Keeping area’s Slovak heritage alive

October 28, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Stephanie Ottey

BOARDMAN

Local authors Susanne Summers and Loretta Ekoniak will be on hand from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble Book Store, 381 Boardman-Poland Road, where they will spend the afternoon answering questions and signing copies of their new book, “Slovaks of the Greater Mahoning Valley.”

Released Sept. 19, the book is an installment of the “Images of America” series published by Aracadia Publishing. It features dozens of historical photos taken throughout the Valley from the late 1890s to the early 1960s. Facts and memories accompany the photographs, making “Slovaks of the Greater Mahoning Valley” a sort of yearbook for the families of immigrants who made the area their home.

Ekoniak, president of the American Slovak Cultural Association of the Mahoning Valley, has been actively working to keep the local Slovak heritage alive for years, so when Summers approached her with the idea to create a book, she agreed to take part. “We agreed that it would be a wonderful project to help preserve the fast-disappearing memories of this important part of the Valley’s history,” she said.

Since February 2010, Ekoniak and Summers, who developed an interest in the Slovak heritage through her work at the Arms Family Museum of Local History and the Campbell Historical Society, dug deep to research and compile pictures from all over the Valley. “This was a long, involved process to gather all of the information and photos. ... We were asking people to look for information and photos that were tucked away in attics and basements, sometimes for years,” Ekoniak said.

Now, after more than 18 months of research, their book has been published and is for sale locally at Barnes & Noble. “We hope that this book will not only keep alive the memories of our ancestors, but also, in some small way, let their descendants see them as real people who came here to build a better future for their children and grandchildren,” she continued. “We learned so much about a proud group of people who were determined to make a good life for themselves. ... We are proud to be a part of this effort to make sure that they are remembered for their contributions to our Valley.”