Telling our story
May 25—Book, projects tell history of Lawrence County as part of America 250 Ohio
As part of Ohio's America 250 program, the Lawrence County organizers have been working to involve the schools in gathering local history.
"One of the projects we are doing is the Lovely Lawrence County project," said Rich Donahue, the chairman of American 250 Lawrence County, adding the goal was to get people to find out Lawrence County history that may have been overlooked.
He said that he met with the county's school superintendents about 15 months ago to get students involved. Chesapeake superintendent Doug Hale took the idea back to his school and two of the teachers, Brea James-McClung took the idea and created "Lovely Lawrence County," an A-Z book that includes such entries as "I is for iron furnaces," "N is for Nannie Kelly Wright," and "R is for Rome Beauty apple." Each entry is a four-line poem about the subject with a photo James-McClung took to illustrate it.
James-McClung also turned the Lovely Lawrence County project into a class project as well, having her 10th grade class talk to family members and research local history that other people may not know about.
"The idea was to get their relatives engaged and find historical places in Lawrence County, focusing on their communities," Donohue said.
Donohue and Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Christen Finley went to the school to see the projects.
Donohue said he was thrilled with the projects the students did, which included the old Chesapeake jail and a nightclub.
"I think it was a home run," Donohue said. "I liked that all students were involved. I like hearing their stories. It was just a wonderful day and the kids were all excited to tell their stories, the history of their community."
Donohue said the goal is to take the Lovely Lawrence County project to every school and have more students tell their own stories.
The whole project is part of Ohio's America 250 project which is a celebration of the 250 years since America was founded.
"This is our opportunity for us to tell our story," Donohue said. "Everything we do here is to send back to Columbus to the historical center for America 250 Ohio. We want to tell our story and these kids are the vehicle, the future. And they are telling it as they see it."
You Might Like
News
Parade events set for weekend
News
This year's leaders (WITH GALLERY)
News
Parade events kick off Thursday
News
A storied career
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
James Castagnola's 3-run homer sparks UC Irvine in 8-3 victory over Fresno State in elimination game
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Castagnola hit a two-out three-run homer in the second inning and UC Irvine never looked back in an 8-3 victory over Fresno State on Saturday in an elimination game of the Los Angeles Regional. No. 2 seed UC Irvine (42-16) awaits the loser of the nightcap between top-seeded host UCLA and No. 3 seed Arizona State in a Sunday elimination game. Fresno State finishes 31-29. Castagnola's homer came after Fresno State starter Aidan Cremarosa (6-6) hit Jacob McCombs leading off before walking Blake Penso with one out. McCombs hit a two-out solo shot in the third and Alonso Reyes walked and scored on a double play in the fourth for a 5-0 advantage. Lee Trevino singled in an unearned run that Anteaters reliever David Utagawa (2-0) inherited from starter Riley Kelly in the fourth and Eddie Saldivar hit a two-out solo homer off Utagawa in the fifth to get the Bulldogs within 5-2. McCombs, who went 3 for 4, singled in a run in the seventh and Colin Yeaman and Anthony Martinez had RBIs in the ninth for UC Irvine. Justin Stransky had an RBI single in the eighth off Anteaters reliever Max Martin, who replaced Utagawa after he allowed a leadoff single to Saldivar. Kelly surrendered two runs — one earned — on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Martin allowed a hit in two scoreless innings to close it out. Cremarosa yielded five runs in six innings. Drew Townson followed and gave up three runs while retiring four batters. ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
James Castagnola's 3-run homer sparks UC Irvine in 8-3 victory over Fresno State in elimination game
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Castagnola hit a two-out three-run homer in the second inning and UC Irvine never looked back in an 8-3 victory over Fresno State on Saturday in an elimination game of the Los Angeles Regional. No. 2 seed UC Irvine (42-16) awaits the loser of the nightcap between top-seeded host UCLA and No. 3 seed Arizona State in a Sunday elimination game. Fresno State finishes 31-29. Advertisement Castagnola's homer came after Fresno State starter Aidan Cremarosa (6-6) hit Jacob McCombs leading off before walking Blake Penso with one out. McCombs hit a two-out solo shot in the third and Alonso Reyes walked and scored on a double play in the fourth for a 5-0 advantage. Lee Trevino singled in an unearned run that Anteaters reliever David Utagawa (2-0) inherited from starter Riley Kelly in the fourth and Eddie Saldivar hit a two-out solo homer off Utagawa in the fifth to get the Bulldogs within 5-2. McCombs, who went 3 for 4, singled in a run in the seventh and Colin Yeaman and Anthony Martinez had RBIs in the ninth for UC Irvine. Justin Stransky had an RBI single in the eighth off Anteaters reliever Max Martin, who replaced Utagawa after he allowed a leadoff single to Saldivar. Advertisement Kelly surrendered two runs — one earned — on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Martin allowed a hit in two scoreless innings to close it out. Cremarosa yielded five runs in six innings. Drew Townson followed and gave up three runs while retiring four batters. ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
A thousand cans and counting: On the Clock with the Sanitation Department
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The unsung heroes who keep the city looking clean and pretty: sanitation crews hit thousands of homes each day to maintain our streets. In this On the Clock, we're making the rounds with the Wichita Falls Sanitation Department with the world's most difficult claw machine, and it's going to be a bumpy ride. 'One can at a time. One street at a time,' Sanitation Equipment Operator James Linan said. We got to the Sanitation Department at 9 a.m., ready for a route around Weeks Park. And after I admired the bells and whistles of the nearly 30-ton trash truck, James was ready to show me the ropes. 'We're about 30 minutes into the route right now, but for these guys, that's nothing,' I said. 'On this route specifically, there are 1,222 that have to be picked up, and they're done when the route's done.' And that's no joke. James tells me he's spent upwards of nine hours making the rounds, not made easier by inevitable challenges. 'Sometimes we break down, the trucks break down, [which] kind of delays what we're doing,' James said. 'Weather, sometimes when it rains. Rain's kind of difficult because it messes with the mirrors and whatnot. So it slows you down.' And making sure the touchy controls don't accidentally bust through a window. 'Really tight edges and tight curves into the alleyways,' I said. 'There's still so much precision that goes into it. I would've hit everything in my path.' Thankfully, I wasn't allowed to test my theory, but James did let me take a whack at emptying the can into the truck. It was scary for probably everybody watching me painstakingly pick up that can, but for this pro, he really enjoys the routine and meeting neighbors. 'We drive, and it's a nice and peaceful little break,' James said. 'See people that wave, whatever, real kind people and whatnot, and people that give you drinks. Kind of speak with them a little bit once in a while.' And after dipping my toes into the essential cleanup that goes on behind the scenes, maybe I do have what it takes to be a sanitation champion. 'Based on my performance today, would you hire me?' I asked. 'Yes. You did better than me on my first time,' he said. 'I was knocking over garbage cans and whatever, putting them down wobbly. But, yeah, they're still nice and smooth.' The next On the Clock will air June 13 at noon and 6 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
