Arcadia Publishing and the History Press are announcing the release of “Hidden History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley” by author Sean T. Posey. The book will be available on Monday, Jan. 10.
“Hidden History” is Posey’s third book. It follows “Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley” (2017) and “Lost Youngstown” (2016). All were published by Arcadia Publishing and the History Press.
The 160-page book contains 14 chapters, 77 photographs and a loosely organized chronology. Three chapters cover historic Youngstown labor conflicts, including the violent 1916 strike where rioters burned the business district of East Youngstown (present-day Campbell). Two chapters are devoted to the Works Progress Administration relief program of the 1930s.
Much of the book focuses on the years between 1910 and 1920. “That’s in the era that many historians call ‘the violent teens,’ ” Posey said. “It was a really tumultuous decade. There was a lot of growth in Youngstown, a lot of labor strife, a lot of social strife.”
One chapter from that decade covers the Great Steel Strike of 1919. “It was one of the largest strikes of its kind. It was very important in national history and it’s almost completely forgotten about today. I wrote it trying to place the Youngstown steel district within the larger story of that strike and what it meant for labor at the time.”
Although the book centers on pivotal events from the early 20th century, “Hidden History” also explores pioneer settlement and the memories of African-Americans born into slavery (as documented by WPA writers). On the pop culture side, the work covers Youngstown baseball history and the filming of the CBS television show “Route 66” in 1961.
“There’s going to be a couple of chapters where a lot of people are going to say ‘I know about that. I don’t think that’s very hidden.’ In the introduction, I talk about it and I say hidden history is often forgotten history,” Posey said.
“For people of a younger generation, the idea of something hidden takes on new meaning. There’s a lot of things that were important to the community – historical sites, neighborhoods, etc., that younger people don’t know anything about at all.”
Posey said his interest in obscure Youngstown history developed while researching the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. “It all started with the Spanish Flu. That was kind of the beginning. The Spanish Flu was very timely. I ended up writing some other things, especially labor issues which now have become more timely, too. The Spanish Flu one got me excited on digging into some more obscure chapters of local history when I realized that I could do it during the pandemic.”
“I would say the chapter on the Green Book would encompass something that’s intentionally hidden. Not that there’s a conspiracy or anything, but I think that’s a history a lot of people would rather not talk about. Or dig up.”
Posey said he researched topics during the Covid-19 shutdown. “It [the shutdown] made the research process more difficult than it would have been at another time.”
“Hidden History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley” will be available at Barnes & Noble, Mr. Darby’s Emporium and Amazon. For more information, visit www.arcadiapublishing.com… and www.historypress.net….
Arcadia offers 173 titles its “Hidden History” series, including books on Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Ashtabula County.
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Hidden History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. By Sean T. Posey. (2022) 160 pages, 77 photographs. Paperback. $21.99. ISBN: 978-1-4671-4957-0.
About the author – Sean T. Posey is a freelance writer and historian. He holds a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a master’s degree in history from Youngstown State University. His work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Citylab, Salon and Bill Moyers and Company, as well as in the books “Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology” and the “Pittsburgh Anthology.”
Editor’s note: Sean T. Posey is a contributing writer to Metro Monthly.
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good read