Third Thursday Talk: Freeform History Chat

Suggested Price: $10.00

Description

In this recording of our June 2020 virtual Third Thursday Talk, we featured two wonderful speakers and topics for you!

Photographic Reflections of Marietta’s Past – By Art Smith
Railroad Wildcatting in Southeastern Ohio: Marietta and Cincinnati Line – By Cyrus Moore III

Photographic Reflections of Marietta’s Past

Art Smith will explore how photography can shape how we imagine the past. He will be discussing how Marietta was fortunate to have people who visually recorded its history, along with some of the challenges that they faced while capturing those images. By viewing a variety of historical and present-day photographs, Art will demonstrate how in some instances, the present isn’t that far removed from the past.

About the speaker: Art serves as Webmaster of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and The Marietta Times and manages a wide variety of websites for Ogden Newspapers. He has managed The News and Sentinel Half Marathon as the Logistical Director since the 2002 event and has also worked to organize runs at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. He has worked his entire career in the newspaper business and has also been a news editor, presentation editor, and photographer. Art has been an adjunct faculty member at Marietta College since 1993, and has taught several media-related courses, including Introduction to Photography, Web Design, and Digital Communication.

His hobbies include kayaking, photography, reading, and travel. He is married to Lori Smith, who is an Assistant Professor for Marietta College, and they are the parents of two adult daughters.

Railroad Wildcatting in Southeastern Ohio: Marietta and Cincinnati Line

In the early era of rail in the United States, the M&C RR snaked its way across southern Ohio from Marietta to Cincinnati. The section between Marietta and Athens was the steepest and windiest. Before a new rail line along the Hocking River rendered the old section impractical in the 1870s, the railroad company worked earnestly to maintain the many stone culverts, bridges, and tunnels. After the Baltimore and Ohio abandoned the original line, Marietta citizens fought to keep the tracks in use, seeing value in the routes ability to bring minerals out of the hills and into town.

About the speaker: Cyrus Moore III, was born in Southeastern Ohio and from a young age has been fascinated with the region’s rich history. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Ohio University and earned a Master’s from Kent State University, where he studied Ohio military history. His past work includes serving as an AmeriCorps member at the Ohio History Connection, where he worked with the Ohio World War I Centennial. He is currently Director of the Baltimore Community Museum in Fairfield County.