YSU prof helps Boys & Girls Club kids uncover local history

YOUNGSTOWN

Pieces of bricks, scraps of ripped clothing and shards of a china set may not look like much, but they tell a story about how a neighborhood used to look and the people who lived there.

Youngsters from the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown are learning some of that history, participating in an archaeological dig on the city’s South Side.

Akeim Smith, 11, and Thomas Smith, 10, chiseled away at dirt, unearthing a small scrap.

“Look what we found,” Thomas said. “What is it?”

Matt O’Mansky, associate professor and chairman of Youngstown State University’s sociology, anthropology and gerontology department, said it looked like a piece of plastic, meaning it’s a relatively recent artifact.

O’Mansky regularly conducts archaeological digs across the Mahoning Valley with students. It provides an opportunity for students to experience methods of field work.

In the past, YSU students have dug at the old county courthouse in Canfield and the Dr. Peter Allen House in Kinsman.

Though O’Mansky invites students to Guatemala where he explores Mayan sites, few students are able to go. His local digs provide them with that hands-on experience.

Read more about the project in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.