Historical society names ‘Citizens of Honor’

SALEM

The Salem Historical Society recently selected the 2019 Citizens of Honor who will be recognized officially during the Founders’ Day dinner that will take place Tuesday. The honorees are Karen Lehwald Carter, Donald Weingart and the late Richard Wootten.

Lehwald Carter graduated from Kent State University with a degree in elementary education and was a teacher at Buckeye and Reilly Elementary Schools in Salem, and also taught in Wapakoneta. She serves on the Salem Housing Appeals Board; is a coordinator for the Salem Preservation’s Reilly Project and the Banner project; serves on the preservation’s McCulloch Park Restoration Project committee; is a member of Salem Area Chamber of Commerce; a member of Charles Burchfield Society; and a lifetime member of the Salem Historical Society.

Weingart graduated from Goshen Union High School (now West Branch), was hired by the city of Salem and quickly transferred to the new Salem Water Treatment Plant. After passing the examination from the Ohio State University Water Treatment Short School Training program, he was awarded a Class A Water Supply Operator Certification. He has been the superintendent of utilities for the city of Salem for 34 years. Weingart was recognized in 2012 for 60 years of service by former Gov. John R. Kasich; U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown; the Congress of the United States; U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-6th; the Ohio Senate; Ohio House of Representatives 129th General Assembly; and the Ohio Auditor’s office.

Wootten earned a degree in journalism with an editorial concentration and was the city editor and features editor for the Salem News. He also freelanced for the Cleveland Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Western Reserve Magazine. He was the founder of the Burchfield Homestead Society of which he served as president and executive director from 1993 until 2016. He was president of the Salem Lions Club and Salem Historical Society, and was a board member of the Salem Community Theatre and Kent State University Salem. He wrote “Hostetler The Carver” and edited Salem News Yesteryears, a weekly tabloid that he developed and edited with Dale Shaffer and Lois Firestone.