the tellers, some who had been there for years. You gave them your money and deposit slip and your passbook. They would write or stamp the date, the kind of transaction, the amount, and your new account balance. Once a month, they also wrote in the accumulated interest in your account. And they would initial each transaction.

What a cool idea! They added money to your account (at that time 4 percent interest!) just for taking care of your money. They even paid you interest on your interest! Someone told me early on that one of the keys to getting rich was working for your money and then letting it work for you. They also said that you wanted others to pay you interest rather than you paying interest to them.

It turns out that banks did not always give customers a passbook. At one time, they just kept their own, handwritten account ledgers. Passbooks gave customers a certain amount of control and access to their own accounts. They also served as identification, much like a passport, which is of similar size.

And now they are largely a thing of the past in most places. Computerization and online banking have eliminated paper records, like passbooks. Now, most funds are deposited, withdrawn, or transferred electronically, and we only go to the bank if we need cash, or maybe a loan (even much of applying for a loan may be done online). Even then, we often use ATMs or drive throughs. I deposit checks with my smartphone. I can’t remember the last time I went into a bank and every time I went there, I dealt with different people than were there on my last visit. Now, I keep track of my accounts through the app on my phone or from my computer. It’s convenient, to be sure, but…

I do miss the personal relationships of the past. You knew the tellers names and they got to know yours. They knew your dad and other family members. It was fun to look at your passbook and see the steadily increasing balance of your account toward your goal of something you wanted to buy, or eventually, saving for college. Savings and scholarships meant I graduated without owing anything.

Passbooks were part of how we learned to save. The habit of going to the bank each week to save a bit of what I earned became a lifelong habit. Compound interest was the first lesson I learned about having money work for me. I felt like the tellers were cheering us on.

I wonder how children learn how to do this today. Looking around, I do see that banks have youth accounts. Often the banks are not as close by, certainly not in walking distance. Things can be done online. I wonder if parents need to be more involved than in the past. I could go to the bank myself, even at age ten, and that felt empowering. It meant I was growing up. In Youngstown.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — New Year’s Grit

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One of the more interesting books I’ve read in recent years is Angela Duckworth’s Grit. The book explores how grit is a combination of purposeful passion and perseverance. As I read the book, I thought about how much I learned about grit by growing up in Youngstown. I think about how many of those winter snowstorms we dug out of–and then went to school. We hardly ever had snow days. We watched our parents go to work, often to hard, physical, and sometimes dangerous jobs. We had parents who struggled through the Depression. And many of us had to reinvent ourselves when the big employers pulled out of the city. Some of the city’s sports heroes are football players like Frank Sinkwich or boxers like Ray “Boom-Boom” Mancini. If you were knocked down, you got up. Or you knocked the other guy down first. Grit.

We’ve faced a hard couple of years. Youngstowners don’t sugarcoat things. We buried people we love. We got sick and recovered. We saw businesses struggle. But if we are reading this, we survived (and hopefully will, to the end of this thing). That’s no small thing. As I think of the year ahead, this seems to be a time for Youngstown-strong grit–even as we have lived with grit through the pandemic.

I saw a story yesterday on WKBN’s website about the Westside Bowl and the couple who have turned it into a popular entertainment venue. It exemplifies Youngstown grit. The old Gran Lanes was our favorite spot on the West side for bowling. Then it sat vacant for years. A West side couple, Nathan and Jami Offerdahl had a dream, then spent three years between 2015 and 2018 working out a business plan. They opened with a small downstairs venue for 200, then took out half the lanes, created a larger upstairs venue, kept half the alleys, and served good pizza and booze. When COVID hit, they came up with a “pay it forward” pizza promotion that allowed them to pay the bills.

Grit is disciplined passion. It is just plain hard work from planning a business to renovating a venue. It perseveres during down times. It keeps finding a new way to do things. And grit sticks to its values. The Offerdahls created an intimate, artsy venue that bands love and refuse to tear out additional lanes to make the upstairs venue larger. (From the Gallery pictures, it really looks like a great concert venue.)

