Discover Medina

Have you seen this site?  http://discovermedina.org/  

Created by Shannon Conley's history classes at the Medina High School, this mobile app puts a lot of Medina's history right at your fingertips, literally. Just tap your smart phone or mobile device and away you go!

Every spring, Ms. Conley tasks her students to a historical research project and add it to the app. Focusing on the people, buildings, institutions and places of Medina County, the following are just a few of its offerings:

• Ralph Waite
• Dan's Dogs
• Letha House
• Spring Grove Cemetery
• St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
• Austin Badger
• The Farmer's Exchange
• Rufus Ferris
• The Medina Square with links to the Medina Court House, Cool Beans Cafe, Ormandy's Trains
• Ella Canavan

The Smucker Building on Public Squareby Owen Ferris 

You can search the site from a box at the top of the page, or just browse the links on the map of Medina. Zoom the map in or out to see more selections.

While assisting the students with their research can be challenging, I always look forward to seeing what they have produced. 

Each topic includes a history, pictures and often, audio  or video snippets too! The app is available at the iOS App Store or at Google Play

Let me know which is your favorite topic!

UPDATE

The students came into the library for several weeks working on their projects. We were happy to help them, but sometimes were overwhelmed by the number of students coming in and the more intense research they were doing.  But, as you can see below, they appreciated our efforts!

Who am I?

• Although I have been dead for almost 100  years, my name is still very well known throughout Medina County.
• During the 1870 fire, I lost $4,200 in property, when my jewelry store caught fire.
• I loved to ride bicycles. I would ride as much as 70 miles in one day.
• I owned the first automobile in the city of Medina.
• My first job was as a traveling showman, exhibiting the wonders of electricity.
• I used a windmill in my backyard to power my printing press.
• I was a school teacher for a short time.
• I was president of the Board of Education for a number of years.
• I was a member of the Anti-Saloon League.
• I corresponded with Helen Keller.
• The afternoon of my funeral, all of the businesses in Medina closed down. The schools were dismissed early.
• I am included in a new book by best selling author, David McCullough.
• The company I founded still ships its products around the world.
• I wrote the first account of the Wright Brothers successfully flying their airplane. The world did not believe me!

Who am I?

Please send your answer in the comments section below. Comments and the answer will be posted in 2 days.

 

Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War

Military history is fascinating! At least it is when you have relatives that actually fought the battles, marched those trails, and suffered those privations. 

As I have been working a lot on my ancestors who served in the U.S. Civil War, I thought I had a decent idea of what those men endured. Until I read this book:
Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War  by Brian Matthew Jordan.

This book blows away old misconceptions and tells what it was truly like for the soldiers trying to return to civilian life. 

No one at the time understood what they had gone through and most didn’t want to believe just how horrible it was. 

The soldiers themselves had very mixed feelings, impatient to get home to loved ones but unsure of how to return to civilian life without their army comrades. 

And when it came time to ask the government to take care of their bodies & minds that were mangled by the war, they met resistance & disbelief every step of the way. 

Some parallels are drawn between the vets of 150 years ago and today’s veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Your mind will draw many more comparisons. Heavily recommended for anyone interested in U.S. military history, the Civil War, or how the US treats its veterans.

Reserve a copy here: 
http://bitly.com/1yP2Hna

1940's House of the Future

Typical Lustron Home

World War II was over. All the GIs were returning home. They wanted jobs, families and HOMES of their own. But there aren't enough houses to fill the need. What America did have was a surplus of steel that had been put aside for the war effort.

 An entrepreneur dreamed of putting these things together and in 1948 they started production of the ceramic-coated steel, pre-fab houses at the Lustron  factory in Columbus, Ohio.

These Plain Dealer  pages from27 June 2004 detail some of the special features and challenges of living in a Lustron Home.

Steel walls make hanging things easy, with
 just a few magnets

Most of these homes have since been re-sided and have lost the unique rectangular-siding appearance. The company only lasted a couple of years and went bankrupt in 1950.

Medina Gazette 16 Augutst 1949 p. 2

A gentleman involved in the assembly locally said 8 of these homes were built in Medina.
















Only 3 are now known, two of which have been re-sided.

