MAHONING COUNTY McGuffey and the bicentennial

The county's official Bicentennial Bell will be cast at the celebration Thursday.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- For decades, generations of schoolchildren learned to read using William Holmes McGuffey's famous readers. The schoolbooks, which imparted moral lessons with every story, were as synonymous with education as children and school bells.
This week, McGuffey's contributions to education will be remembered as part of Mahoning County's bicentennial celebration.
Poland resident Dan Smith, McGuffey's 79-year-old great-great-great-great nephew, will break the mold Thursday for Mahoning County's Bicentennial Bell at the Canfield Fair.
Children from each of the county's 14 school districts will take part in a ceremonial passing of bronze ingots that will be melted in a furnace -- part of a portable foundry -- where the county's official Bicentennial Bell will be cast.
One bell is being cast in each of Ohio's 88 counties to mark the state's 200th birthday.
"We thought it was very appropriate for McGuffey to be part of the event being that the students are involved," said Richard S. Scarsella, president of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society of Youngstown.
Commemoration
McGuffey's readers, originally published in 1836, have never gone out of print, Scarsella added.
Smith, a retired carpenter, home remodeler and cabinet maker, said he plans to play the role of his famous ancestor complete with period clothing.
"We're trying to find an old-fashioned bow tie and flock coat," he said.
The bell will be cast Wednesday; the mold breaking, bell polishing and ceremonial first ringing will take place the next day.
The seal of the state of Ohio, Ohio Bicentennial Commission logo, casting site, casting date and name of the company casting the bell -- The Verdin Co. of Cincinnati -- will be inscribed on the bell, which will travel throughout the county and be put on display for special occasions.
To commemorate the bell casting, the McGuffey historical society will give each of the 42 students helping to smelt, cast and unveil the bell a book about the Coitsville farm boy who achieved his fame and fortune publishing a series of schoolbooks.
The McGuffey historical society is the last remaining chapter of an organization that once boasted more than 100,000 members nationwide.
Bell casting, mold breaking and ceremonial ringing will all take place in the main concourse between the grand stand and fair office.
kubik@vindy.com