Rather than resolutions, which I don’t think Youngstowners are big on, I wonder if this is a good year to get on our Youngstown grit. That doesn’t mean being mean and nasty or hard-hearted. I think the ICU personnel caring for our sickest are among the grittiest people we will encounter. They are tired but they keep showing up, shift after shift. Grit can mean caring for an aging loved one–Youngstowners take care of family.

Maybe this is the year you decide to pursue a passion you’ve long thought about, like the Offerdahls. Surviving a pandemic can have a wonderfully focusing effect. It could be giving yourself to volunteer work that makes some part of the world a little better place. Maybe it is pursuing a business or creative venture. And think how good it will be to persevere in developing a skill or launching a new venture when you’ve had all that practice in persevering with social distancing, quarantines, masks, and the like!

Gritty people know how to celebrate. Their celebrations aren’t empty celebrations just to have fun. From weddings to wakes, we knew how to celebrate, enjoying the fruits of work, the efforts of raising kids, and the preciousness of life and family. No wonder we insist on good food and plenty of it at our gatherings!

I’ve written so much in this series about the gritty people who built Youngstown from the early settlers to the laborers, the civic and cultural leaders, and the builders of industries, and even some of the great buildings of the city. Whether we still live in the Valley or make our homes elsewhere, this is a time for grit and resilience.

I look forward to sharing more stories of Youngstown and the character and grit that shaped our city. I wish you a Happy and “Gritty” New Year!

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Christmas Fifty Years Ago

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“The familiar Christmas music beamed from our downtown tower expresses the wish that the spirit of the season may be shared by everyone.” Home Savings and Loan ad in Youngstown Vindicator, December 27, 1971.

In December of 1971, I was a senior at Chaney High School. I probably had worked my tail off on Christmas eve at the layaway at McKelvey’s, taking breaks to sample the spread of baked goods all the women in customer service and the cashiers had brought in. That night, I’m sure our family all piled into the car for candlelight services at our church followed by a drive around town to see the lights. Christmas Day was a rest before the big work day on the 26th as customers brought in returns and we tried to sell more than we gave credits or refunds for.

I looked at the Youngstown Vindicator for Christmas Eve of 1971. No paper was published on Christmas Day that year. Christmas eve weather that year was cloudy, breezy, with temperatures dropping to the low 30’s with snow flurries. Not too bad for Santa to make his deliveries.

Many churches were having special services Christmas eve and morning. St. John’s Byzantine Rite Catholic Church was featured in a photograph with notices about their midnight mass at 9:45 am Christmas Day mass. One other that caught my eye was Boardman United Methodist’s “Service of a Thousand Candles” at 8 and 11 pm. There was also an article about the tradition of Slovak and other Catholic parishes distributing oblatke to homes, unleavened wafers with holy scenes, blessed by the priest and eaten, often with honey, by families on Christmas eve. Fr. George Franko from Holy Name Church on the West Side was featured in the article. Local fire stations were accepting donations of good used toys up to ten days after Christmas for the Salvation Army.

In national news, the big stories were a Christmas cease fired by American and South Vietnamese troops over Christmas day, even while bombing went on. President Nixon ordered the release of former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa after five years of prison to join his ailing wife. On July 30, 1975, he disappeared from a suburban Detroit restaurant. His body has never been found. Locally, not all was “peace on earth, good will toward men.” Gary Bryner, President of UAW Local 1112 vigorously denied charges of shoddy work and sabotage at the Lordstown Assembly Plant.

Lindley Vickers was still writing columns for the Vindicator, in this case about nature observations at Little Beaver Creek. Youngstown State had just won its sixth straight basketball game under coach Dom Roselli, defeating Illinois Wesleyan 85-76. Boardman handed a previously undefeated Columbus South team an 80-60 loss. Disney had re-released Lady and the Tramp for the holidays. Straw Dogs with Dustin Hoffman, “$” with Goldie Hawn, Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, and Sean Connery as James Bond in Diamonds are Forever were also showing.