Medina Gazeette 8 Nov. 1949

The Ohio History Connection has been highlighting this little known part of the post war era in their publications and in their exhibits in Columbus.

http://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/exhibits/ohio-history-center-exhibits/1950s-building-the-american-dream

If you are adventurous, travel down West Park Boulevard in Medina and see if you can find any of the Lustron homes there!

Lock-In Wrap Up

We had a very nice time at the Lock-In on Friday. We had 28 people attending, and one service dog.  Good doggie!

Photos courtesy of Keith on Facebook

Photos courtesy of Keith on Facebook

Besides the fantastic $35 gift certificates from Family Tree DNA that arrived via overnight express, we also had some nifty gift cards courtesy of the Medina County Genealogical Society.  Thank YOU so much!!  We had 23 other door prizes that were quickly snapped up during the intermission at 8 p.m., leaving one lonely participant empty handed. But Liz came to the rescue and found her a nice door prize also.

We learned how useful  DNA testing can be, depending on what you are looking for. And Lisa did a great job covering the FamilySearch.org web site. I use this site daily, but still I learned quite a few new tricks.

Kudos also go out to Lisa for being SO-O-O adaptable with the technological glitches. First, our DNA presenter's laptop refused to work. Lisa quickly set him up to use her laptop. Luckily he did have his presentation on an USB drive. Good to go! Then after the intermission, Lisa's laptop decided to do over 100 updates, even though she has it programmed to do updates at 3 a.m. SHEESH! But again, being very adaptable, Lisa quickly moved her program into the computer lab. What a trooper!

Lisa and I looked at our files and realized that this was our 13th Lock-in and we are in our 7th year of offering them. Truly, it does not seem to be that long ago!

We hand out surveys at every lock-in asking for ideas of what programs to offer in the future. We really depend on these surveys to give us ideas. Some of the more popular requests were for  topics that we have offered in the past, including German Research, Medina County Research or Computers and Genealogy, all of which we have offered in the last 3 years. Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey. And THANK YOU for your input.

For the September 18th Genealogy Lock-In, we hope to offer sessions on Researching Your Polish Ancestry and Writing Your Family History.

Hope to see you there!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

https://www.familytreedna.com/

Yes, I am SHOUTING! Because thanks to the generosity of the folks at Family Tree DNA we have two $35 certificates toward DNA testing to give away as door prizes at tonight's Genealogy Lock-In! 

WOO-HOO!

And we still have spots available if you want to come in for a chance to win one of the certificates or any of the other nifty door prizes we will be giving away! 

Oh, you can learn about genealogy research too!

DNA Testing: Hype or Help?

Have you ever wondered if  DNA testing is the answer to all of your genealogical prayers?

DNA Testing: Hype or Help?  is one of the educational sessions at this Friday's Genealogy Lock-In at the Medina Library.

Popular TV crime shows and genealogy programs all tout the miracles that DNA testing can accomplish.

But what is the reality??

Richard Spector of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Cleveland will  teach us the finer points of DNA testing for genealogical research.

• What are the realistic expectations? 
• What can you learn? 
• What isn't possible with DNA testing? 
• Which companies offer which DNA tests?

Several years ago, I received a DNA test as a Christmas gift. I can't tell you how thrilled I was! 

Yep! That's me!!

My daughters had given me National Geographic's DNA test called Geno 2.0. This test reveals your DEEP ancestry. As in Neanderthal. Which I have 1.8% Neanderthal DNA, just slightly lower than the average of 2% for people of European descent. (I LOVE telling people I am 1.8 percent Neanderthal! Most people just nod their heads. As in "That explains so much!") With this test, you learn how your ancient ancestors came out of Africa and traveled across the Middle East and Europe, eventually covering the whole planet. Fascinating stuff.  

But not very useful for genealogy research.

So I had my results transferred to FamilyTree DNA. And while it was also very interesting and has helped me to connect with distant cousins, none of my brick walls have come tumbling down. But I just did learn the name of my 4th great grandmother on my Dad's side. I wasn't looking for her name just yet. But that still counts as a breakthrough, right??

But I am not sure I am getting everything out of my tests as I should, and I am hoping for some guidance from Friday's class.Want to join me, Lisa and Liz at the Lock-In??  Call 330-722-4257 to register. Or register online at: http://bit.ly/1yP2Hn9