More than two decades have passed since Youngstown lost its beloved Strouss’ Department Store. But Youngstowners can still taste those incomparable chocolate malts, see the dramatic view from the store’s mezzanine and feel the excitement of the annual Thanksgiving Day parade.
The story of Strouss’ kept pace with the powerful trends that defined Youngstown as a whole. This was especially true during the boom years of the early 20th century, when the store was the shopping hub in a community known as “America’s Ruhr Valley.”
But the city changed, and Strouss’ changed with it. In this unprecedented historical narrative, authors Thomas G. Welsh Jr. and Michael Geltz dig deep into Strouss’ past to uncover a dramatic story that will surprise—and delight—Youngstowners of all ages.
“Strouss’ – Youngstown’s Dependable Store” tells the story of this fabled downtown Youngstown department store and features over 50 photographs. Most of the images came from the Strouss’ family archive at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. The History Press is the book’s publisher.
Thomas G. Welsh Jr. is an independent scholar and professional writer and editor based in Youngstown. He is a member of the advisory board of “Steel Valley Voices,” a web-based project to promote awareness of the community’s diversity, and also serves on the Exhibit Advisory Board of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
Welsh is the author of “Closing Chapters: Urban Change, Religious Reform, and the Decline of Youngstown’s Catholic Elementary Schools” (Lexington Books, 2011), which describes factors that led to the collapse of a parochial school system.
Examples of his research have appeared in the American Educational History Journal. Before completing a doctorate in cultural foundations of education at Kent State University in 2009, he worked as a journalist in the United States, South Korea and Cambodia.
Michael K. Geltz is a professional writer and editor based in Youngstown. His connection to the retail industry goes back to the early 1980s, when he worked in the retail construction industry in New York and New Jersey. In his youth, he worked as a pipefitter for U.S. Steel’s Ohio Works plant and as a welder for General Motors, in Youngstown and Lordstown, respectively.
In the 1990s, Geltz served as a writer and web producer for many mid-cap companies as well as Fortune 500 giants like Disney Consumer Products in Burbank, Calif. He earned a graduate degree in English language and literature from Youngstown State University in 1994 and has contributed to technical manuals published by Microsoft Press. As the son of an English-born mother, he spent a portion of his formative years in Coventry, England, whose history as an industrial center has close parallels to that of Youngstown.
“Strouss’ – Youngstown’s Dependable Store.” Paperback, 128 pages , $19.99. ISBN: 978-1-60949-799-6. Publisher: The History Press.
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