Throughout the paper on that day were large ads from many of the businesses in Youngstown sharing holiday greetings. In addition to the iconic Home Savings ad, there was a full page ad from McKelvey’s with holiday greetings in every language represented in the Valley and beautiful ads from Strouss,’ Hartzell, Rose, and Sons, Lustig’s, Butler Wick, Ohio Bell and A&P. All those names are gone. A number of restaurants also had holiday ads while the more enterprising already advertised New Year’s events. The Zanzibar had $20 couples packages!

Peanuts that day featured Snoopy and Woodstock knocking back mugs and celebrating Christmas atop Snoopy’s dog house with the two disheveled and Snoopy commiserating in the last frame, “Bleah!! Every time we have an office party, I drink too much root beer!” Then there is Dennis the Menace praying, “…an’ please tell Santa I got all the clothes I need.”

That’s a snapshot of Christmas in Youngstown fifty years ago. So many memories. For most of us, our family celebrations and our religious traditions, if we had them, are what we remember the most–the three “F’s”–faith, family, and food. Many of the events are in the past or forgotten, a number of the places of business are no more, but the memories we carry last, at least as long as memory does.

So I will close with wishes of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you who follow these articles. I appreciate you all so much and wish you all the blessings of the season.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — Your Favorites of 2021

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Can you believe it? We’ve spent another year together remembering what was so great about growing up in Youngstown, Ohio. I’m amazed that we have been doing this since 2014. Because next Saturday is Christmas, I thought I would count down your top ten favorite posts (by number of views) this week–kind of like WHOT’s New Year’s countdown of the top 100 hits of the previous year, only a lot shorter! So without further ado, here they are:

10. Center Street Crossing. An old railroad man suggested this post to me about the crossing just west of the Center Street Bridge where eleven tracks from five different railroads crossed, the busiest manually operated crossing in the country.

9. South High School. South High School had a long and illustrious history, from its grand architecture to its sports teams to its distinguished graduates.

8. Caroline Bonnell. Caroline was one of four Youngstown women to survive the sinking of the Titanic, part of the Wick-Bonnell party from which George Dennick Wick perished. I share her recollections and recount her life of service.

7. Village of Poland. Posts about the towns and townships around Youngstown have always been popular. I recount in brief the history of this village through which Ida Tarbell and William McKinley passed, among others.

6. Gypsy Lane. I discovered that this road, which defines Youngstown’s northern boundary gets its name from a real settlement of gypsies on the North Side. I include some background on gypsies, and heard many corroborating stories from readers about gypsies in Youngstown.

5. Favorite Things. After a crazy week, I came up with a list of my favorite things about Youngstown. See if the things on my list are on yours!

4. Slumgullion. That’s what we called the macaroni, ground beef, onions, and tomato sauce stew, topped with some cheese. But as you all let me know, there are a number of other names, and they are all right!

3. Seven Years of Food Posts. My “Slumgullion” post inspired me to go back and compile all my food posts from the seven years of this series. One thing for sure, Youngstown people love to eat and talk about food.

2. Front Porch City. I reflect on how Youngstown was once a “front porch city” where summer evenings on front porch and visiting with neighbors were one of the things contributing to healthy neighborhoods.

1. Pat Bilon. Did you know that when the actor who played E.T. phoned home, he called Youngstown? Bilon had an interesting life before he ever starred as E.T., one that sadly ended too soon. Many of you knew him from his radio show, high school or college, or your encounters with him as a bouncer at the Wedgewood or his work at his church. No wonder this was your favorite post of the year.

