, OH
The discovery in the mid-19th century of iron-rich black band ore in this region helped revitalize Mahoning Valley’s iron industry. The land now called Mineral Ridge was primarily a farming community before the 1850s. In the 1830s, coal was discovered and mining began on a small scale. For years, it was believed that the coal seam sat on top of a layer of slate, which was considered to be of little worth. In the mid-1850s, however, John Lewis, superintendent of the Mineral Ridge Coal Mines, identified what was previously thought to be slate as valuable black band ore instead. (Continued on other side)
, OH
Ernest “Ernie” C. Hall, a pioneer of early flight who is widely recognized for his long career in aviation, was born near Warren, Ohio in 1890. A friend of the Wright brothers, Hall built his first powered airplane in 1909 and flew in 1911. He began his career as a civilian flight instructor in 1913, opening a flying school in Pennsylvania in 1915. During World War I, he transferred to Call Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he trained over 500 military pilots for combat. In 1922, Hall relocated his flight school to Warren, Ohio, where he taught until his death in 1972. His 1911 monoplanes have been displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. and the National Museum of U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
, OH
Dr. Ronald A. Parise (1951-2008), from Warren, was a payload specialist for the Astro 1, Columbia, and Astro 2, Endeavour, space shuttle missions in 1990 and 1995. He logged in more than 614 hours in space. Among his scientific studies, Parise (WA4SIR) brought amateur radio equipment aboard the shuttle, enabling crew members to communicate with schools and others on Earth. Dr. Parise held planning and communications engineering support roles for human space flight projects, including the Russian space station Mir, the International Space Station and the X-38, a vehicle intended to return astronauts to earth from space. Dr. Parise was involved with many research projects, including the evolution of stars in globular clusters, which resulted in several publications. (Continued on other side)
, OH
Mesopotamia Township, Trumbull County was a part of the Western Reserve, 3.3 million acres in Northeast Ohio claimed by Connecticut. After the Treaty of Greenville extinguished American Indian title in 1795, the state sold most of the land to the Connecticut Land Company (except for the Firelands to the west). The company’s proprietors then sold the land to settlers from Connecticut and the east and they in turn brought to the west their ideas for what a solid home should look like. (Continued on other side)
, OH
A newer use for the airplanes after World War I was mail delivery. Airplanes moved mail faster than trains, but flying only during daylight hours slowed delivery and flying at night was dangerous. The Army Air Service constructed an experimental lighted beacon route for night flying between Columbus and Dayton in 1923. With proof that such a system could work, the U.S. Postal Service developed what later enthusiasts call a “highway of light” to guide air mail pilots on the transcontinental routes between New York to San Francisco and across the nation. (Continued on other side)