Three area women receive recognition for history month

YOUNGSTOWN — In celebration of National Women’s History Month, the Junior League of Youngstown is spotlighting the accomplishments of three area women, Mary Ann Campana and the late Lenora Berry and Alice R. Powers, whose accomplishments have had a tremendous impact on the community.

Born in Barrea, Italy, on April 8, 1913, Campana was eight years old when she came to Youngstown. She graduated from East High School and worked at a five-and-ten-cent store. She took flying lessons and became Ohio’s first teenage female pilot. Campana set the world’s light airplane endurance record of 12 hours and 27 minutes without refueling in 1933, for which she was honored at a ceremony at Youngstown-Warren Municipal Airport and by the National Aeronautic Association, United States Representative Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the Department of Aeronautics and the National Air and Space Museum. She went on to have a successful career in fashion merchandising in Northeast Ohio.

Building a church

Berry began her mission for St. Augustine Episcopal Chapel, now St. Augustine Church, in 1907 when she hosted a meeting for thirty individuals at her home. The purpose was to establish an Episcopal church for the African American community in the city. The charter members created a building fund, and after meeting for 11 years in the homes of members, the church purchased property on Parmelee Avenue on Feb. 22, 1918, and in 1920 work began.

On Sept. 11, 1921, more than 600 individuals attended the laying of the cornerstone for the church, which was designed by the firm of Charles F. Owsley and built by Charles Berry. It is the oldest known church in Mahoning County chartered by an African American female.

Preserves theatre

Powers, who was born Sept. 20, 1906, graduated from The Rayen School and went on to receive bachelor degrees from Lake Erie College and from Simmons College in Boston. Afterward, she worked in personnel and fashion merchandising for several New York City department stores. She married Edward Powers, and they lived in Poland. She became a volunteer for many organizations including the Coterie Club and New Century Club, and was a trustee for such institutions as the Butler Institute of American Art, the Blackburn Home for the Aged and Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Among her many achievements was her fight to save the former Warner Theatre. She and her husband contributed $250,000 to save the theatre from demolition, thus creating a home for the Youngstown Symphony in 1968. She was also proud of her sponsorship of SCOPE, a program at Youngstown State University that introduced high-school students to possible career opportunities during their summer breaks.