Saturday, February 11, 2017
SALEM
The Salem Historical Society has several books available in its gift shop tied to Black History Month.
One book, “A Salute to Black History: Selected Articles of Lois Firestone and Others” is a collection of 29 articles and 34 pictures printed in local papers in the mid-1990s in which many had been lost to the public because of their format.
While many were written by Firestone for the Yesteryears and Quaker Heritage publications, others were contributed by Minnie Kirksey, Barbara and William Catlin, Connie Alexander, Linda Kurtz, Mary Dunlap Patterson, and Vivian Ormes Mason. Several of the contributors were members of the African American History Project through the historical society.
The scope of the booklet begins with the plight of slaves, their flight to freedom through the Underground Railroad and ultimately reaching freedom and settling in Salem.
Other books available include “Strotter Brown, Basketmaker of Old Salem,” “Sojourner Truth, Citizens of Color, Part of the Salem Story,” and “People of Courage, African Americans in Salem, Ohio.” The gift shop, 208 S. Broadway Ave., is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings or by contacting 330-337-8514.