New Speakers Series debuts March 18

This year, we are partnering with Lourdes University to present a unique series called “Let’s Talk History”. With a line-up of engaging and insightful historians, each presentation  will be a new look at our state and national history. Each presenter brings a wealth of knowledge and background in a different area of expertise. This series is sure to be thought-provoking as well as entertaining.

Wednesday, March 18 – The History of Ohio’s First 100 Years in 10 Objects presented by Andrew Richmond 

 From simple log cabins to Gilded Age mansions, from wagons to locomotives, and from pioneer settlements to booming urban centers, Ohio’s first one hundred years was an age of progress. Inspired by the serial podcast “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” this lecture will tell the story of Ohio’s first century, from the first legal settlement in 1788 to the celebration of the Northwest Territory centennial in 1888, through ten cultural artifacts. These artifacts represent individuals, movements, and moments in time, and they can be assembled into an exciting narrative Ohio’s early years.

Andrew Richmond is the president and CEO of Wipiak Consulting and Appraisals in Marietta, Ohio. With degrees  in history from Kenyon College and American Material Culture from the Winterthur Program/University of Delaware, Andrew’s passion is the decorative arts of Ohio. He has lectured and published widely on the subject and has curated two major exhibitions: Equal in Goodness: Ohio Decorative Arts 1788-1860 and A Tradition of Progress: Ohio Decorative Arts 1860-1945. He also serves on the boards of several museums and decorative arts organizations.

Wednesday, June 3 – AAUW Women in History Speaker Shelley Kotz as Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott was a 19th century Quaker, abolitionist, social activist and women’s rights organizer. This presentation by Shelley Kotz literally brings Lucretia to life through a one-woman show. Ms. Kotz did her own research on this important woman and her deep understanding of Lucretia’s struggles adds dimension to her presentation. This is part of the American Association of University Women Women in History project.

Wednesday, August 12 – Black Men in Blue: The Civil War, Ohioans, and the United States Colored Troops presented by Kelly Mezurek.

This presentation focuses on the Ohio black community’s response to the national conflict, the wartime participation of free black men, and the impact of their service on white Ohioans. Special attention is given to the 5th and 27th USCT.

Kelly D. Mezurek is a professor of history at Walsh University, where she teaches United States history. Her book, For their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops (The Kent State University Press, 2016), is a 2017 Ohioana Book Award Finalist in nonfiction. Mezurek’s essay, “‘De Bottom Rails on Top Now’: Black Union Guards and Confederate Prisoners of War,” is included in Crossing the Deadlines: Civil War Prisons Reconsidered, a collection edited by Michael P. Gray. Mezurek is on the advisory board for the Emerging Civil War Book Series with the Southern Illinois University Press, serves on the executive board of the Ohio Academy of History, and was a representative on the Ohio Civil War 150 Advisory Committee.

   Our speakers series is sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council