Lowellville Day will celebrate village business leader

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

LOWELLVILLE — Renaming a portion of Sixth Street in honor of one of the village’s former business leaders, Ralph Skerratt, tops the list of activities for Lowellville Day on Saturday.

Also on the agenda is a presentation by Mayor James Iudiciani Sr. to Struthers Mayor Daniel Mamula, a native of Lowellville, recognizing Mamula’s many years of service to the city of Struthers.

The Lowellville Day celebration will begin with a parade that will form at the high school and step off at 1 p.m. The parade, which will include the Lowellville High School Band, firefighting equipment from several area fire departments, veterans units and antique cars, will move along Westwood, First, Liberty, Third and Water Streets to the gazebo downtown, where the presentations will be made, Iudiciani said.

Village council recently passed a resolution to rename the portion of Sixth from the railroad tracks to the Mahoning River Skerratt’s Way.

Skerratt, now deceased, founded the Falcon Foundry in Lowellville in 1953 and was the firm’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

A 1936 graduate of Girard High School, Skerratt graduated from Youngstown College and was on its first football team. He served on the boards of the American Red Cross, YSU Alumni Association, Youngstown Area Chamber of Commerce, Mahoning National Bank, Allied Charities of Lowellville, Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and the Mahoning County Historical Society.

Skerratt was the first chairman of CASTLO, the organization created to spur economic development and redevelop industrial brownfields in Campbell, Struthers and Lowellville. He also was general chairman of the United Negro College Fund campaign in 1972. He was named Man of the Year by the Struthers Rotary Club in 1980 and by the Lowellville American Legion in 1982.

Several elected officials are expected to speak, including Mahoning County Commissioners Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt and Judge James R. Lanzo of Struthers Municipal Court.

Food and beverages will be for sale all day, and bands will perform in the gazebo from 3 to 11 p.m., Iudiciani said.

alcorn@vindy.com