It’s fun just to look back at these “snapshots” of our life in Youngstown. One of the favorite parts of my weeks is posting these articles and then hearing from you. I learn so much from your comments! And if you have ideas for an article, just leave a comment or message me. My best wishes to you all for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown – Rev. James W. Van Kirk

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Rev. James W. Van Kirk, Image from screen capture of The Youngstown Vindicator, June 14, 1946 via Google News Archive

He traveled around the world four times in the cause of world peace. He designed the World Peace Flag that was adopted by the League of Nations in 1920. He wrote a Declaration of Interdependence that he read both to President Woodrow Wilson and to the League of Nations on July 4, 1920, the day his flag was raised at the Peace Palace in Geneva, Switzerland. He did all this while serving as a minister in Youngstown, Ohio.

He was born February 27, 1858 in Feed Springs, Ohio and grew up in southeast Ohio. Watching his uncle march off to the Civil War had a profound impact on his life. He fell from a rail fence, and despite seven operations, his right leg had to be amputated. He wore a wooden leg the rest of his life, and in the words of his obituary article, “stamped his way around the world four times on a wooden leg.”

He started working as a plasterer in Canton. Wanting more education, at age 27 he enrolled at Mt. Union College, attended a business college in Canton, and then Boston College and finally Harvard. He returned to Ohio to serve a church in Twinsburg for $500 a year, before coming to Youngstown as the pastor of Grace Methodist Church. He helped erect a new building for the church, helping with much of the lathing and plastering and achieving the goal of dedicating a debt-free church, due in part to his efforts.

He then requested a leave to travel around the world the first time to speak on world peace, talking to school and civic groups wherever he landed. He called himself “Moving Van.” It was during his second trip in 1909 that he drafted his Declaration of Interdependence. He contended that in a world that had shrunk to a neighborhood, we must foster brotherhood to survive. For a third trip, in 1911, he designed a World Peace Flag. The flag has a blue background, the seven colors of the spectrum arranged in a rectangle at the left, with white lines merging into a white bar on a brown circle representing the earth. The stars scattered on the blue field represent members of a World Federation, an effort preceding that of the League of Nations

World Peace Flag

It was this flag that was raised at the Peace Palace of the League of Nations on July 4, 1920 as Van Kirk read his Declaration of Interdependence. The League, a vision of Woodrow Wilson, was formed that year as an intergovernmental organization similar to the United Nations, with the intent of preserving peace between nations after the “war to end all wars.” It must have been the moment of a lifetime for this minister from Youngstown to see the realization of the dream that had already driven him around the world three times.

Sadly, the dream did not last. He was on his last tour in the late 1930’s and barely escaped China when the Japanese invaded. He left behind six trunks of flags and buttons which fell into the hands of the Japanese. They were not interested in world peace at that time. His flag was flown for the last time in 1938 on Central Square. That same year, he published a memoir titled A Life: Stranger Than Fiction. He was honored by a citywide gathering at Trinity Methodist Church.

The following years would not be years of world peace but rather world war. In 1942 on his 84th birthday, he ate milk and crackers for his meal in sympathy with the hungry and starving around the world. He lived to see the end of the war and a new flag, that of the United Nations, in 1945. He died on June 14, 1946 at 5:20 am at South Side Hospital.

It is common these days to hear the phrase “think globally and act locally.” That was James W. Van Kirk–except that he also acted globally. What also strikes me was that for him to act globally as he did, he must have enjoyed local support. One does not do these things alone. It’s obvious that many in the Youngstown community were behind him.

I don’t know if he was at all conscious of Rev. Van Kirk, but in the wake of the Vietnam War in 1975, Jack Cessna, a runner, organized the The Peace Race of Youngstown bringing runners from around the world for a day of “friendship, competition, and understanding.” While Youngstown has not always been a peaceful place, it’s interesting that the efforts of a pastor with a wooden leg and a runner have promoted long term and wide-reaching efforts to promote world peace. I wonder what it would mean to focus on those aspects of our history more?

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!