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Preserving the legacy of ... America’s Schoolmaster
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
When it comes to the Will- iam Holmes McGuffey Historical Society, you might say that 50 is a significant number.
That’s because the historical society has roughly that many members, and because this year will mark its 50th anniversary.
“I want people to know that the society is still around and is keeping the McGuffey name alive in the Valley,” said Richard Scarsella, president.
Scarsella spoke recently from Chaney High School, where he’s in intervention specialist, about many of the society’s accomplishments over the years.
He also talked about McGuffey, a 19th-century farmer, educator and Presbyterian minister perhaps best-known for publishing the McGuffey Eclectic Readers series.
The seven books, first published in 1836, had a profound impact on American education. Throughout the 1800s many children across the country read from the set, which stressed personal values and character, citizenship, conservation, literacy and other virtues, Scarsella noted, adding that a McGuffey Reader Update was published in the mid-1970s.
In addition, he said, many immigrants who arrived in the United States through Ellis Island in New York were given the books to help them learn English.
“They were like the Readers Digest of their time. Next to the Bible and Poor Richard’s Almanac, it’s been read by more adults than any book in American history,” he explained.
Nevertheless, many Mahoning Valley residents know little or nothing about McGuffey, who died in 1873 and was known as “America’s schoolmaster,” Scarsella said.
The society is dedicated to preserving McGuffey’s legacy, in part by hosting storytelling programs, giving away copies of McGuffey Eclectic Readers to schools, handing out awards to recognize achievements in the Valley and conducting naming projects, he noted, adding that another such project is in the works.
The original McGuffey Elementary School was near McGuffey Road and Albert Street on the city’s East Side.It closed in the 1940s.
About 50 members, including 10 McGuffey descendents and many of whom are retired educators, make up the historical society. Among them is former Boardman High School teacher Dolores P. Sullivan, who wrote a biography titled “William Holmes McGuffey: Schoolmaster to the Nation.”
Another is Shirley Eckley of Hubbard, who is a great-great-granddaughter of McGuffey’s sister, Anna.
Eckley, a vice president, secretary and seven-year member of the historical society, conducted research on McGuffey and learned that he enjoyed gathering children on his porch to tell them stories. In keeping with that tradition, she started the Front Porch Storytelling program.
Each September, Eckley’s program takes her to area preschools and adult programs, where she shares various McGuffey readings, she explained.
“It’s amazing to watch the joy in adults when I tell the stories,” Eckley said.
In 2005, Scarsella published “Memories and Melancholy: Reflections on the Mahoning Valley and Youngstown, Ohio,” which contains several chapters on McGuffey.
The historical society’s next meeting is set for 1 p.m. March 5 at the Mocha House, 7141 Tiffany Blvd., Boardman. For information, call Scarsella at 330-726-8277.