Celebrate the Jewish History of the Region
Celebrate the Jewish History of the Region (Ages 13+)
Honor Jewish American Heritage Month by learning the history of Jewish Youngstown and surrounding areas. The speakers are Austin Reid and Thomas Welsh. This free program is presented in conjunction with the Mahoning County Historical Society. A light dinner will be served.
Date: Wednesday, May 1
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Location: JCC Multi-Purpose Room & Zoom
Register by Friday, April 26. To register please contact Nancy Sentelik at 330.746.3251 ext. 108 or nsentelik@jewishyoungstown.org.
Austin Reid, a native of Lancaster, Ohio has been exploring the stories of Ohio’s smaller and vanished Jewish communities since 2017. His research has been featured in several media outlets including The Canton Repository, Columbus Jewish News, Steubenville Herald-Star, Zanesville Times Recorder, Toledo Blade, and WOSU. Austin's exploration of Ohio's lesser-known Jewish histories began as a capstone project through the history department at Capital University and it has continued as a passion project. Most of Austin's research is available through the Columbus Jewish Historical Society and the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. He has also collaborated with organizations such as the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, the American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College, and Southeast Ohio History Center to preserve regional histories of Jewish life.
Thomas Welsh is a professional writer, historian, and educator. He is the author of “Closing Chapters: Urban Change, Religious Reform, and the Decline of Youngstown’s Catholic Elementary Schools” (Lexington Books, 2011), a revised version of his dissertation. Since earning his doctorate at Kent State University, Tom has coauthored three books: “Strouss’: Youngstown’s Dependable Store” (History Press, 2012), “Classic Restaurants of Youngstown” (History Press, 2014), and “A History of Jewish Youngstown and the Steel Valley” (History Press, 2017). He is the author of “The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown: Serving the Mahoning Valley” since 1874 (History Press, 2024), released in March as part of the Ursuline Sisters’ celebration of their 150th anniversary. In 2020, he completed a biography of Youngstown-based mall developer William M. Cafaro, which was privately published. Tom is currently a journalism professor at Youngstown State University.