Free lecture on Carpatho-Rusyns is Feb. 25 in Hermitage, Pa.

HERMITAGE, PA. — ‘‘Uncovering and Publishing the History of Pennsylvania’s Carpatho-Rusyns,” will be the topic of a free lecture by Richard Custer, a founder of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in St. Michael’s Byzantine Catholic Church, 2230 Highland Ave.

Custer is the author of scholarly and popular articles concerning Rusyn history, and his lecture is sponsored by the Youngstown-Warren-Sharon Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

Carpatho-Rusyns are a stateless group from the Carpathian Mountains of Europe with their own language and culture.

In addition to forming communities in Pennsylvania, Carthpatho-Rusyn immigrants came to the Youngstown area in the early 20th century to work in steels mills, and they founded many churches that dot the local landscape today.