Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley. From the days of the gaslit opera houses through the era of the drive-in, the Mahoning Valley's theatrical culture has thrived. The finest theaters in northeastern Ohio rose with the manufacturing might of the Steel Valley. The Warner brothers, who started their careers in Youngstown, opened their first theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and celebrities from Katharine Hepburn to Red Skelton graced local stages. The finest vaudevillians and the lovely ladies of burlesque were always a ticket away. Take a trip back to the Park Burlesque and the opulent Palace Theater and revisit the theater culture of Warren and Trumbull County. Author Sean T. Posey traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley.

Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley. From the days of the gaslit opera houses through the era of the drive-in, the Mahoning Valley's theatrical culture has thrived. The finest theaters in northeastern Ohio rose with the manufacturing might of the Steel Valley. The Warner brothers, who started their careers in Youngstown, opened their first theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and celebrities from Katharine Hepburn to Red Skelton graced local stages. The finest vaudevillians and the lovely ladies of burlesque were always a ticket away. Take a trip back to the Park Burlesque and the opulent Palace Theater and revisit the theater culture of Warren and Trumbull County. Author Sean T. Posey traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley.

Join the author of Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and Lost Youngstown in an excavation of forgotten stories from bygone days. Beyond steel and rust, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley share a rich, but often overlooked past. During the late 1910s, the ever-present smoke blanketing the area could not hide the fires from the burning business district of East Youngstown or the city streets deserted from Spanish influenza. Over twenty years later, the Mahoning Valley lived under another dark cloud, the Great Depression, but instead of violence and destruction, the men and women of the WPA busied themselves with building up the region and dreaming of better days. Journalist and historian Sean Posey excavates the history behind familiar landmarks, forgotten institutions, and historic sites that connect Mahoning Valley history to the story of the evolution of industrial America.

The massive steel mills of Youngstown once fueled the economic boom of the Mahoning Valley. Movie patrons took in the latest flick at the ornate Paramount Theater, and mob bosses dressed to the nines for supper at the Colonial House. In 1977, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company announced the closure of its steelworks in a nearby city. The fallout of the ensuing mill shutdowns erased many of the city's beloved landmarks and neighborhoods. Students hurrying across a crowded campus tread on the foundations of the Elms Ballroom, where Duke Ellington once brought down the house. On the lower eastside, only broken buildings and the long-silent stacks of Republic Rubber remain. Urban explorer and historian Sean T. Posey navigates a disappearing cityscape to reveal a lost era of Youngstown.

The blows of hammers and the humming of mills once echoed throughout the Mahoning Valley. Steel reigned supreme, and immigrants from every corner of Europe came to forge new lives and an enduring community. When the sounds of industry were silenced, Youngstown remained a strong and vibrant community. Editor Mark C. Peyko and the writers of the Metro Monthly create a portrait of their city through a beautifully rendered collection of vignettes. With stories of inventors, movie moguls, local cuisine and sports heroes, Peyko and company not only chronicle the history of Youngstown, but also capture the essence of their home.

A collection of social and cultural articles published in regional newspapers over the past decade.

The loving biography of a dedicated mother in Cleveland, Ohio, who started America’s first boys’ baseball league during the Great Depression. At twelve years old, Josephine Morhard left her family's Pennsylvania farm to start a new life. After settling in Cleveland, she survived two bad marriages and became a single mother to two young children. When her spirited son started getting into trouble, she came up with a novel plan to give him the structure and sense of purpose he needed. Out of a dream, an empty lot, and the enthusiasm of other neighborhood kids, Josephine established the first boys’ baseball league in America. Beyond all expectations, the Cleveland Indians rallied behind her project. Future baseball legends Bob Feller, Jeff Heath, and Roy Weatherly helped hone the boys’ skills; renowned sports reporter Hal Lebovitz pitched in as an umpire; and they were even allowed to play in historic League Park. As Josephine’s Little Indians graduated into the Junior American and Junior National Leagues, and finally a Little World Series, she helped them develop strong values and a sense of accomplishment. Some of them, like Ray Lindquist and Jack Heinen, even made it to the Minor Leagues. Mrs. Morhard and the Boys tells the unforgettable story of her dedication and lasting legacy.

The Boxers of Youngstown, Ohio: Boxing Capital of the World is a book that lists all the men who have entered into professional boxing since boxing's beginnings in Youngstown, Ohio in 1891. When researching these boxers, I was so humbled to find the tremendous careers that most of these men had. The book details the careers of these boxers, many of whom have become overlooked legends of their day. Its primary purpose is to shed light on these men who have sacrificed so much to become professional boxers in a town that is undeniably the Boxing Capital of the World-Youngstown, Ohio. Please feel free to check out the media coverage below! Former Youngstown boxer knocks out a book Snyder's book on boxers a labor of love Craig Snyder's New Book "The Boxers of Youngstown Ohio: Boxing Capital of the World" looks at the World of Professional Boxing and its Influence in Sports and Recreation

This “viscerally powerful . . . compilation of firsthand accounts of the Jim Crow era” won the Lillian Smith Book Award and the Carey McWilliams Award (Publisher’s Weekly, starred review). Based on interviews collected by the Behind the Veil Oral History Project at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, this remarkable book presents for the first time the most extensive oral history ever compiled of African American life under segregation. Men and women from all walks of life tell how their most ordinary activities were subjected to profound and unrelenting racial oppression. Yet Remembering Jim Crow is also a testament to how black southerners fought back against systemic racism—building churches and schools, raising children, running businesses, and struggling for respect in a society that denied them the most basic rights. The result is a powerful story of individual and community survival.